In 1989, the Mauricio Gastón Institute for Latino Community Development & Public Policy was established by the Massachusetts state legislature at the University of Massachusetts Boston. A coalition of community leaders and elected officials advocated for the Gastón Institute to be created because there was a need for research and policy analysis about the growing Latino population in the commonwealth. For over thirty years, the Gastón Institute has been advancing the university’s urban mission through community-based research, public policy advocacy, and leadership development programs for underserved communities. In addition to externally funded research projects and collaborative projects with local nonprofits, state and local government agencies, the Gastón Institute also delivers core programs for multilingual youth (5th to 12th graders) and programs for UMass Boston undergraduate students.
Our work with students is guided by community cultural wealth frameworks where we build upon the “ventajas y conocimientos” (assets and knowledge) that Latine students have, and we leverage these strengths to support their academic success. Our award-winning Talented and Gifted (TAG) Latino program (est. 1985) and Proyecto ALERTA (est. 1988) programs are offered for free to multilingual Boston Public Schools students every summer and during school vacation breaks. TAG ALERTA activities take place on the university campus, where students have access to all campus resources and spaces, such as the athletic center, library, and computer labs. Some TAG students have opportunities to take Early College classes for UMass Boston credit at their high schools, and all TAG alumni are eligible to apply for the Lucia Mayerson-David Scholarship to attend UMass Boston. These programs provide important pathways for college aspiration and college readiness.
A Key Platform for Success: The Latino Leadership Opportunity Program (LLOP)
The Gastón Institute also offers the Latino Leadership Opportunity Program (LLOP), established in 1987 by a national consortium of universities called the Inter-University Programs on Latino Research (Iuplr.org). The IUPLR consortium leaders created LLOP to increase the national pipeline of future Latino Studies scholars, policymakers, and leaders. In the late 1980s-1990s, there were LLOP chapters funded by the Ford Foundation at different universities such as UCLA, UT Austin, Wayne State University, CUNY and FIU, to name a few.
I know from personal experience how impactful programs such as the Latino Leadership Opportunity Program can be because I participated in DePaul University’s LLOP chapter in the 1991-1992 cohort. It was my LLOP professors who really encouraged me to attend graduate school and prepared me to become the leader I am today. Being the Director of the Gastón Institute and being responsible for the nation’s last remaining LLOP chapter is bittersweet.
With support from the Inter-University Programs on Latino Research, my colleague Dr. Ester Shapiro and I evaluated the LLOP to better understand the impact that the LLOP’s research training and leadership development had on the students. (We conducted archival research, analysis of content in program materials, an online questionnaire, faculty interviews, and alumni interviews between January 2017 and May 2019; out of the 24 cohorts, we were able to interview students from 18 different cohorts.)
Our evaluation findings showed many positive outcomes for the undergraduate students who had participated in the LLOP. The LLOP’s project-based curriculum and community activities incorporated life experiences, validated students’ cultural assets, and centered the role of leadership and public policies for bringing about positive social change for Latino communities. Currently, LLOP alumni are working as elected officials, community organizers, nonprofit executive directors, entrepreneurs, school leaders, and university faculty. The alumni all stated that LLOP had prepared them for graduate school, law school and other leadership roles.
Most of all, the LLOP alumni expressed how much they valued their relationships with their mentors. The LLOP alumni who earned graduate degrees said the program increased their passion for doing research, public policy advocacy, and community-engaged work. The alumni were grateful to the inspirational leaders they met and the faculty that mentored them. We know from research studies about Latine student success that having influential relationships with Latine faculty mentors can promote Latine student success. LLOP alumni appreciated sharing and learning about the power of community cultural wealth, and they felt the LLOP was a motivating factor for their success in college and beyond. As one LLOP alumni noted: “These types of programs are very important to me, because they help you to strengthen your identity, but at the same time they also help you to be part of this society and feel that you too can be part of something else.”
Opportunities Beyond the LLOP
The Gastón Institute continues to support undergraduate students beyond the LLOP. After completing the LLOP’s research seminar the following semester, our students complete paid internships, complete an Honors Thesis or Capstone project, or work on research projects at the Gastón Institute. Students also have the opportunity to apply for the Robert Hildreth Latin America Internship Award. This Award was established to support travel and research for students who have never traveled to Latin America or the Caribbean. Many of our second generation Latine students have never had the opportunity to visit the Caribbean or Latin America, and some of our students would like to learn to speak Spanish. The Hildreth Internship supports an immersive travel abroad internship (minimum of six weeks) with a non-governmental organization, and we have international partners that host our students. Hildreth interns work on community-based projects and just like the LLOP student experiences, the Hildreth Internship projects have proven to be transformative experiences for our undergraduate students.
I am proud to be the Director of the Gastón Institute because our greatest strengths are preparing future generations of Latine scholars, policymakers, and community leaders through the Latino Studies curriculum, mentoring and leadership development, and community-engaged research. I hope readers can learn more about our work by visiting our website: https://www.umb.edu/gaston-institute/.
About the author
Dr. Lorna Rivera is the Director of the Mauricio Gastón Institute for Latino Community Development & Public Policy, University of Massachusetts Boston.Her work focuses on education and the social determinants of health. Rivera is co-editor of the new book, Critical Perspectives on Latino Education in Massachusetts, UMass Press, 2025.
