Texas Border Business
MERCEDES, Texas – Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement (VIDA) is proud to announce that its program, Avanza RGV: Accelerating Latino Prosperity through Education & Career Pathways, has been named a 2025 Example of Excelencia at the Community-Based Organization level by Excelencia in Education, the nation’s leading authority on advancing Latino talent and strengthening workforce and civic leadership.
This prestigious recognition highlights VIDA’s evidence-based approach to improving student success in higher education and fostering pathways to economic mobility for Latino and underserved communities in the Rio Grande Valley. VIDA was selected from more than 2,500 program submissions nationwide and is one of just four programs recognized across associate, baccalaureate, graduate, and community-based organization levels.
Founded in 1995, VIDA addresses high unemployment and workforce skills gaps through a holistic, worker-centered model. Participants receive skills assessments, tailored academic advising, career counseling, soft skills training, financial assistance, and job placement support, along with follow-up and employment tracking for three years post-graduation. In 2025 alone, VIDA served 879 students with a 98% persistence rate, more than 80% of whom were first-generation college students, and over half were parents raising children while simultaneously pursuing their educational goals.
“Being named a 2025 Example of Excelencia is a tremendous honor for VIDA,” said Felida Villarreal, President & CEO of VIDA. “This recognition validates our holistic approach that combines wraparound support services with innovative educational and career pathways. We remain committed to fostering economic prosperity in our underserved Latino communities by removing barriers to higher education and creating sustainable pathways to family-sustaining careers.”
The 2025 Examples of Excelencia programs were announced during Celebración de Excelencia, part of Excelencia’s annual Fall Convening in Washington D.C., which convenes leaders from higher education, philanthropy, policy, and business to promote excellence and grow Latino talent nationwide. VIDA joins other 2025 honorees, including programs at Cerritos College, California State University Long Beach, and University of Illinois Chicago.
Programmatic details about all the finalists will be featured in Excelencia’s Growing What Works Database — the nation’s only online and searchable database designed for institutional leaders, funders, policymakers, and others seeking evidence-based practices that improve opportunities and outcomes for Latino, and all, students in higher education.
To see the full list of the 2025 Examples of Excelencia finalists, visit: EdExcelencia.org/what-works-examples-excelencia/examples-excelencia-finalists.
