How One Woman Supports Hispanic Ministries: GIVEN Mentor Janeth Chavez
“Let me take advantage of my native language, Spanish (the language of God and the angels), to get more deeply into the meaning of beatitude. In Spanish the word is translated bienaventuranza, literally ‘good adventure to you.’ We all know that adventure means risk, the courage to defy the odds, the refusal to play it safe.” – Saint Oscar Romero
In the Gospel of Matthew, Christ commissions the disciples to:
“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
GIVEN Mentor, Janeth Chavez, Senior Director of Hispanic Initiatives at ENDOW (Educating on the Nature and Dignity of Women), a Catholic women’s non-profit organization takes Christ’s commission as her personal mission. Through her work supporting Hispanic ministries, Janeth uses mentorship as a tool for evangelization to bring young women closer to Christ. She says:
“What I enjoy most is helping women unpack their God-given gifts and talents so they can serve others more fully. This mutual accompaniment becomes a shared journey of friendship, faith, and joy; an encounter that invites a response and bears witness to our identity in Christ.”
Janeth was born in Mexico and raised in Denver, Colorado. She holds a degree in Marketing and Management and has received formation from In Ipso Institute, McGrath Institute for Church Life, La Academia Latinoamericana de Líderes Católicos, and the Inscape Center for Personal Vocation. Janeth is a mother of one adult daughter, who sparked her reversion to the Catholic faith.
Since 2019, Janeth has mentored Hispanic women and parish leaders through ENDOW. In this role, she leads all Spanish-language programs and supports women’s groups by guiding them as they form and flourish. Supporting Hispanic ministries is an important aspect of both Janeth’s career and vocation. She elaborates:
“We have to meet people where they are. I know firsthand what it’s like to live without Christ and the negative impact that a lack of mentorship and resources can have. My desire in everything I do, whether through a conversation, presentation, or the creation of a bilingual resource, is to help women deepen their faith, restore their relationship with Christ, or invite Him into their lives for the first time.”
Most recently, she created Endow’s Bilingual Quinceañera Program. In Latin American culture, a Quinceañera is the coming-of-age celebration for young women when they reach their fifteenth birthday. In this eight-week bilingual formation program, conducted in both Spanish and English, young women preparing for their Quinceañera delve into a study that helps them understand their identities as daughters of God.
Janeth has been a mentor and action plan strategist with GIVEN since 2021. Throughout this time, she has mentored young women from the United States, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Nicaragua, and the Philippines. Janeth reflects on one mentee’s Action Plan:
“One mentee from Paraguay developed a program for women to build lives of purpose, drawing on the richness of her life experience, education, and Catholic faith. It was amazing to experience the launch with her and the response it received. What inspired me most was her willingness to put her gifts and talents at the service of women’s flourishing and her openness to the ways the Lord was working through her.”
Mentoring through GIVEN has allowed Janeth to offer authentic accompaniment and the opportunity to encounter many sacred stories. Janeth explains:
“Mentoring has helped me grow in so many ways, especially in how I receive and give. It’s been an honor to welcome each mentee as a spiritual daughter, someone I can pray for, encourage, cheer on, and support as she navigates life while developing her GIVEN Action Plan. It’s so important to have someone close who can remind you who you are, affirm what is true, and help you reject the lies that often show up to distract you.”
Janeth has also noticed the unique way that the GIVEN Institute supports bilingual participants find their place:
“GIVEN equips women to go out and serve those around them. By offering bilingual mentees the opportunity to receive mentorship from women with experience in Hispanic Ministry or in areas they want to serve, they feel understood and encouraged to pursue their Action Plan.”
Janeth recently attended the 2026 GIVEN Forum at The Catholic University of America. She also noted the GIVEN Institute’s growing international presence:
“There was something truly beautiful about being surrounded by Catholic women from diverse backgrounds, all united by a desire to serve. I also loved learning that 20 other countries were represented.”
The GIVEN Institute’s patron saint is Our Lady of Guadalupe and at every Closing Mass, the Forum participants convene for the commissioning ceremony where they place a rose in front of an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the “Mother of the Americas.” Please pray for the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe as Janeth and her new mentees begin the Year of Accompaniment, where she will help a GIVEN alumna develop and enact her Action Plan!