From the Valley, For the Valley

In the San Luis Valley, comunidad has always meant showing up for one another. It means roots that run deep, families that work hard, and neighbors who know that when one person rises, the whole valley does too.

That belief is at the heart of a partnership between Delta Dental of Colorado and the Latin American Educational Foundation.

Delta Dental of Colorado and LAEF’s Partnership

In January 2023, Delta Dental of Colorado invested $225,000 over three years to help LAEF cultivate oral health career pathways in the San Luis Valley, creating new opportunities for students to explore careers in dentistry, dental hygiene, and healthcare. Today, that investment is already bearing fruit. This spring, the first cohort of scholars supported through the initiative is graduating, including one remarkable student from the University of Colorado Denver who is preparing to fill a great need in San Luis Valley.

A Scholar’s Dream of Becoming a Dental Hygienist

Growing up in Alamosa, Hiliana Baroz always saw oral healthcare as more than a career. In her family, it was a way to serve the community.

Her great-uncle was a dentist. Inspired by his work, Hiliana’s aunt later became a dental hygienist. Growing up, Hiliana listened to her aunt’s stories about her patients and the impact she was making through her work. Those stories stayed with Hiliana. They helped her imagine a future she could see herself in too.

“I don't know where I would’ve ended up if I didn't get the LAEF Delta Dental of Colorado scholarship,” said Hiliana. Despite coming from a family of dentists, she is the first in her immediate family to go to college. She has two younger siblings whom she says are also interested in pursuing dental healthcare. 

“The valley is all I’ve known,” she said. “Being able to see things out of the valley and grow as a person is something I’m so grateful for.”  

LAEF’s deep roots and authentic connection to Latino and rural communities help identify students who already carry the passion, talent, and desire to give back. 

Delta Dental’s commitment to addressing Colorado’s oral healthcare workforce shortage helps create the opportunities and resources to move those students forward.

Together, that partnership is helping students like Hiliana become the difference the Valley has needed for years.

The Need For Dental Healthcare Professionals in The Valley

The need is real and urgent. Across Colorado, access to oral healthcare remains uneven, especially in rural communities. Fifty of Colorado’s 64 counties are designated as geographic or low-income Dental Health Professional Shortage Areas. In many rural regions, residents may travel long distances just to see a provider.

The San Luis Valley faces some of the sharpest disparities. More than three in ten residents in the region report fair or poor oral health, among the highest rates in the state.

And for many Latino families, another gap remains: seeing providers who understand their language, culture, and lived experience.

That is why this work matters.

LAEF has long believed talent lives everywhere, even where opportunity does not. One in three LAEF scholars come from rural Colorado, a reflection of intentional efforts to invest beyond the Front Range and into communities too often overlooked.

LAEF’s Promise in San Luis Valley

That investment goes beyond scholarships. Last year, LAEF funded a two-day educational field trip to Colorado Springs, where students explored a dental program, met professionals in the field, and saw firsthand what their futures could look like. Sometimes possibility begins with a bus ride, a campus tour, and the moment a student realizes, I belong here too.

For students like Hiliana, these types of opportunities are life-changing.

The story is also personal for LAEF President and CEO Nick Lopez, whose family ties to the San Luis Valley stretch back generations.

“We are as committed to the San Luis Valley as we are to the Denver metro area,” Lopez said. So much so that in 2025 LAEF opened an office in the San Luis Valley and is proud to have a full-time staff member in Alamosa. 

“Culturally and historically, it’s important for LAEF to have a presence there,” said Lopez. 

Because of the program’s early success, Delta Dental of Colorado has renewed its commitment for another three years, bringing its total investment in LAEF’s San Luis Valley work to $445,000.

That kind of support does more than fund programs. It changes trajectories.

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