Build Latin America's next generation of leaders!

Dear LALA partners and donors,

As we step into the final quarter of 2025, we take a moment to reflect with gratitude and renewed energy. This is a time of both acceleration and consolidation, launching new initiatives, welcoming fresh partnerships, and celebrating the arrival of new LALíderes who continue to inspire our mission.

With this now-monthly update, we reaffirm our commitment to transparency and accountability by sharing the tangible results of your generous support. A milestone in this effort is our 2024 Annual Report, a comprehensive reflection of the impact we achieved together last year — now available HERE!

Thank you very much for walking with us!

THE LALA TEAM

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1. LALA LATEST LEADERSHIP BOOTCAMP SEASON

.                                   Julia Abreu (Camps Program Manager)

This cycle, 8 Camps (2 in-person, 6 virtual) brought together 289 young leaders. With them, we celebrate a huge milestone: LALA is now a community of over 3,000 LALíderes!

Our Virtual Camps featured incredible guests who inspired our changemakers with their stories and insights. Here are some of them:

• Alfredo Castellanos – Innovation strategist and business development expert with extensive experience in international growth.

• Bruno Gonçalves – Passionate about human development, education, and innovation as catalysts for transformation.

• Bruno Hora – Tech entrepreneur building solutions that merge innovation with social impact.

• Hawwa Muhammad – Founder of Pink Trumpet Consultancy.

• Leila Velez – Founder of Beleza Natural and currently leading the startup Curl Lab.

• Lisiane Lemos – Forbes Under 30, UN-recognized leader, TEDx speaker, and mentor to hundreds of young people.

• Mariana Sanz de Santamaría Franco – Founder of Poderosas Colombia, empowering women and girls to lead change in their communities.

• Michaelyn (Bachhuber) Baur – Global systems thinker working at the intersection of sustainable food systems, regenerative agriculture, gender equity, and climate justice.

• Nathalia Rocha – Director of Morada Comum in Brazil, working to create inclusive spaces of belonging and collective care.

• Thais Monsores – Psychologist and coordinator of the Diversi Games project.

• Thalia Silva – Psychologist and educator, committed to advancing emotional well-being and transformative education.

Our in-person Camps also brought the magic of community life, with unforgettable moments of learning and connection. A highlight was the Impact Dinners — spaces for deep listening, exchange, and genuine connection between young Latin American leaders and individuals from diverse fields. We are especially grateful to Bloomberg for supporting these unforgettable evenings!

Impact Dinner held in partnership with Bloomberg. In the photo: LALíderes from BLB15, the LALA team, Bloomberg representatives, and guests

2. UPDATE ON LALA ECOSYSTEM PROGRAMS

.                               Debora Rebecchi (Emotional Education Program Manager)

Young people in our community have lifelong opportunities for learning and growth after participating in our camps. To meet their diverse dreams and aspirations, our program calendar stays full year-round — offering pathways that nurture both leadership and inner development.

2.1. EMOTIONAL EDUCATION PROGRAM

We are thrilled to highlight our newest initiative: the Emotional Education Program. This experience creates a dedicated space for LALeaders to strengthen their socio-emotional skills, cultivate emotional balance, and engage in guided self-reflection — all through an educational, non-clinical approach. The program empowers youth to better understand themselves and others, equipping them with the emotional tools to lead with empathy and purpose in their schools, communities, and future careers.

In July 2025, the Emotional Education Program once again opened applications for its second season. Not only did we meet our goal, reaching 66 participants (in a season exclusively aimed at Spanish speakers), but by the end of the previous season for Brazilian LAlíderes, we also achieved an NPS score of 100%, with participants stating that they would enthusiastically recommend the program to their peers. Another bonus? The vast majority reported positive changes in their daily behaviors and an enhancement of their emotional well-being.

2.2. UNIVERSITY PLACEMENT PROGRAM

Come August, it was time for the University Placement Program to shine. With the goal of bringing older LALíderes closer to LALA while also supporting others through their learnings and experiences, the Buddy Initiative was created. This initiative allows LALíderes who have had experiences abroad to act as mentors and peers for those currently participating in the UP program. In total, over 30 LALíderes expressed interest and were accepted.

2.3. LALAPRENDIZ, PART OF THE CAREERS PROGRAM

At the end of August, the Careers Program launched the pilot project LALAprendiz, designed to provide structured training—through a carefully crafted curriculum—that prepares young people to join different departments of LALA. The first department selected for this initiative is Camps, where LALíderes eager to serve on staff receive months of training before their learning culminates in hands-on experience at the January 2026 Camps.

This model creates a significant impact: both the In-Person Camps and V-Camps benefit from LALAprendiz’s transformative experience. Over 90% of the Camp staff are LALíderes, many stepping into their first professional role, and all of them receive a development scholarship. In this way, LALAprendiz strengthens the leadership pipeline while multiplying the reach of LALA’s mission.

2.4. MENTORSHIP PROGRAM

In season M9 of the Mentorship Program, we held a Masterclass on the future and its uncertainties, featuring distinguished guests João Abreu (co-founder of ImpulsoGov) and Marina Bragante (City Councilor in São Paulo). In season M10, which we have just kicked off, we already have more than 150 LALíderes enrolled and over 130 mentors.

Want to sign up as a mentor? Click HERE!

3. COUNTRY SPOTLIGHT: UPDATE ON OUR FOOTPRINT IN PERU

.                                 Oriana Torres (Director of Development & Strategic Partnerships)

These past few months, our community in Peru has been buzzing with activity. In June, LALíderes came together for a powerful local meet-up in Lima, proving that the spirit of LALA goes far beyond our Camps. These gatherings are more than just reunions—they are spaces where young leaders find collaborators, motivators, and friends who remind them that they are not alone in their mission to transform Latin America. The “Encuentro de LALíderes en Perú” was a beautiful example of the power of connection, showing how transformation begins in spaces like these.We have also been working to reach and inspire new generations of potential LALíderes. LALA was proudly represented at Cometa Fest 2025, hosted by Intercorp, engaging hundreds of high school students exploring their future paths. In addition, our team joined five vocational fairs at Innova Schools in recent months, and we are excited to share that we will also be present at NAU Fest on October 3, continuing our mission to spark curiosity and plant the seeds of leadership among Peruvian youth.

4. LALA'S CEO AT THE WEF YOUNG GLOBAL LEADERS FORUM

This year, our Co-Founder and President, Diego Ontaneda, was honored with an invitation to join the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders (YGL), a highly selective network of leaders making significant positive contributions to the state of the world.  The event brought together more than 400 leaders and alumni from every region and sector—a true gathering of vision, courage, and collaboration. Diego contributed to the panel on “Leadership in a Connected World”, alongside Himanshu Gupta (Co-Founder & CEO, ClimateAi) and Mark-Alexandre Doumba (Minister of Digital Economy and Innovation, Republic of Gabon). In his own words: “I don’t believe that the arc of the moral universe will by itself bend towards justice. I think we need to actively bend it, and that’s where leadership comes in.”Reflecting on the week, Diego noted how much the experience echoed what LALíderes feel when they join LALA: the discovery that a purpose-driven, trust-rich network is not only possible but already alive in our community. Watch the full conversation HERE!

Dear Supporters,

LALA has been off to a strong start this 2025! It’s our pleasure  to share our progress with you. Thanks to your generous support, we continue to empower young leaders across Latin America to drive positive change in their communities.

At Latin American Leadership Academy (LALA), we are committed to unleashing the potential of ethical and transformational leaders capable of addressing the region's most pressing social issues. Our journey started in 2017, and the impact we’ve made so far is a testament to the dedication of our supporters and community.

Key Updates:

- LALA Brazil is a reality, and a success: Under the leadership of Fernanda Caloi, LALA Brazil’s inaugural CEO, our first country Hub is off to a great start. We have already set up an Advisory and a Fiscal Council, our programs are already running at full speed, and our network of supporters and partners are growing faster than ever. 

- We will begin setting our sights on our next Hub: The proof of concept in Brazil encourages us to already make plans for our next Hub. This 2nd Hub would be our de facto Hispanic America Hub, until more Hubs are founded.

- Reached 2,832 Youth: We recently wrapped up our Jan-Feb Bootcamps, and our community now has 2,832 young leaders from across Latin America. These transformative experiences foster personal and community growth, empowering youth to tackle pressing challenges in their regions.

- University Placement Program successes: This is a program where we support low-income, high-achieving students to apply to their dream universities in the US. We focus on students who may not be well served by local universities (or who may be unable to afford them), and we help them access well-funded universities that can offer them full rides. We accompany them during the scholarship application process, understanding the difficulties this type of process may represent for students from vulnerable backgrounds. Recently, we’ve had admissions at Stanford University, Northwestern University, Rice University, UNC (Morehead-Cain Scholarship), University of Madison-Wisconsin (King-Morgridge Scholars Program), University of Notre Dame, Lewis & Clark College, Carleton College, Bennington College, and more are coming!

- EcoVision Sustainability Summit success: On October 30, we hosted our first EcoVision Sustainability Summit in partnership with the Mitsubishi Corporation Foundation for the Americas. This event brought together 320 youth leaders passionate about environmental issues, offering a space to connect, share ideas, and explore solutions to pressing environmental challenges. Our speaker events had over 130K views on social media!

- Piloting Careers Program in 2025. With an increasing number of LALíderes graduating from college already, we have identified a growing need for career readiness, job application support, and for connections with great employment opportunities. We are excited to continue evolving our programmatic offerings to ensure our LALíderes do indeed reach their full potential!

- Piloting Social Emotional Training Program in 2025. LALíderes carry too much. They often support their families on top of leading ventures to solve big problems around them. On top of that, they are young people who are navigating a challenging world. We have identified a need to strengthen their social emotional skills further, in order to bolster their mental health and general wellbeing. We will share more on this project as it evolves!

Continued Progress

Since 2017, over 12,000 young leaders have applied to join LALA, and more than 2,800 have participated in our bootcamps and joined our lifelong community. These leaders come from over 20 countries, with 70% representing underrepresented backgrounds, including the LGTBIQ+ community, rural areas, Afro-descendants, Indigenous groups, low-income communities, and first-generation college students. We are also proud that 70% of LALíderes are girls!

Looking Forward

Thanks to your unwavering support, we continue to make significant strides in identifying, developing, and connecting young leaders across Latin America. Your contributions have been pivotal in driving these achievements and ensuring that promising youth, regardless of their background, have access to opportunities that empower them to create lasting change in their communities.

Thank you for being part of this incredible journey and for helping us shape Latin America's future, one leader at a time.

Links:

• https://latinamericanleadershipacademy.org/