1. For Release: February 1, 2016
La Mariposa: A Personal Empowerment Program for Adolescent Latinas
The Latina A.R.M.Y., Inc. Announces La Mariposa: A Personal
Empowerment Program for Adolescent Latinas
Culturally-relevant model with a frame work grounded on evidence-based principles
New Haven, CT –(February 1, 2016) — La Mariposa: A Personal Empowerment Program
for Adolescent Latinas — The Latina A.R.M.Y., Inc. (TLA) announced the immediate availability
of La Mariposa: A Personal Empowerment Program for Adolescent Latinas. The La Mariposa
program model is rooted in the Latina experience and built on the foundational principals of effective
programming for girls, using a relational, trauma-informed, and strengths-based approach throughout
the sessions. This rich combination is integrated throughout the curriculum, providing facilitators
with a structured format, instructions for creating a safe space, and activities that create opportunities
for girls to support one another. La Mariposa helps girls learn valuable skills while sharing their
ideas and experiences with a trusted adult.
TLA launched a similar program in 2009; beginning as a regional grassroots endeavor by
dedicated volunteers serving over 1,000 girls in Connecticut’s New Haven, Hartford and Fairfield
counties. Driven solely by word of mouth, demand for the two-session TLA workshop grew until the
demand for workshops outpaced the available number of facilitators. TLA has been working to
reposition for expansion since that time.
Grant funding, from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Hispanics in Philanthropy Funders’
Collaborative for Strong Latino Communities, supported the evaluation and enhancement of the TLA
workshop. La Mariposa was developed off of the TLA workshop platform adding a more sustainable
approach that can provide positive Latina role models and effective life skills for personal
advancement. La Mariposa contains 12 sessions, ensuring that topics and skills are effectively
introduced, discussed, and practiced. Girls are afforded time to support one another in exploring
important themes and to integrate effective life skills into their daily lives using creative activities
and discussion formats.
In the US, many first and second-generation adolescent Latinas experience great difficulty
trying to bridge two cultures where values and gender role expectations often collide. “As Latinas
and caring non-Latinas, we have the honorable opportunity to empower girls with the tools that can
help them to embrace their dual-cultural realities”, said Nancy Roldán Johnson, co-author of La
Mariposa and co-founder of The Latina A.R.M.Y., Inc. As the program model developed, Roldán

2. Johnson said it was essential to ensure that girls had a voice in the program design – a basic tenant of
good gender responsive practice. Participants in the TLA workshops were engaged in a series of
focus groups to determine their likes, dislikes, and needs. These findings were integrated into the
final version of the model. “La Mariposa is an opportunity for Latinas to develop real skills in areas
that will enhance their lives. Providers would be wise to offer La Mariposa to engage girls and help
them learn to navigate the cultural complexities they experience. It is a rarity to have an accessible
group curriculum designed specifically to be effective with this vulnerable population (Kim
Selvaggi, co-author).”
According to the organization’s Chair of the Board of Directors, Eliana Nuñez, “The
Mariposa Program provides Latina girls the opportunity to envision their future in a more promising
way and provides them with the skills and tools empowering them to achieve self-actualization. I am
very proud of this work as it comes from the grass roots efforts of many Latina women who
experienced the same challenges facing our girls today,” said Nuñez. “Our organization is committed
to making the program available to all Latina girls across the US with community support and
partners with an aligned vision.”
Listening to Latinas.
In a joint report published in 2009, Listening to Latinas: Barriers to High School Graduation,
the National Women’s Law Center and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund,
highlight the importance of creating “environments where programming, activities and curricula
incorporate and value Latino history, culture, and identities, as well as other cultures.” Furthermore,
“Girls with long-term plans or educational aspirations have more hope for the future, are less likely
to get pregnant, and become more engaged in school and related activities—all factors making it
more likely that they will graduate from high school and make it to college. Seeing someone in front
of them who looks like them, came from where they come from, and has done well and achieved her
career and educational goals can empower students and enhance their possibilities for success. And
research has shown that a relationship with a caring adult helps students to stay in school and
graduate.”
According to the report titled Fulfilling America’s Future: Latinas In The U.S., 2015, by
Patricia Gándara, Professor of Education, UCLA and Co-Director, The Civil Rights Project and The
White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, 1 in 5 women in the US is a Latina
with projections that “by 2060, Latinas will form nearly a third of the female population of the
nation.” The report confirms that “Latinas have made significant progress over the last decade, yet

3. not all are faring as well as they must if they are to be able to realize their aspirations and continue to
make important contributions to society and the economy.”
A growing number of studies and national publications highlight the need for culturally
competent programs in order to engage participants and to maximize the program’s effectiveness.
According to the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, “cultural competency needs to a
priority” when working with Latino youth. Moreover, organizations and foundations, such as the
Family & Youth Services Bureau, the National Clearinghouse on Families & Youth and Advocates
for Youth, recommend culturally relevant and gender-specific programming as critical elements to
improving outcomes for underserved populations. “We designed the facilitator’s guide to offer
facilitators an in-depth understanding of Latinos and Latina adolescents by looking closely at cultural
features like the demographic makeup of the US Latino population, cultural values and beliefs,
importance of familia (family), and the opportunities and challenges many Latina adolescents
encounter today (Nancy Roldán Johnson).”
Participant Impact.
“I feel that it will open their eyes as it has mine,” said a New Haven, CT high school student.
“[It] will show them that they are beautiful and that they can and WILL make it in whatever they
decide to pursue after high school.”
La Mariposa: A Personal Empowerment Program for Adolescent Latinas Availability.
La Mariposa is available nationally for immediate shipment at www.thelatinaarmy.org/our-program.
Founded in 2009, The Latina A.R.M.Y., Inc. is a national nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) organization
established to celebrate and support the empowerment of young Latinas by providing inspirational
role models and powerful life skills for personal excellence. La Mariposa is co-authored by Nancy
Roldán Johnson and Kimberly Sokoloff Selvaggi and was adapted from the 2009 Latina A.R.M.Y.,
Inc. JARS empowerment program manual, written by Nancy Roldán Johnson and Carmen Marcano-
Davis, Ph.D.
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The Latina A.R.M.Y., Inc., La Mariposa: A Personal Empowerment Program for Adolescent Latinas are either registered trademarks or
trademarks of The Latina A.R.M.Y., Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein
may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
For more information, press only:
Nancy Roldán Johnson

4. info@TheLatinaArmy.org
For more information on La Mariposa: A Personal Empowerment Program for Adolescent
Latinas : http://www.TheLatinaArmy.org
La Mariposa is an opportunity for Latinas to develop real skills in areas that will enhance their lives.
Providers would be wise to offer La Mariposa to engage girls and help them learn to navigate the
cultural complexities they experience. It is a rarity to have an accessible group curriculum designed
specifically to be effective with this vulnerable population. - Kim Selvaggi, 1/29/16