Defensoras
Health Care Advocate Co-Learning Space
Building Community Power to Transform Healthcare
The Defensoras: Healthcare Advocate Co-Learning Space is a bilingual, cohort-based leadership program designed for Latinas passionate about transforming healthcare systems from the ground up. Rooted in community organizing and health justice, this space centers those most impacted by healthcare inequities, particularly Latinas and other communities of color in Santa Clara County.
Through facilitated, collaborative learning, participants build the skills, knowledge, and power to advocate for themselves, their families, and their communities within healthcare systems that have historically excluded them.
This program exists because equitable healthcare should not be a privilege, it’s a right.
What this program does
Participants in the Defensoras Co-Learning Space engage in a dynamic 10-module experience that covers:
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Patient rights and healthcare justice
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Race and gender-based health disparities
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Navigating payer and provider systems
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Effective patient advocacy
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Community organizing and movement building
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Leadership development and storytelling for impact
Eligibility / Access
The program is open to Latina community members in Santa Clara County, especially those with lived experience navigating healthcare barriers. No formal experience is needed—just a desire to learn, lead, and make change. Offered in English and Spanish, new cohorts open periodically. Interested individuals can contact Latinas Contra Cancer directly.
Nomination Process
Latinas Contra Cancer is looking for strong Latina leaders who are ready to be the change-makers and advocates for their community and their right to adequate healthcare. If you, or a Latina you know, have been impacted by healthcare inequalities and want to do something about it, fill out our nomination form.
I absolutely love defensoras! It has made a huge impact in my life... I feel capable of challenging the system when it comes to it and even supporting community in using their own voice.
— Defensoras Graduate 2025