CAFE’s Alma Chacón has been a stalwart champion for those left behind
Alma Chacón has spent her life making sure people who feel invisible are seen, heard and valued. That mission began with a painful memory from first grade.
As a non-English-speaking student in Lynden, Chacón remembers being kept in the hallway instead of the classroom.
“I don’t know if it was one hour or one day, but to me it felt like my whole first-grade year I was out in the hall,” she recalled. “What I remember is everyone else was inside learning, and I’m sitting out in the hall being punished, for whatever reason.”
Whether her memory reflects hours, days or simply how deeply the experience affected her, the feeling has never left.
Instead of allowing that experience to define her, Chacón used it to shape her life’s work. She has dedicated her career to ensuring that children and families are treated with dignity and compassion, first as an educator and later as co-founder of CAFE — Community for the Advancement of Family Education.
Chacón is one of four local participants in this year’s Elder Speak program presented by the Ripple Foundation. Fellow participants include former pastor and mental health counselor Jim Caulkins, artist and educator Terry Valdez, and adventurer Tina Riemen.
Born in Mexico, Chacón immigrated to the United States with her family when she was seven years old. An uncle was already farming in Whatcom County, and she still marvels at how he managed to communicate despite speaking very little English. Somehow, language barriers seemed less daunting among farmers than they did in the classroom.
At home, Chacón and her siblings spoke Spanish. At school, they learned English. She remembers only a handful of Latino families living in Lynden during those years.
Although her first-grade experience was painful, Chacón says the rest of her education was largely positive. She and her siblings worked on the family farm, leaving little time for sports or extracurricular activities, but there was always a lingering question in the back of her mind about whether she truly belonged.
“I never thought living a healthy, happy life would be possible,” she told me.
That outlook began to change because of people who saw potential in her before she saw it in herself.
An elementary school librarian encouraged her. Later, Lynden High School Spanish teacher Jack Lambert invited Alma and her sister to demonstrate the proper pronunciation of Spanish words for the class.
“It was the first time I felt valued in school,” Chacón said.
By then, she had mastered English and become a straight-A student. Those experiences inspired her to pursue a career in education.
Life outside school was far more difficult. Chacón married at 18, spending 14 years in a troubled marriage that eventually ended in divorce. Later she reconnected with Jorge Chacón, and the two have built both a life together and a remarkable legacy of service.
Jorge, an educator who later became a mental health counselor, shared Alma’s passion for helping others.
One lesson Alma carried forward from every hardship was simple but powerful. “We decide who we want to be, what we want to be, and we can’t let our adversities define who we are,” she said.
She began her career as a paraeducator in the Lynden School District before earning her administrative credentials. When an opportunity opened in the Wenatchee School District, Alma and Jorge moved to the Valley.
There they founded CAFE to help Spanish-speaking families connect with schools, services and the broader community. At the time, resources were scarce. Over the years, however, CAFE evolved far beyond its original mission.
Today, the organization serves people from all backgrounds.
Its programs help children learn English, introduce young people to technology, connect individuals struggling with substance use disorders to recovery coaches, and provide families with resources that help them thrive.
When wildfires threatened communities, CAFE became a trusted source of information for residents who might otherwise have been left out of emergency communications. During the COVID-19 pandemic, its reach across Chelan, Douglas, Okanogan and Grant counties made it possible to deliver critical health information and resources to thousands of people.
Along the way, Alma and Jorge also founded Northwest Family Services, expanding access to culturally responsive mental health care.
Today, daughter Tona Chacón serves as executive director while Alma and Jorge remain actively involved.
What impresses me most about CAFE is that it has grown beyond serving one community. The organization has become a bridge across racial, economic and political lines, identifying unmet needs and bringing people together to solve them.
That has always been Alma Chacón’s vision. Her life’s work has been about fostering collaboration, strengthening relationships and building communities where everyone feels they belong.
For someone who once sat alone outside a classroom wondering why she wasn’t allowed inside, that’s an extraordinary legacy.
And it’s one our community is fortunate to share.
