2019 Rubinger Community Fellow

In November 2018, DC SAFE Executive Director Ana Natalia Otero received the Rubinger Community Fellowship Award.

The Rubinger Community Fellowship:

  • Invests directly in local change makers across America;

  • Supports innovative solutions within community development;

  • Champions diverse nonprofit leadership.

Each of LISC's 2019 fellows has shown a unique commitment to the community development field.

The fellowship is named in honor of Michael Rubinger, LISC’s former CEO, who pioneered new ways to revitalize communities throughout his 40-year career.

LISC awarded $40,000 to each fellow to support a special project that addresses critical challenges in rural and urban America — from economic development and financial literacy to affordable housing and community engagement. Their overarching goal is to develop innovative solutions that improve the quality of life for people and places, and connect them to the broader economy.

Since the Fellowship began Mrs. Otero has focused her energy on finding out out how to support the fiscal health and growth of survivors of domestic violence beyond their initial critical needs. Her project will advance the work done by DC SAFE by providing the opportunity to assess how people who are experiencing trauma, specifically violence, view their fiscal health.

  • What tools do they use to create resources for themselves?

  • What may be preventing them from accessing existing fiscal aid programs or

  • Why existing fiscal programs may be overlooking a population of clients that could thrive with some assistance?

In Mrs. Otero’s words, “The ultimate goal of the project I am proposing is to give a voice to the experience of survivors of domestic violence on an issue that is central to their survival but is rarely addressed as they navigate a path towards independence.”

Natalia Otero