Rosa Guzman-Snyder is the director of the Community Language Cooperative (CLC). Rosa was born in El Paso, Texas, however she considers herself a Colorado native. She was raised in the Westwood neighborhood and still resides in Southwest Denver.
Three years ago Rosa and her sister and business partner Indira set out to be a part of a community wealth building and language justice movement in Denver. The Community Language Cooperative (CLC) has grown from three to 15 interpreters among 10 different languages. Although they interpret for city council meetings or for Washington Post stories, the cooperative prioritizes communities where local residents are leading the movements, to ensure that every voice is heard and understood, and that language justice is practiced.
Rosa has travelled throughout Colorado training other organizations on language justice as a central piece to racial justice. Rosa, along with the CLC team, have created a training model where non-profits, city agencies, and other organizations learn how to best serve linguistically diverse communities by creating language-neutral spaces. Rosa is a lead advocate in the language justice movement, ensuring that the oppressive practices around linguistic services are dismantled. As a daughter of Mexican immigrants, Rosa understands the power and privilege that is associated with language and seeks to create spaces where people are not simply understood, but are free to express, imagine, and lead, regardless of language.
Along with the CLC work, Rosa has helped launch local campaign “Our Home, Our Right” in Southwest Denver to address rapid displacement and gentrification. She is working with a group of community leaders on creative strategies around community credit and advocacy for renter protections in Colorado.
Before starting the CLC, she worked for Pueblo City Schools with The National Center for Family Learning implementing Family Literacy programs in schools throughout Pueblo. Rosa’s faith is an integral part of her life and she is on a quest to “decolonize her faith.” The church community has played an important role in Rosa’s leadership and vision. Rosa is a graduate of Colorado State University-Pueblo and is currently obtaining a Masters in Public Administration. She is expected to graduate in December 2017.
Rosa is married to her sweet Nebraskan who puts up with all of her crazy daily. They are raising two amazing kiddos to change the world radically. Rosa enjoys crashing her parents’ house around dinner time, playing guitar for her five-year old’s Tejano rock band, and preparing a savory chicken móle that she makes from scratch.
What are you looking forward to as a fellow of TLC?
“I can’t think of a better way to navigate and survive these hard times than to create a space for leaders of color to heal and develop their leadership. What an amazing opportunity to grow as a collective while simultaneously challenging the status quo.“