Indian Trail, North Carolina — Jessica Aguilar is an accomplished disability advocate and Co-Founder of Grupo Poder y Esperanza, a family support organization dedicated to connecting Latino families with specialists, resources, and educational materials. With a Bachelor’s in Business Administration and Economics from Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas, Jessica brings a unique combination of analytical expertise and compassionate leadership to her work in disability advocacy and family support services.
Her work is deeply personal. As the parent of twins with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including autism and ADHD, Jessica’s lived experience has shaped her mission to strengthen systems that support families navigating complex disability services. This personal perspective fuels her commitment to ensuring that families—especially within Latino communities—have access to culturally relevant guidance, trustworthy information, and meaningful advocacy support.
Since 2018, Jessica has been actively engaged in the disability field across North Carolina, participating in multiple advisory committees and providing direct referral and navigation support for families. Her scope of work includes transition-to-adulthood planning, financial management support for families, sexual education for individuals with disabilities, and access to culturally responsive resources.
Jessica is widely recognized for her hands-on approach, treating the families she serves as an extension of her own. This philosophy has helped her build strong relationships rooted in trust, empathy, and empowerment. She is known for meeting families where they are, helping them understand systems that can often feel overwhelming, and guiding them toward practical solutions that improve quality of life.
Beyond her direct advocacy work, Jessica is also recognized as a skilled leader, mentor, and connector within her field. She brings extensive experience in project management, nonprofit governance, and program development, which strengthens her ability to build and sustain impactful community initiatives. Her professional development includes multiple certifications in ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) training, sexual and reproductive health education, and community health education—each contributing to her holistic approach to family support.
Jessica attributes her success to the passion she brings to everything she does. She genuinely loves her work, and that enthusiasm drives her to create meaningful and lasting change in the communities she serves. While she navigates the challenges of ADHD, she has developed strong organizational systems and relies on structured reminders to maintain focus and consistency. She credits the combination of passion and structure as the foundation of her ability to achieve her goals and sustain her advocacy work over time.
The best career advice Jessica has ever received is to take care of herself first. She understands that she cannot give her best or effectively support others if she is not in a stable and healthy place herself. Prioritizing well-being, she emphasizes, is not optional—it is essential for long-term success, sustainability, and impact in emotionally demanding fields like disability advocacy.
For young women entering this field, Jessica encourages active involvement and intentional community-building. She advises seeking out opportunities to join or create support networks that foster collaboration, shared learning, and mutual encouragement. She also stresses the importance of ensuring that families and community members have a voice in shaping systems and policies. According to Jessica, representation is not just important—it is essential to creating services that truly meet the needs of the people they are designed to support.
One of the most pressing challenges in Jessica’s field is securing adequate resources and addressing persistent stigma and bias surrounding disability. She notes that these misconceptions often prevent society from fully recognizing the abilities, strengths, and potential of individuals with disabilities. This lack of understanding can limit access to opportunities and services. However, Jessica also sees this as a critical opportunity for growth and change. By increasing awareness and education, she believes communities can move toward more inclusive and empowering systems that reflect the true potential of every individual.
The values most important to Jessica in both her personal and professional life are honesty and integrity. She is committed to doing what is right, fulfilling her responsibilities, and maintaining trust in all of her relationships. Family is also central to everything she does. She approaches her work with the same care and dedication she would give her own family, ensuring that every client and community member feels seen, supported, and respected. For Jessica, fostering genuine human connection is just as important as achieving programmatic outcomes.
Driven by her children and her deep commitment to family-centered advocacy, Jessica continues to champion equitable access to services, challenge stigma surrounding disability, and empower parents to build strong, supportive networks of their own. Her work reflects a growing movement toward culturally responsive, inclusive systems that honor both lived experience and professional expertise.
Through her leadership at Grupo Poder y Esperanza and her ongoing advocacy efforts, Jessica Aguilar remains dedicated to building bridges between families and the systems designed to support them—ensuring that no family has to navigate the disability journey alone.
Learn More about Jessica Aguilar:
Through her Influential Women profile, https://influentialwomen.com/connect/Jessica-Aguilar or through her website, https://www.grupopoderyesperanza.com/
Influential Women
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