About Us
Community Comadres is a women-led organization dedicated to fostering service, advocacy, and connection in the valley.
We provide a welcoming space where women can give back, access resources, and build meaningful relationships while making a difference in their communities.
Meet The Board
Priscilla Ornelas
Being the Founder of Community Comadres isn’t just a title for Priscilla It’s heart. It’s long nights, bold decisions, and a whole lot of faith.
Priscilla is deeply grateful for the women who trust her to help lead this movement along side her
PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND
Priscilla Ornelas is an Arizona-based media personality with almost 15 years of experience in broadcasting, brand building, and community engagement. Throughout her career in radio and digital media, she has built loyal audiences by creating spaces where people feel seen, heard, and connected. Her work extends beyond entertainment and she understands how to mobilize communities, spark conversation, and turn attention into action. Her expertise lies in storytelling, strategic messaging, audience development, and building brands that feel human and culturally relevant.
WHY COMMUNITY COMADRES?
Priscilla started Community Comadres for women that wanted to find their community while giving back to the community. She understands that building a nonprofit requires both heart and discipline: clear mission, strong partnerships, sustainable systems, and consistent leadership. Community Comadres is rooted in her Latina culture but it is a place for women of all backgrounds that want to help underserved communities and build up their belief in themselves. Watching women move from volunteer to leader and young girls receive scholarships that shift their trajectory is what fuels her commitment to the work. She is building more than events. She is building legacy.
WHICH COMADRE SHAPED HER?
Priscilla often says she could name dozens of comadres who have shaped her through different seasons of life. But the daily influences have been the women closest to her. Her mother, who immigrated to this country in pursuit of a better life for her kids. Her younger sister, who is autistic, reminds her daily to find joy in simplicity and to see the world through a lens of authenticity and light. And her two daughters challenge her to lead boldly, love fiercely, and build a world that offers them more access and opportunity than she had. Together, they are her daily reminder of why this work matters.
McKenna Espinoza
Our Fundraising & Sponsorship Lead.
Strategy with Soul.
McKenna blends business savvy with heart. With roots in social work and a career in commercial real estate, she understands both the language of sponsors and the power of community. She builds partnerships that protect the mission while growing the impact.
She believes in spaces where women genuinely show up for one another. Building something that strengthens both relationships and resources long term is the kind of work that lights her up.
Inspired by her children’s grandmother, Ascension “Nana Chona” Ojeda, McKenna carries forward a legacy of faith, generosity, and open door community. Service isn’t something she talks about. It’s something she lives.
We’re grateful for the perspective, connection, and heart she brings to Community Comadres.
Michele Otero
Our Event Activation & Logistics Lead and Director of Sales for Flagship Restaurant Group, Michele is the ultimate “show up and get it done” comadre. She’s built strong community relationships through years of networking and volunteering, and she believes real impact happens when you consistently step forward to serve.
Becoming a mom shaped the woman she is today and everything she does is rooted in leading by example and making her daughter proud.
From crafting nights and reality TV binges to being fully obsessed with her dog, Michele brings heart, balance, and serious execution energy to Community Comadres.
Andrea Hernández
Our Volunteer & Community Engagement Lead and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 15+ years in mental health, including serving the veteran community.
As a returning board member, she brings valuable knowledge and previously helped oversee our scholarship and Community Quinceañera application process.
What excites her most about Community Comadres is creating visible leadership for young girls and women who share similar backgrounds. Representation matters. When they see women who look like them stepping into spaces of leadership and service, it expands what feels possible.
Andrea believes it takes a village. Every woman who has shown up for her family has shaped who she is today and she lives that belief by showing up for others, too.
She’s a mother of four, married to her high school sweetheart, and intentional about preserving and celebrating Mexican culture while raising her children in a modern world
Iris Franco-Phan
Our Finance & Administrative Lead, bringing a background in nonprofit leadership, operations, and community-centered strategy to Community Comadres.
As the founder of Con Tanto Amor, she specializes in building thoughtful systems that align vision with execution ensuring that strategy, partnerships, and programming truly serve the people at the heart of the mission.
What excites her most about Community Comadres is the intention behind it: creating space where women feel seen, supported, and empowered.
She believes impact should be both meaningful and sustainable not just powerful in the moment, but built to last.
Outside of board life, Iris recharges through movement, values present time with her two children, and loves traveling and trying new restaurants with her husband 🤍
Esmeralda Castillo
Our Social Media and Communications Lead for Community Comadres.
Daughter of hardworking immigrants and a proud first generation professional, Esmeralda leads with resilience, cultural pride, and deep accountability to her community.
She works in community engagement with the City of Phoenix, building relationships and creating accessible spaces for dialogue. She also serves as Arizona State ACT SO Chair for the NAACP, Communications Chair for the Phoenix Hispanic Network Board, and is a proud Valley Leadership graduate.
She believes storytelling is healing.
Creativity is grounding.
Community is power.
Outside of work, she recharges through reading, singing, writing, dancing, and exploring new food spots with people she loves.
For her, Community Comadres is more than a network. It is a space where women feel seen, valued, and empowered.