For Imelda Salazar, community organizing has always been about people.

Before becoming an organizer with the Southwest Organizing Project (SWOP), Imelda carried with her the lessons she learned growing up in an immigrant family where resilience, faith, and community support were part of everyday life.

Like many immigrant families, her family worked hard and held onto hope even during uncertain times. One experience that shaped her perspective happened when she was just four years old, when an earthquake destroyed her grandparents’ home and they lost everything. In that difficult moment, she witnessed something powerful: neighbors helping neighbors, families leaning on faith and culture, and a community coming together to support one another.

Those early experiences planted a seed that would later grow into a lifelong commitment to organizing.

“When I first encountered community organizing through SWOP,” Imelda said, “it felt like finding language for something I had always believed in—that ordinary people, when they come together, can do extraordinary things.”

Through organizing, she found a way to turn her love for community into meaningful action. For her, organizing was never just about campaigns or meetings. It was about relationships.

“My work was really about walking alongside people,” she explained. “It’s sitting at someone’s kitchen table and listening to their story.”

During her time with SWOP, Imelda worked closely with families across the southwest side of Chicago, helping organize around issues impacting immigrant communities and working families. These included efforts to expand access to driver’s licenses, strengthen protections for immigrant communities, improve access to health care, and create opportunities for families to build wealth through homeownership.

She also worked to ensure neighborhoods were counted and represented in the decisions that shape their future.

But for Imelda, the most meaningful moments came from watching community members discover their own leadership.

“Seeing someone who once felt invisible stand up and speak for their community—that is one of the most beautiful things in organizing,” she said.

Imelda believes deeply that the strength needed to create change already exists within communities.

“There are so many parents, students, workers, faith leaders, and young people who carry incredible wisdom and courage,” she said. “Sometimes they just need a space where their voice is valued.”

Through organizing, she has seen fear transform into courage and isolation turn into community. Those moments reaffirmed her belief that this work is not only important—it is necessary.

“Too often decisions are made about our neighborhoods without the voices of the people who live there,” she explained. “Community organizing helps people realize they have power—the ability to act—not power over others, but power with each other.”

When asked what advice she would give to someone interested in doing similar work, Imelda emphasized the importance of staying rooted in relationships.

“Stay close to the people,” she said. “Community organizing is not about being the loudest voice in the room. It’s about listening, building trust, and believing in the leadership that already exists in the community.”

She also stresses patience.

“Real change takes time,” she said. “Every conversation, every relationship, every small step forward matters. Those moments are what eventually build movements.”

Although her path may continue in different ways, Imelda knows organizing will always remain part of who she is.

“Organizing is not just something you do—it becomes part of who you are,” she said.

Wherever her journey leads next, she hopes to continue mentoring emerging leaders, supporting immigrant families, and reminding people that their voices matter.

“This work is never about one person,” Imelda reflected. “Every campaign, every victory, every moment of progress comes from many people walking together.”

With gratitude, she thanks the leaders, families, and neighbors who continue to fight for a better future on Chicago’s southwest side.

“From the bottom of my heart—gracias to the brave souls who live and represent the southwest side of Chicago,” she said. “SWOP is made up of strong families who take themselves seriously in public life.”

And as Imelda reminds us, when people believe in their own power—and in each other—there is no limit to what a community can accomplish.

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