Esperanza Garcia Walters’ story echoes that of many local
residents: born in the neighboring community of Gilroy, she moved
to Hollister in 1988 to raise children closer to her family in a
house her brother built
– her father, sister and brother all live on the same street, a
few doors down. She has raised two children, co-manages a Hollister
Heat youth softball team with her husband, Archer, and likes
Mexican food.
Hollister – Esperanza Garcia Walters’ story echoes that of many local residents: born in the neighboring community of Gilroy, she moved to Hollister in 1988 to raise children closer to her family in a house her brother built– her father, sister and brother all live on the same street, a few doors down. She has raised two children, co-manages a Hollister Heat youth softball team with her husband, Archer, and likes Mexican food.
“Your family is important when you’re growing up,” she said. “But when you raise children, it becomes even more important. They say family gives you roots, and I wanted my kids to have that: a sense of values and connection to the world.”
All in all, a pretty quiet existence, with one small exception: Garcia Walters, 58, is the chairperson of the board for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, a volunteer position that takes an average of two or three travel days out of her week, every week.
As a child, Garcia Walters had no way of knowing where she would end up today.
“My eighth grade teacher told my parents: ‘she’s very bright, but you have to be realistic about what she will be able to do,’ because they were farm workers,” she said. “Women were limited to being secretaries, teachers, and nurses. I tried being a secretary, but I couldn’t type.”
A presentation from a nurse at a school Career Day inspired Garcia Walters to go into health care. She received her nursing diploma from the San Jose Hospital School of Nursing.
Her work as a nurse led her into the neighborhoods of her community instead of the operating room. She organized and took part in what she calls “non-traditional education” – leading youth sting operations against merchants selling tobacco to minors. She was also instrumental in organizing a support group for gay Latino men in San Jose as part of the ongoing battle against HIV/AIDS, one of the first such groups in the country.
“I think the difference I’ve made working with gay Latinos is one of my greatest accomplishments,” she said. “You take a risk when you try to deny your own behavior, who you are. We helped them recognize what it means to be open about your sexuality, and that also gave us a forum to educate them about the dangers of HIV and AIDS. Later, research from UCSF confirmed what we had been teaching them about ‘coming out’ all along.”
In the mid-80’s, Garcia Walters’ friend, Linda Williams, needed help running a new Planned Parenthood clinic in San Jose, and asked her to sit on the board of directors, knowing that she had experience with both medicine and leadership.
From there, Garcia Walters was asked to sit on other boards and committees for Planned Parenthood at the state and national levels. Her work led her all over the country. In 2000 Planned Parenthood named her Volunteer of the Year, only the third person to receive the award.
“I was really surprised,” she said. “The other two recipients had been in their 80’s, and we jokingly called it the Octogenarian Award. I assumed it was a mistake when they named me – after all, I was too young.”
Garcia Walters earned that award, in part, by heading Planned Parenthood’s Visioning Steering Committee, which shaped the Federation’s goals for 2025.
“We made a promise to defend the freedom to dream, to choose, and to live in peace with the planet,” she said. “We’re about much more than abortion, which is how many people think of us.”
Garcia Walters was named chairperson in April, and her duties include running board meetings, working with Planned Parenthood’s staff and making appearances when Planned Parenthood needs to be represented in public. Recently she attended John Roberts’ Supreme Court nomination hearings on behalf of the Federation.
“It was definitely a special opportunity,” she said. “But he (Roberts) was not willing to share honest, up-front responses to direct questions about privacy and reproductive rights. We didn’t expect him to answer ‘How would you vote on Roe v. Wade,’ nobody really did, but most people don’t understand that it was through privacy that family planning was made possible. Not necessarily just abortion, but even a single woman’s right to contraception, or sex between same-sex individuals.”
Garcia Walters’ term as chairperson lasts two years. In that time she hopes to find a new CEO for Planned Parenthood and continue to promote the organization. She does not, however, sound worried about the end of her term coming up too quickly.
“That’s the nice thing about Planned Parenthood,” she said. “There’s always something to do.”
While Garcia Walters loves to travel, for leisure as well as business – she once picked a random spot on a map and vacationed there with her family – she feels a deep connection to San Benito County.
“I’m always glad to come back home,” she said. “I have roots here, and there are many supporters of reproductive rights in this community. The people here really value independence, liberty, choice and social justice.”
Next to her crusades for Planned Parenthood, Garcia Walters says volunteering with her husband for Hollister Heat softball brings her great satisfaction.
“I get to help young, athletic women compete, whatever their ability level is,” she said. “And that’s very different from when my husband and I were growing up.”
At home, Garcia Walters is looking forward to spending more time with her husband after his impending retirement from the Valley Transportation Agency. She’d like to take up sewing again, a skill she learned when she was younger. She doesn’t plan on throwing in the towel for Planned Parenthood any time soon, though.
“I have committed myself to always making the world a better place,” she said. “And I’m very lucky, because the work I do speaks to values I hold dearly, and I get to live those values every day.”
