Marcela Betancur is the executive director of the Latino Policy Institute (LPI).

LPI stimulates public policy discourse by examining and communicating the evolving experiences of the Latino community in Rhode Island.

I spoke with Marcela on a recent episode of Fulcrum Democracy Forum (FDF). The program engages citizens in evolving government to better meet all people’s needs. Consistent with the Fulcrum’s mission, FDF strives to share many perspectives to widen our readers’ viewpoints.

“For the last 20 years, almost, the Latino Policy Institute has been strongly committed to looking at the experiences, especially the evolving experiences of Latinos in our state,” Betancur said. LPI focuses on improving policymakers’ understanding of the community’s needs in areas including education, economic equity, housing, health, and workforce development.

Recently, the Latino Policy Institute hosted Demystifying Democracy, an interactive event to learn how to navigate the legislative process. “This is our third year in a row partnering with Common Cause Rhode Island. In Demystifying Democracy we focused on how does a bill really become a law,” Betancur said. “In this session we include reporters, legislators, and advocates to tell us a little about what the process really looks like for them and what it can and should look like for the community.

Marcela was raised in Colombia and immigrated to the U.S. at age 12. “I was the daughter of somebody who was an undocumented immigrant. We had to do plans of what happened if she were to be deported,” she said. “Today those are the conversations we’re having with our community members. Ensuring that parents are making plans.”