A group of non-profits has combined with regional two-year colleges to create a young-adult leadership training program emphasizing the discovery of new leaders from the latino community.

The initial pilot program is taking place this spring in Mount Vernon, WA. Students are participating in workshops and completing a public service project in teams.

The kickoff session featured addresses by WA state representative Luis Moscoso (currently the only latino member of the house), and WA state supreme court justice Steve Gonzalez, the first person of latino background to serve on the court (the two appear at right and left, respectively in the accompanying photo.