About Las Comadres

History

Nora de Hoyos Comstock is the National and International Founder, President and CEO of Las Comadres para las Americas.

There have been local (city-based) informal groups of Comadres around the country for over 25 years. The Austin local Las Comadres was started in Austin (April 2000) by Elizabeth Garcia and Veronica Rivera as an informal face-to-face gathering of Latinas.

Nora Comstock, whose passion is building community and sharing resources, used her technological background to take the concept all these Comadres groups had in common to the next level using the Internet and the Web. Nora transformed the informal in-home gathering into the national and international Las Comadres network. Jack Bell’s technological expertise and financial support have been key to both the survival and growth of the organization. Jack Bell is Nora Comstock’s husband.

Today in cities all over the US and also internationally, Latinas are engaged in dialogues about education, employment, culture, and resources, among other things. The email connection is known as Las Comadres News Network (LCNN). Las Comadres para las Americas continues to grow on a daily basis as Latinas build personal and professional relationships with one another.

Our Vision

Las Comadres is a nationally known Latina organization empowering women to be actively engaged in the growing Latino/Hispanic communities through online and face to face networks.

Our Mission

Connecting and Empowering Latinas everywhere through community building/networking, culture, learning, and technology.

Locations

There are Las Comadres Networks in many major cities – including Boston, Chicago, New York, Austin, Dallas, Salt Lake City, Miami, Denver, Phoenix, Washington DC, Los Angeles. Once you join Las Comadres, you will be automatically added to your city or the closest major city.

How to Join

Subscription to Las Comadres is free of charge and involves subscribing to our email/discussion list, where most of our communication with each other occurs.

Comadrazos^(sm)

Comadres meet once a month for community building and informal professional networking. Attendance is optional but you won’t want to miss the fun, the food, the friendship! The COMADRAZOS^(sm) are potluck dinners in the homes of Comadres but the growing interest in Las Comadres may soon necessitate a change of venue to public meeting spaces or community centers. We are growing. Join us!

Meet our Board—meet our Board of Directors
Photo Gallery—photo galleries of Comadres and others at events hosted at Flickr
Testimonials—Comadres share their experiences on how Las Comadres have impacted their lives. We invite you to use the handy form to email us about your experience(s) with Las Comadres that you want to share with others. We would love to hear from you. Click here to Add Testimonial
FAQ—Frequently Asked Questions about Las Comadres history, how to post to Las Comadres listserv, how to prepare a message for approval, etc.
Contact Us—call us or use the handy form to email Las Comadres

…Testimonial:

Thanks to Las Comadres for sending me an email regarding job opportunites with the US Census in 2010. From that one email my husband was able to get hired as Regional Administrator and now has a permant job with the Department of Commerce, US Census. He has been able to travel to New Orleans, Las Angeles and Denver. Thanks Las Comadres for helping this family succeed.
Denise Martinez
Texas