Everything Co-op continues its series featuring the 2025 Cooperative Innovation Awardees. In this episode, Vernon will speak with Ana Castaño, Program Manager, and Celia Alvarez, Entrepreneur Success Coordinator at Prospera. Vernon and his guests will discuss how Prospera plans to build a cooperative ecosystem, and how that ecosystem will support Latina entrepreneurs.
Prospera partners with Latina entrepreneurs to launch businesses that foster cooperation, economic independence and well-being in immigrant communities. Through our culturally based programs, Latinas access the networks, tools and capital they need to become successful business owners and powerful community leaders.
Ana Castaño is a Program Manager at Prospera and longtime cooperative leader. Her co-op journey began in 2014 as a worker-owner in a popsicle-making cooperative, and she later co-founded Luna y Sol, a childcare cooperative built on community trust and economic opportunity. Ana went on to serve as a Prospera Board member and Board President while also facilitating Prospera’s training programs. Her commitment to empowerment began in Mexico, where she taught in rural communities and later organized to defend undocumented workers. Since joining Prospera’s staff in 2023, Ana has continued to uplift immigrant women through cooperative, culturally rooted support.
Celia Alvarez is the Entrepreneur Success Coordinator at Prospera, where she supports Latina entrepreneurs and cooperative teams through coaching, training, and co-op development. Originally from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, she came to the U.S. at 19 and later earned her GED in 2017. For more than a decade, Celia has championed immigrant and family empowerment through roles with Sacred Heart Community Service, SOMOS Mayfair, Bring Me a Book, and Literacy Lab. A former worker-owner and co-op co-founder, she brings lived experience to her work. Celia joined Prospera’s staff in 2024 and continues to advance community-rooted, equitable economies.
Prospera partners with Latina entrepreneurs to launch businesses that foster cooperation, economic independence and well-being in immigrant communities. Through our culturally based programs, Latinas access the networks, tools and capital they need to become successful business owners and powerful community leaders.