The Dolores Huerta Effect: Bridging Cultures. Changing Laws.
Building Latino Support for California’s Historic End of Life Option Act
I first met Dolores Huerta while covering healthcare and social justice issues as a reporter for La Opinión.
Years later, as Communications Director at Compassion & Choices, I recognized the importance of trusted Latino leadership in advancing a complex and deeply personal healthcare conversation.
Passing California’s End of Life Option Act required more than a legislative strategy — it required a bilingual communications strategy that could engage diverse communities, address cultural concerns, counter misinformation, and elevate the voices of those most impacted.
I recruited Dolores Huerta, the Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient and nationally recognized civil rights and labor leader, to support the medical aid-in-dying movement — first as a statewide advocate and later as a national spokesperson — and worked side-by-side with her for 11 years as her communications strategist.
I built bilingual media and advocacy strategies that elevated Dolores’ leadership across California and nationally. I developed and drafted English- and Spanish-language editorials with Dolores' input and approval, ensuring her voice and perspective were reflected in communications that engaged Latino communities.
I prepared her for media interviews, legislative hearings, public events, and legislative visits; traveled with her during advocacy efforts; and developed storytelling and public education campaigns that expanded understanding of end-of-life options nationwide.
Dolores’ decades of leadership in the Latino community, commitment to social justice, and trusted relationships with elected officials made her a powerful messenger at a critical moment in the campaign.
Having lost her mother to cancer decades earlier, Dolores brought a deeply personal connection to the issue — one rooted in family, shared experiences, and the importance of familia.
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With Dolores Huerta after receiving the Dolores Huerta Mission and Vision Award in Sacramento, recognizing her leadership in advancing end-of-life care and ensuring Latino communities have a voice in healthcare conversations
The Challenge
The Strategy
Dolores uses her trusted voice and personal story to help build understanding and support for end-of-life options among California communities. Photo by: Patricia A. González-Portillo
After nearly three decades of unsuccessful legislative efforts, California faced a historic challenge: building broad public understanding and support for medical aid in dying among one of the nation’s most diverse populations.
Latino communities represented a critical constituency. The campaign needed to address cultural concerns, counter misinformation, and build trust around a deeply personal healthcare issue.
Success required more than policy advocacy — it required a bilingual communications strategy I created and led, grounded in trusted messengers, culturally relevant storytelling, and personal experiences.
Passing California’s End of Life Option Act required more than a legislative strategy — it required a communications strategy built on trusted messengers, culturally relevant storytelling, and personal experiences.
I built and led a bilingual Latino communications strategy designed to expand understanding, engage communities, and transform a complex policy debate into a human conversation.
The strategy focused on identifying trusted messengers, shaping culturally relevant narratives, and ensuring that directly impacted voices were part of the public discussion.
Key elements included:
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Recruiting Dolores Huerta as a trusted messenger to engage Latino communities and policymakers
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Developing bilingual messaging that addressed cultural concerns and misinformation
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Leading California bilingual media relations and developing strategic relationships with Spanish-language and mainstream media outlets, while collaborating with the national team on broader media efforts
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Elevating patients, families, and directly impacted storytellers to humanize the issue
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Preparing spokespeople for media interviews, legislative advocacy, and public events
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Creating communications materials that helped shift public understanding of medical aid in dying
The Impact
The bilingual communications strategy helped build understanding and support for California’s End of Life Option Act among diverse communities and contributed to the advancement of historic legislation after nearly three decades of unsuccessful efforts.
The strategy helped:
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Build Latino support that was critical to passage of California’s End of Life Option Act
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Generate national and Spanish-language media coverage, including more than 300 columns, editorials, and opinion pieces
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Scaled the bilingual communications strategy nationally through Dolores Huerta’s “End of Life Options FOR ALL” campaign, a multi-state bilingual education campaign that reached Latino communities in New Mexico, Nevada, New Jersey, and New York.
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Support communications through legislative and legal challenges until permanent enactment in 2025
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Help advance similar legislation in seven additional states
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Create a communications model for engaging diverse communities around complex healthcare issues