Rony Baltazar-Lopez began his service as an advocate for immigrants at a tender age.
Rony was born and raised in Milford, the son of a Mexican mother and Guatemalan father. As a child, Rony helped his parents navigate health-care and school systems, translating and advocating for them. This is the genesis of Rony’s passion for helping minorities in the community.
After graduating from Milford High School in 2013, Rony completed an Associate Degree and went on to graduate with a B.A. in Political Science and Government from the University of Delaware in 2017.
Rony first experienced the workings of government during internships in the Delaware Legislature and worked with Delaware Gov. Jack Markell and Delaware U.S. Sen. Tom Carper in Washington, D.C. These experiences gave him an understanding of the political world and the importance of connection in politics.
His first job as the Hispanic Outreach Coordinator with the National Alliance for Mental Illness focused on helping Latino families access information and help for their mental health needs. In late 2019, Rony became a legislative assistant and then a correspondent working with Senator Carper in the U. S. Senate. He worked closely with Senator Carper on issues of foreign policy and immigration. In 2020, he took the position of Public Information Officer for Delaware’s Attorney General Kathleen Jennings in the Delaware Department of Justice.
Rony made history in 2019 when he became the first Hispanic to serve on the Milford school board. He was elected to the Milford School Board in July. Soon after his election, he became the Vice President to the board. Rony said that the board significantly impacts student success through approval of curricula and funding support. He is focused on insuring that every student has an equal opportunity to succeed academically and in life. He feels that, “it is so important for people of color to be in positions where they have a say about what happens in their community.”
“My mother always said, ‘Has el bien no mires a quien.’ That roughly translates to ‘Do good without noticing who you are doing it for,’” Rony said. “I dedicate my work to doing things that will help minorities live a better life. I want others also to have the opportunities to grow, just like my family did.”
Rony’s parents are his biggest inspirations. Seeing the sacrifices they made drives Rony to grow professionally and work for the community. Rony also had a high school teacher who advocated for Rony to get into advanced courses. Rony is thankful because the teacher helped him believe he could succeed. When he graduated from high school, Rony had completed a whole semester of college classes.
Rony joined La Colectiva in late 2019. He was excited to work with leaders to advocate for the Latino community. He was inspired by the work of La Colectiva to engage the Latino families, nonprofits and other community organizations to design collaborative approaches to address the most critical community needs.
Rony’s dream is for more organizations to work for the Hispanic community. Rony hopes that will occur because more agencies are trying to accomplish this. Agencies and programs that didn’t exist when Rony was younger are becoming essential to the growing immigrant population.