The Concilio is transforming Latino lives in North Texas.
“I was the only bilingual person in the family,” she says. “I’ve always been short, and so I was 7, but I looked like I was 4. At the end of that, the judge walked around and got down to my level and basically told me something to the effect of, I was really smart and brave and that I could go to college.”
This was the first time that her parents and family were able to think about the possibility of college, and that was the beginning of the pathway of Fortner being the only one in her family to get a college education.
She landed in Dallas for what was supposed to be a year, but after finding a role at The Concilio, she hasn’t looked back. Fortner will be celebrating 20 years with the organization in May.
At The Concilio, Latino families find hope, education and the tools they need to thrive.
At the heart of this mission is Fortner, the president and CEO, whose own journey from the struggles of childhood poverty led to a successful career in community organizing and helping others.
“I grew up in poverty. I was born in Mexico, and it’s different than what we have here in the States,” Fortner says. “I think that’s one of the reasons why my parents came to this country to be able to give me a better life.”
Despite the hardships her family faced, Fortner looks back on her childhood fondly and recalls her experiences leading her to desire to help others who were in the same situation.
“I’ve heard people say before, ‘I didn’t even know I was poor,’” Fortner says. “I did know I was poor, because I do remember not having enough food to eat, but I wouldn’t change anything because of what I learned and what I gained from those experiences.”
Growing up with older brothers and parents who would do anything to help others, Fortner’s family shaped who she is today.
“My parents were very generous and giving, and they sort of lived Christianity in front of me and what it really meant to love others and help others,” Fortner says. “They took the shirt off their back for somebody that needed it, even though we needed it. If we had a pot of beans and somebody came to visit us, they would add more water to the beans so that there was enough to pass around.”
The main purpose of The Concilio is to offer gold-standard programs that can improve socioeconomic status. This is accomplished through programs in health, education, financial literacy and economic mobility, and they have direct services for parents. The clients — which they call families — are mainly hard-working, low-income families that despite their efforts, and sometimes having two or three jobs, are still at the poverty level or below.
The nonprofit organization has served the North Texas area for more than 40 years. They have served 250,000 individuals, and 20,000 parents have graduated from their parent engagement program since 2002, thereby impacting the education of over 24,000 students.
“Our goal is to really provide a warm and welcoming environment for those families, because many of them are in very vulnerable situations,“ Fortner says. “A lot of times they come to this country and they don’t even have an education from their own country of origin, and so they sometimes feel out of place.”
When Fortner first joined The Concilio, they were able to offer services to a couple hundred families a year. Now, they are serving about 20,000 families annually. Last year, they served 30,000.
“I think that early on in The Concilio’s history, we were this little engine that could,” Fortner says. “I’m really proud of the growth, because it’s not just about the numbers, but it’s also about the quality.”
Since COVID, The Concilio began investing in an area they call the Latino Strategy Institute, which aims to change the systems that are preventing Latinos from succeeding in the areas of health, education and wealth.
“Right now, The Concilio is tackling these disparities, both by direct services and by addressing the systemic issues,” Fortner says.
Last summer, The Concilio was named the UnidosUS Affiliate of the Year. The honor places The Concilio among the top of over 300 community-based affiliate organizations nationwide that partner with UnidosUS.
Additionally, The Concilio recently held its Power of Latinos Summit, which brought together thought leaders, innovators, and influencers to drive systemic change and elevate the Latino narrative in North Texas.
Among the many success stories, one resonates deeply with Fortner. A mother who joined Concilio’s programs when her son dropped out of high school ultimately convinced him to return to school.
“(Her son) decided to drop out as a freshman because he was working in construction with his dad, and they all kind of thought like, we’ll make more money,” Fortner says. “They were struggling, and she took our class, and she was able to convince her family, no, you’re going back to school. And he graduated. He actually made it to college, and he was going to become an architect.”
For Fortner, seeing these success stories firsthand is what keeps her motivated to show up for families in need every day.
“I remember thinking how proud I was of the work that we do,” she says. “It kind of fueled me for another 10 years.”