Power Station

Latino Economic Development Center was born out of the Mount Pleasant riots, an historic event in Washington DC ignited in 1991 by police violence and the city’s failure to meet the pressing needs of thousands of newly arrived Salvadorian civil war refugees. Since then, LEDC has been at the forefront of equipping Latino communities in DC, Maryland and Virginia with the knowledge and resources needed to create wealth through home ownership and entrepreneurship. Now, in another historic moment, the federal takeover of DC, LEDC is expanding its services into rural regions with immigrant populations and is guiding Latino federal workers who have lost their jobs and are exploring entrepreneurship by necessity. It is doing so while navigating the targeting, demonization and detention of community members and staff. Emi Reyes, my guest on this week’s episode of Power Station, is the most inspiring of nonprofit leaders. As the daughter of Salvadorian restaurant owners, she knows first-hand about the barriers immigran