AVANCE

Dr. Teresa Granillo, CEO

Economic Mobility

AVANCE creates pathways to economic mobility for predominantly Latino families through high-quality, culturally responsive, two-generation programming that ensures school-readiness for young children and opportunities for parents to build social and economic capital.

Year Founded: 1973

AVANCE envisions a world where all children and families have equitable access to resources and opportunities to reach their fullest potential, transforming the communities in they we live.

AVANCE believes that breaking cycles of poverty requires creating pathways to economic mobility via a two-generation approach. Their model drives change at multiple levels by working with children, their parents, and their childcare workers using a strengths-based, culturally responsive practice. In addition to working directly with families on school readiness, AVANCE also supports parents and childcare providers with building social and economic capital.

Over the past 50 years, AVANCE has earned broad recognition as being one of the leading two-generation programs in the nation. The story of AVANCE began in 1973 in San Antonio, Texas. Dr. Gloria Rodriguez, an elementary bilingual teacher, had been inspired by the revolutionary work of Dr. Phyllis Levenstein and was looking for funding to start her own program for local families. At the same time, the Zale Foundation had funded a pilot of a Mother-Infant Program in Dallas, led by Cornell doctoral students, and was searching for someone to oversee an expansion of the program into San Antonio. Providence brought the two together, and Dr. Rodriguez founded AVANCE in September 1973. Not long afterward, AVANCE began offering programming at the Mirasol Housing Project on the West Side of San Antonio.

Teresa-Granillo AVANCE

Dr. Teresa Granillo

CEO

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