Blog: Institute for the Future – Latina Futures 2050 Lab

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March 22, 2025

Partnership with Institute for the Future advances a futures-ready agenda for women and girls

By Sandra Baltazar Martínez

Latina Futures 2050 Lab embarked on a new partnership that focuses on future possibilities centered on the needs of women and girls.

A collaboration with the Institute for the Future (IFTF), the world’s oldest continuously running futures research and educational organization, is designed to support a multi-generational ecosystem of leaders to move beyond short-term thinking.

IFTF’s role is to help leaders become future-ready so they can sense change and are prepared to face systemic shocks, pursue unexpected opportunities, adapt quickly, and build strength to face the future. This initiative marks a significant futures-focused collaboration centered on Latinas, providing an opportunity for both IFTF and Latina Futures to challenge narrow views on the direction and magnitude of Latina leadership and agency.

Latina Futures team participates in a group activity led by Institute for the Future's Rachel Hatch031325 — Latina Futures team participates in a group activity led by Institute for the Future’s Rachel Hatch.

To kick off the collaboration, IFTF led a two-day retreat with Latina Futures staff and partners from March 12-13. In their welcome address, Latina Futures cofounders Sonja Diaz and Veronica Terriquez said they already have a team that can anticipate systematic shifts, understand impacts, and innately care about the betterment of Latinas in California and beyond. Learning new tools and skills will only enhance the team’s work, they said.

Nathalie Lopez, IFTF’s research manager agreed. “Futures thinking is about recognizing that the future isn’t set — it’s shaped by the choices we make today,” Lopez said. “My hope is that the Latina Futures 2050 Lab becomes a space where Latinas can pause, explore alternative possibilities and design futures shaped by dignity, joy, and community, not just by the crises of the moment.”

During the retreat, Lopez and Rachel Hatch, IFTF’s chief operating officer, facilitated interactive workshops that underscored the nuance that guides our understanding of the future; Latina staff and collaborators interrogated the complex way humans approach strategic foresight. For the past 55 years, IFTF has been working with cross-sector industries to equip organizations such as Latina Futures with tools that build collaborative processes, custom research, and mindsets used to anticipate future possibilities.

Institute for the Future offered a card game, allowing participants to narrate their own vision for an equitable future031325 — Institute for the Future offered a card game, allowing participants to narrate their own vision for an equitable future.

Research by IFTF’s executive director, Marina Gorbis notes that futures thinking cannot begin without a genuine understanding of the past. The interdisciplinary Latina Futures team has experience in understanding history, as well as deep commitment to ensuring women and girls are integral drivers of change.

Marcia Quiñones, Latina Futures advisor and philanthropic leader, said she applauds the collaboration and intentional investment in democratizing foresight skills across the Latina power-building ecosystem.

“Kudos to the leaders of Latina Futures and Institute for the Future in harnessing this historical moment to bring together two impactful forces — Latinas and futures thinking,” Quiñones said. “Together we explored an intersectional Latina vision for the future, shared our takes on the signals that indicate where our futures are heading, and began to interrogate how we can integrate foresight tools and methodology to create our own future and build our legacy for generations to come.”