Diali came to the United States when she was 11 years old.
It never occurred to her that she’d be an honored guest at the White House just 15 years later.
She was taken by surprise when she learned that she had been named a Champion of Change, through a White House program that honors ordinary Americans doing extraordinary things in their communities. She’s also quick to share credit with the many other people who are leading important community initiatives in Arizona. But each of those other leaders, and anyone who knew Diali’s story, probably wasn’t as surprised as she was.
Before she had even graduated from high school, Diali was on the air with a community radio show discussing local events and issues. Within a few years, she was taking action off the air as well, leading a nonprofit that today has already given nearly $50,000 in scholarships to undocumented students. Her activism went hand-in-hand with her own studies as she graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in Nonprofit Leadership.
Like OFA volunteers all over the country, Diali played an important part in the success of the first open enrollment period after the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplace opened. For Diali, though, it was also the first step of her professional organizing career. After graduation, she started with Planned Parenthood, and immediately got to work helping her community get covered.
Diali came to OFA to develop her digital content production skills, and spent the inaugural OFA Professional Fellowship learning new skills and best practices for executing successful digital issue campaigns. As she continues her work at Planned Parenthood, she’s looking at expanded digital responsibilities as the next step in her career.
If Diali’s career path sounds familiar, the OFA Professional Fellowship might be right for you.
Applications for 2015 classes have closed, but you can be among the first to hear about our programs in 2016.
