A Note From the CEO, Soledad Díaz

Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the YWCA Leadership Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona, gathering with YWCA leaders from across the country to learn, reflect, and imagine together what it means to lead in this moment. 

What stayed with me most was not only the strength of the network, but the reminder that none of us does this work alone. Across communities, organizations, and movements, we are all carrying pieces of the same vision: a world rooted in dignity, safety, justice, and belonging. 

This week, that same spirit of collective work continues here in Colorado. On Wednesday I attended the bill signing at the Governor’s Mansion for two important pieces of legislation: HB26-1009, the Colorado Mandatory Lethality Assessment Act, and SB26-015, Commercial Sexual Activity with a Child Offenses. These were among the bills YWCA Boulder County supported during Women’s Empowerment Day at the Capitol, when community members, advocates, partners, and leaders came together to lift our voices for policies that better protect survivors, children, and families. 

Moments like this matter. They remind us that advocacy is not separate from service, it is one way we serve. When we show up at the Capitol, when we build relationships with partners, when we listen to the experiences of those most impacted, we help create systems that are more responsive, more compassionate, and more just. 

At the end of this week, I will travel to Washington, D.C. for my first board meeting with the National Network to End Domestic Violence. I carry that opportunity with deep humility and gratitude, knowing that the work to end violence is both local and national, both personal and collective. The lessons we learn in Boulder County are connected to the work happening across the country, and the wisdom of national movements strengthens what we can build here at home. 

These three moments, the YWCA Leadership Summit, the Governor’s bill signing, and the NNEDV board meeting, are deeply connected. They all point to the same truth: we are stronger when we understand ourselves as part of something larger. 

At YWCA Boulder County, we believe in collective work. That means working collaboratively and in partnerships. It means recognizing that no single organization, leader, or program can create lasting change alone. It means showing up with humility, generosity, and a willingness to be of service. 

It also means remembering that belonging is not just a feeling, it is a practice. We create belonging when we build tables where more people can be heard. We create belonging when we honor lived experience as expertise. We create belonging when we move beyond competition and toward shared purpose. 

I am grateful to be part of this movement, grateful for the partners who make this work possible, and grateful for the YWCA Boulder County community that continues to believe in the power of togetherness. 

Because when we work together, we do more than respond to the challenges in front of us: we become part of each other’s solutions.