Gladys Vega, President and CEO of La Colaborativa in Massachusetts, will receive Grantmakers In Health’s 2026 Andy Hyman Award for Advocacy. The award pays tribute to advocacy grantees who embody a commitment to principled action, passionate leadership to advance social change, and dedication to making progress in policy and practice despite challenging political environments. Ms. Vega was nominated by Lily Sargeant of the Wagner Foundation, with support from Jacquie Anderson of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation and Ann Hwang from Atrius Health Equity Foundation. The award will be presented to Ms. Vega at the 2026 GIH Annual Conference on Health Philanthropy in Baltimore, Maryland.
Ms. Vega has been with La Colaborativa since 1990, becoming CEO in 2006 and distinguishing herself as one of Chelsea, Massachusetts’ most trusted and effective community leaders. Today, the impact of her leadership extends well beyond Chelsea, influencing how public health institutions and funders approach community-based care. Ms. Vega has been the central architect of La Colaborativa’s programs, initiatives, and community organizing campaigns, advancing a model of advocacy that is described as both deeply pragmatic and structurally transformative.
“Across decades of service, Gladys Vega has built more than programs or policies,” said Lily Sargeant. “She has built power, trust, and pathways for families to shape the systems that affect their lives. Even amid personal risk and public backlash, she continues to lead with clarity, generosity, and courage.”
Ms. Vega was born in Puerto Rico and came to Chelsea with her family at the age of nine. Since that time, she has made a lifelong commitment to the community in which she was raised. Being a mother of two has deepened her commitment to building a better future for families throughout the region. Ms. Vega is described as a groundbreaking community organizer and advocate, working relentlessly and fearlessly to ensure the Latinx immigrant community has a voice in determining how their needs and concerns are addressed. She believes that empowerment of the individual leads to empowerment of the community, and that social action is the vehicle an empowered community can use to achieve its goals.
Ms. Vega is recognized as one of the region’s most prominent and important community leaders, receiving citywide, statewide, and national accolades for her leadership. When the COVID-19 pandemic created overlapping public health, unemployment, housing, and hunger crises in Chelsea and surrounding areas, her leadership positioned La Colaborativa at the forefront of state and local efforts to meet the tremendous needs of Latinx residents across Massachusetts. Her advocacy earned national coverage from The Atlantic, as well as local coverage in The Boston Globe, CBSN Boston and others.
Ms. Vega’s recent awards and honors include: the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network, Boston Business Journal’s Power 50: The Movement Makers (2021), El Mundo’s 2021 Community Partner Award, the 2021 Community Captain Award from the New England Patriots and Bank of America Foundations, 2020 Bostonian of the Year from the Boston Globe, Bank of America’s 2020 Neighborhood Builder, and the Barr Foundation Fellowship in 2010.
In selecting Ms. Vega, this year’s selection committee commended the extensive results of her advocacy work, including expanded rights for immigrants, low-income families, tenants, workers, youth, and people of color across the state.