Leading by Example | UnidosUS

Marlene de la Rosa and Gary Vargas: Superstar Volunteers & Community Leaders 

A native of Racine, WI, Gary Vargas’s first UnidosUS (then-NCLR) conference was in 1986 in Chicago. “A buddy told me about this large Hispanic organization; I was intrigued. I was able to attend that first conference on scholarship,” he explains. After that, Gary was hooked: “Hearing discussions about our people’s struggles, seeing our people in leadership positions, I never knew that part of the world” He’s attended 37 conferences since, including the most recent in Kansas City. 

For Marlene de la Rosa, a Denver native, this year’s conference was her 23rd. Like Gary, a friend told Marlene about the wonderful experience she’d had at an NCLR conference. With the federal government as her employer at the time, Marlene didn’t have funding to attend so she started volunteering, taking her kids, other students, and nieces and nephews, to do so as well. “Every year I’ve taken somebody to volunteer, because it’s such an empowering, motivating experience. They then go home and get involved with their communities,” she says, adding, “UnidosUS and the conference become part of the family values and vision.” 

Gary agrees, noting that, for 15 years, the Vargas and de la Rosa families have planned their yearly vacation around volunteering at the conference. Working in a Racine high school diversion program, Gary has also taken students to participate in the Líderes Summit. 

What keeps them coming back? Both say it’s a sense of family, a love of serving the community, and the importance of addressing issues affecting Latinos. “It’s that feeling you’re not in this alone; people across the country want the same things for their communities. Everyone is so willing to connect, support, and help,” Marlene explains. 

Meeting up annually, Gary’s and Marlene’s families have grown close over the years. “My daughter went to college in Michigan so one year, when I couldn’t fly her home for Thanksgiving, she spent it with Gary’s family in Wisconsin,” Marlene says, adding that two other volunteer friends lived in the same town, so when she’d visit her daughter, she would see them as well. 

Gary and Marlene are also super volunteers in their local communities. Gary sits on two nonprofit boards and coaches golf. “The problem is we can’t say no — but that’s a good problem,” he says. Marlene co-founded two Hispanic giving circles and is currently vice president of the Denver school board. 

When asked how many more conferences they plan to volunteer for, both agree, “As many as we can!”  

For decades, every year at the UnidosUS Conference, Gary, Marlene, and their families become part of the UnidosUS family. 

To learn more about the impact of your support, visit unidosus.org/individual-giving/