Influential Women Recognizes Gabriela Beatriz Peden: Building Systems Where Children, Families, And Communities Thrive

REDMOND, OR, UNITED STATES, October 14, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Executive Director of Better Together Central Oregon Brings Humility, Systems Thinking, and Partnership-Driven Leadership to Early Learning and Family Well-Being

Redmond, Oregon – Gabriela Beatriz Peden is the Executive Director of Better Together Central Oregon, a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening the systems that support early learning, youth development, and family well-being across the region. In her role, she leads cross-sector collaboration among educators, community organizations, and family partners to improve school readiness and expand equitable access to opportunity. Her work focuses especially on youth and families facing systemic barriers. Rather than delivering a single program, she helps align the many people and organizations whose combined efforts shape a child’s early years. It is work that calls for patience, trust, and a clear belief in what communities can accomplish together.

Gabriela began her career in the nonprofit and education space in 2019 as a community program coordinator focused on early childhood initiatives. Over time, she advanced into leadership roles, first as Program Director and then as Executive Director in March 2024. Her academic background in early childhood education, including an associate degree in the field, is complemented by a certificate in equity, diversity, and inclusion. She recently graduated from the Bend Chamber’s NextUp Leadership Program, a five-month experience in which she learned alongside a cohort of leaders and reflected on the kind of leader she wants to be. Her memberships include StriveTogether, and she brings a systems-oriented approach to building frameworks that connect education, social services, and community-driven solutions.

Throughout her leadership journey, Gabriela has focused on capacity building, grant writing, and strengthening organizational visibility in a post-pandemic landscape. As one of a small number of Latina executive directors in the region leading a non-culturally specific organization, she emphasizes inclusive leadership, collective impact, and partnership-driven strategies. She believes that lasting impact happens when organizations move beyond working in isolation and instead share leadership, listen to community voice, and align around common goals. Her fluency in Spanish further strengthens her ability to connect with the families and partners she serves.

Gabriela attributes her success to the people around her. She credits a strong support system of family and close friends for encouraging her throughout her journey. Professionally, she intentionally surrounds herself with people who know more than she does in different areas, because she sees that as the surest path to growth. She is comfortable asking questions, asking for help, and admitting when she does not know something. She does not need to be the smartest person in the room, but she does want to be the one who is always learning. Some of her most valuable lessons have come from mentors, colleagues, her own staff, community members, and partners across many organizations. Staying humble, leading with empathy, and remaining curious have been central to her progress.

The best career advice Gabriela has received is to always lead with humility. She was taught never to let titles, positions, or money define how she treats people, since those things are temporary. What lasts, she believes, is character, relationships, and the impact a person has on others. That lesson has become the foundation of her leadership style, and it informs her conviction that every person deserves to be seen, heard, and valued regardless of role. She also believes confidence is not something a person finds but something built through hard conversations, uncertain decisions, and the choice to keep moving forward.

Gabriela has often been the youngest person in the room, the only Latina, or the only person with her particular perspective. She has learned that discomfort does not mean a person does not belong, and that it can be a sign of opening doors that were not always open before. She reminds emerging leaders that they do not need all the answers to be effective. Their role is to ask thoughtful questions, listen deeply, and bring together the people whose knowledge and experience can help solve complex problems. In her view, leadership is about creating the conditions where the best answers can emerge.

Gabriela sees one of the biggest challenges in her field as funding the work that happens between the outcomes people want to see. Funders often prefer to invest in direct services or measurable results, which matter greatly, but it is far harder to secure support for the backbone work that makes those outcomes possible. Convening partners, building trust, facilitating collaboration, engaging community members, and coordinating systems all require time, skilled leadership, and sustained investment. At the same time, she sees this as a major opportunity. More communities now recognize that no single organization can solve complex challenges alone, and she believes investment in collaboration and shared leadership produces solutions that are stronger and more sustainable.

Family, service, and teamwork are the core values that guide Gabriela in both her professional and personal life. Family is the foundation of her support system and a guiding influence in her decisions. Service shapes how she approaches her work, and teamwork reflects her belief that the best results come through collaboration, shared responsibility, and mutual respect. These values are visible in the way she leads Better Together Central Oregon and in her determination to carry the lessons of her leadership training forward in service of children, families, and communities.

Gabriela’s work is dedicated to creating sustainable ecosystems where children, families, and communities can thrive together. By pairing humility with a systems-level view of change, she shows how collaborative leadership can reshape the conditions in which young children grow up. Her leadership offers a model of what is possible when humility and partnership guide the way. Gabriela Beatriz Peden continues to prove that when organizations share leadership and listen to community voice, the impact reaches far beyond any one program.

Learn More about Gabriela Beatriz Peden:

Through her Influential Women profile: https://influentialwomen.com/connect/gabriela-peden

Influential Women

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