Latinos hold 6.8% of the positions that govern 208 museums and other institutions formally affiliated with the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), according to “Leadership & Relevance: California Museums at the Crossroads,” a ground-breaking report prepared by Latinos LEAD. The full report will be released on May 7, and will be addressed by a panel at AAM’s Annual Meeting in Los Angeles on May 9. A presentation by Latinos LEAD will also provide insights for how its partners successfully recruit Latino board members. 

Patrick Salazar, Executive Director of Latinos LEAD, explained, “This report challenges California’s museum sector to assess whether their board recruiting practices are reaching their core constituents.” Salazar added, “We have never proposed that nonprofit boards match exactly the region’s Latino population proportion, but I think we can all agree that having one Latino board member (or none at all!) is simply unacceptable.”

Boards Count! provides a baseline for the objective measurement of Latino board representation of more than 2,100 nonprofit organizations in 19 U.S. cities. Latinos LEAD will continue to examine board membership in these cities to assess progress for Latino participation in nonprofit governance.