Eva Bonilla, Lifelong Activist

From registering Texans to vote, to helping women get educations, to advocating for family caregivers, Eva Bonilla gives back to the Fort Worth community--and beyond. In honor of Women’s History Month, Eva Bonilla one of twelve Latina women being featured in the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History's "Mujeres Poderosas: The Legacy of Strong Latinas in Fort Worth" exhibit, which opens on March 4.

Growing up, Eva watched her father fight discrimination against Mexican-Americans. While attending Tarrant County College, she met her husband-to-be, Bob, and together they joined the Mexican-American Youth Organization in efforts to register Latinos to vote in Crystal City.

These experiences were formative to Eva, who's made it her mission to help be a voice for the people--and to help make people aware that help exists.

More recently, Eva has served as a state representative for the Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas and, in 2006, she helped create Latinas In Progress, a new program focusing on preparing Latinas for college. As someone who graduated from college at age 57 (after starting the new program), she says she understands the importance of a degree and the opportunities it affords.

Today, Eva is vice chair of MANA, a National Latina Organization. In January 2014, MANA partnered with AARP’s “Decide. Create. Share.” initiative, spurring her interest in becoming advocate caregivers and working with AARP.

This was an issue close to her, as she became the primary caregiver for her disabled father with a chronic disease in 2008. She struggled with this role until his death in 2010.

“I was so unprepared to be a caregiver. I had to learn how to buy his clothes, toiletries, take him to the doctor, and battled with him to eat healthy,” she says.

Eva’s daughter had a stroke around the same time, making Eva a caregiver for two people. She redesigned her entire house to make it accessible for them, adding handlebars in showers, raising toilet heights, and making it wheelchair accessible.

This experience is why AARP’s mission is to increase awareness of--and support for--family caregivers resonated with Eva.

“I see the brighter side now, and I think anyone who has a skill should teach others what they know,” Bonilla said.

Eva's impact is remarkable. She's overcome obstacles, turning hardships into strengths.

“I want everyone to take more risks and dream bigger. Failure is a necessary ingredient to success. Success is not equated to money. It’s about making a difference and impacting someone’s life--and therefore I am successful,” beams Eva.