EDÚCATE YA: Growing Latino/a/e Power In Portland

Daniel Alfaro Blanco, executive assistant and academic coordinator (left), and Rafael Arellano, founder and executive director (right) at SJF’s 2025 Rise Portland event. (Photo by Sharon Ho Chang)

For 25 years, Edúcate Ya has uplifted Portland’s Latino/a/e community, a group with deep Oregon roots—from the early 19th-century to 20th-century railroad and farm workers.

Founder Rafael Arellano, born in Cuernavaca, Mexico, began teaching Spanish as a teen and has spent decades helping others navigate life in the U.S.

He moved to Portland in the late 1980s to study at Marylhurst University, where he earned a degree in pastoral ministry, and later completed graduate studies in theology at Mount Angel Seminary. He worked in youth ministry for nearly a decade.

“I decided to take a break from the Catholic Church because I believe in equal rights for everyone. Afterward, I returned to teaching, which I had done in Mexico before coming to the United States,” he said.

Rafael taught Spanish classes at local colleges. He also returned to school and earned a master’s degree in Spanish literature from Portland University.

Rafael sitting on a speaker panel at SJF’s 2025 Rise Portland event. (Photo by Sharon Ho Chang)

In 2000, Rafael discovered he wanted to do more than teach language—he wanted to support the local Latino/a/e community. “I decided to move into the nonprofit sector because with an organization you can have a specific mission to work with the community.”

He founded Edúcate Ya in response to the lack of Latinos/as/es in leadership, with a vision to educate Latinos/as/es on navigating U.S. systems to access better jobs, health care, and leadership opportunities.

Oregon’s Latino/a/e population grew more than 30% over the past decade, outpacing the national average and making Latinos/as/es the state’s largest and fastest-growing BIPOC group.

Yet despite being the fastest-growing group in the state, Latinos/as/es in Oregon face major systemic challenges including economic and health disparities, unequal access to quality education, and housing injustice.

“We have to be proud of who we are . . . educate ourselves . . . and work together to be united.”

Edúcate Ya is a powerful answer: a Latino/a/e– and immigrant-led organization that provides free programs to build skills, foster leadership, and celebrate Latino/a/e heritage.

Daniel Alfaro Blanco, executive assistant and academic coordinator, is from Campeche, Mexico. He came to the U.S. in 2017 and first got involved with Edúcate Ya as a volunteer.

Daniel joined the organization as staff in 2020. “I discovered this is what I wanted to do for our community—I see their needs and I want them to have the same opportunities that I’ve had,” he said.

Among their many efforts, Edúcate Ya offers leadership programs for Latino/a/e youth, a cultural heritage awareness program, English classes for immigrants, and Spanish classes for professionals working in Latino/a/e communities.

But the stakes feel even higher under the Trump administration and a heightened anti-immigrant climate marked by harsh laws, aggressive enforcement, and increasingly xenophobic public discourse.

Rafael and Daniel speak with an attendee at SJF’s 2025 Rise Portland event. (Photo by Sharon Ho Chang)

In response, Edúcate Ya is partnering with local schools to provide immigration workshops for students, parents, and teachers. “If everybody’s informed then you know what to do if anything happens,” said Rafael.

Edúcate Ya is also part of a coalition of Latino/a/e nonprofits in Multnomah County and an advisory council that works with the Portland police to help them understand the Latino community needs.

One of the most important things Edúcate Ya has learned over the past 25 years of empowering Portland’s Latino/a/e community is that they’re planted firmly, aren’t going anywhere, and that standing together is key.

“We are part of this community; we belong here because we have been here a long time,” said Rafael.

“We have to be proud of who we are,” he added. “We need to educate ourselves, understand what’s going on, and work together to be united.”

How You Can Support Edúcate Ya

• Learn more at educateya.org 
• Volunteer or join classes, events, and trainings
• Give a meaningful gift

Written by Sharon Ho Chang, Strategic Communications Manager

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