Daniela Lastra came to Austin for the most charitable reason — to help family. Her sister was a new mom, and she came to help. Mexico born and El Paso, TX raised, she missed her home on the border, but adapted quickly to Austin’s music and foodie vibe. A graduate from the University of Texas at El Paso with a bachelor of English & American Literature she interned at El Paso’s Niche magazine and then worked as a college readiness program coordinator and lead proctor administrator. As an assistant, she earned her appraiser trainee certification at Wilkinson, Pendergrass & Beard LP in El Paso, TX, one of the city’s leading commercial real estate appraisers.
Upon moving to Austin, Daniela wanted to apply that passion for research and evaluation that she acquired back in school and was connected to Latinitas in our search for an administrative assistant. She was head and shoulders above her fellow applicants and whipped the office into much needed shape, always up for the next task, new responsibilities and going the extra mile.
That made it an easy call last summer to promote Daniela to a development associate where she assisted with grant writing, event planning and marketing tasks. She applied for funding to support Latinitas Austin and Latinitas’ chapter in El Paso where she earned Latinitas’ first award from El Paso’s prestigious Hunt Foundation.
“Last year, I was feeling overwhelmed with our annual fundraiser and showed a little vulnerability in the office (some tears!). Daniela really took that as a call to action and took the reins of the event, and I am forever grateful,” said CEO, founder Laura Donnelly.
“She’s observant, thoughtful and brings a point of reference that is transnational, intellectual, but also very compassionate about who we are serving at Latinitas — she’s hyper-focused on the girls,“ added Donnelly.
Latinitas board chair Karen Siles builds on that, “Daniela has been a great addition to the team. In the past two years she has really grown into the role. She has brought in different types of revenues and set up different relationships that we previously had not tapped into. She has unique ways of thinking on how to expand her role and our partnerships.”
This past Fall, Lastra was promoted to Development Manager, Latinitas’ first at that position and the impact has been instant. In the short period since her ascension she has doubled individual giving for Latinitas, launched a successful Giving Circle exceeding the campaign’s first round goal of $16,000, signifying Latinitas 16 years of programs.
Communications director at Austin FC/ Major League Soccer and Latinitas’ board member Gissela Santacruz describes Daniela as “sharp, resourceful and just plain amazing.” She said, “It’s no surprise then that she didn’t miss a single beat when she took over the heavy lifting managing duties for Latinitas Giving Circle, Pubsada and Party for Chica Power. She may have been a first-time director for those events, but just like the true professional that she is, Daniela took care of business like she’d been doing it for years.”
Daniela is about to double Latinitas event fundraising from last year, too, as the organization approaches its Party for Chica Power annual fundraiser. She has brought her drive and organizational skills to Latinitas’ revenue generation and manages multiple interns in the process.
Endrica Galvan Hardwick, a service manager at Dell, Inc and Latinitas’ board member explained, “Daniela can effectively communicate expectations, excels in facilitating group discussions, and keeps meetings action-oriented by assigning action items and following through with the delivery. She displays a harmonious and cooperative spirit by encouraging team members to collaborate and share ideas. She has excelled in the delivery of Party for Chica Power and other programs with exceptional results. It is a true pleasure working with Daniela, and I congratulate her on the promotion to Development Manager.”
Daniela is leading the planning and implementation of Latinitas Party for Chica Power on April 27th, 6:30–10pm at the event space in Latinitas’ new state headquarters: Springdale General (1023 Springdale Rd.) This annual fundraiser lets Latinitas grow its no or low cost clubs, camps, workshops and conferences. It’s a kermes style Mexican carnival and gala combined, featuring dinner, drinks, mariachis, auctioned prizes and games like Loteria, a bottle toss and traditional cake walk.
COO for Together for Girls, a global organization focused on ending violence against women and Latinitas’ treasurer Sandie Taylor added, “I am so impressed with Daniela’s drive and dedication to Latinitas. She has made an incredible difference and impact in a short time, which is especially remarkable given that she is the first full-time development staff person.”
