Remembering Ana..
Her story
Ana was born in El Salvador and came to the United States with a dream and a strong desire to build a better life.
She didn’t speak English.
She learned it.
She studied Construction Management and built a career in the construction industry. She worked as a supervisor for a company in Northern Virginia, managing large groups of men.
Ana was one of those women who did not give up easily.
She came to Latinas in Construction because she wanted to obtain her Virginia Class A General Contractor’s license.
She spent many days with us studying for each of the three exams. When it was time to prepare again for the final exam, she came back.
She studied Blueprint Reading with us. She already knew how to read plans, but she wanted to know more. She wanted to understand the things she had not been able to answer on her previous exam.
Ana wanted to learn. She wanted to grow. She wanted to move forward.
But above all, she wanted to help.
She told us that she wanted to support other women in construction, share what she had learned, and open doors for other women who, like her, were trying to build a better future.
Ana had dreams.
And she had so much ahead of her.
At the end of August 2025, those dreams were brutally interrupted.
One night, Ana arrived at the hospital unconscious and barely had a pulse. Doctors determined that she had suffered brain damage consistent with having gone several minutes without receiving air.
The person who called the ambulance, an American man Ana had been dating, stated that he had squeezed her neck for so long that even he described that moment as “forever.”
He was arrested at the scene.
Ana remained connected to a life-support machine for five days.
She died during the first week of September 2025.
Ana’s dreams died with her.Her laughter.Her plans.Her desire to help other women.
And something inside all of us broke with her.
That day, we lost a part of the innocence with which we began Latinas in Construction.
We started this organization believing that our work was to teach a profession, help women find opportunities, and build careers.
But Ana taught us, in the most painful way, that our purpose is much greater.
Because a woman who learns a trade doesn’t just learn how to work.
She learns that she has choices.
A woman who earns a license doesn’t just earn a credential.
She gains independence.
A woman who can earn her own income doesn’t just gain the ability to pay her bills.
She gains the ability to make decisions about her own life.
And a woman who has knowledge, tools, work, income, and a community supporting her is more likely to be able to say:
“I will not accept this.”
That is why we continue.
We continue teaching.
We continue preparing women.
We continue building opportunities.
We continue talking about domestic violence, even when it is uncomfortable.
We continue learning to listen.
We continue remembering that behind every woman there may be a story we know nothing about.
And we continue fighting so that no woman ever has to choose between her safety and her future.
Ana was not able to fulfill her dreams.
But we can help other women fulfill theirs.
That is our commitment.
That is our work.
That is our purpose.
For Ana.For the women who are here.And for the women who are still searching for a path to build an independent, safe, and dignified life.Ana will always live in our memory.And her dream of helping other women will live on through our purpose.
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