When your life’s work is dedicated to empowering others, asking young girls to be strong, smart and bold resonates as more than a tagline. For Sonya Ulibarri, CEO of Girls Inc. of Metro Denver, those words have inspired her community through a continuous commitment to giving.

Raised in Denver by a first-generation Mexican and ninth-generation Coloradan, a spirit of giving was part of her home life. Her family saw wealth as more than the numbers in a bank account; Ulibarri recounts a story of her father giving away his car at work to someone who needed it more.

"When someone died or a baby was born, we would come together; by providing meals, offering a place to stay, or volunteering — those weren’t things they calculated on a tax form, they were part of being in community with others," Ulibarri said of her parents.

These values led to her student activism, involvement in community organizations, and leadership as Executive Director of both the Grassroots Institute for Fundraising Training (GIFT) and YouthBiz in Denver, before starting her tenure at Girls Inc. of Metro Denver.

Read the full article about Sonya Ulibarri, CEO of Girls Inc. at Hispanics in Philanthropy