Celebrating Erika Prosper Nirenberg with Inaugural Madrina Fiesta Medal

When we dreamed up the 2025 Madrina Project Fiesta Medal, we knew it needed to be something truly special — something that would share the heart of The Madrina Project and the work we pour into our San Antonio community every day.

There was no one more fitting to inspire our very first Fiesta medal than our beloved First Lady of San Antonio, Erika Prosper Nirenberg — our Madrina since we first sat over chalupas back in 2015 and dreamed out loud about what could be.

Truly, what better way to honor her than by making her our inaugural medal, and celebrating her final Fiesta as First Lady in a way that captures just how much she has meant to us?

From the early days of our mission — when we were still known as Significant U — Erika believed in us. She believed in a vision where every girl mattered, where every young woman deserved the reminder that she was worthy, powerful, and seen.

Before we had resources, before we had recognition, we had Erika’s unwavering support.

She didn’t just see our heart — she nurtured it. She breathed encouragement into our work and gifted us her powerful circle of women, who became champions and cheerleaders for The Madrina Project when we needed them most.

But Erika’s connection to our mission runs even deeper. As beautifully shared by Ken Rodriguez in the San Antonio Report, Erika’s own story began in the fields of the Texas Panhandle, where she worked alongside her family as a migrant farmworker at just seven years old. Her childhood was shaped by sacrifice, perseverance, and a relentless belief that education could open new doors. When her stepfather made the selfless decision to pull her from the fields so she could focus on school, it sparked a journey that would carry her from the fields to the University of Texas, the University of Pennsylvania (where she met Ron), to leadership at H-E-B, and finally to becoming our city’s First Lady.

She is, in every way, a true Madrina — a godmother figure who lifts others up quietly but powerfully, who uses her voice to open doors for others, and who reminds us that leadership is always rooted in service, love, and humility.

She shares her story not to spotlight herself, but so that girls and women like her can see themselves reflected in her boldness and know that their dreams, too, are within reach.

This year’s medal, titled "First & Final Fiesta," features a custom Lotería-style portrait of Erika, vibrantly illustrated by Brenda Cavalcanti and lovingly commissioned by The Madrina Project. It’s our way of saying thank you — for her heart, her service, her sisterhood — and for reminding us all that one life, lived with purpose, can ripple out and change entire communities.

To me, to all of us, to the immigrant community, and to everyone blessed enough to cross her path — Erika Prosper Nirenberg will forever be our Madrina and our favorite First Lady.

When you purchase the 2025 Madrina Project medal, you’re not just collecting a piece of Fiesta memorabilia. You are honoring a woman who has championed our girls, invested in our dreams, and inspired generations of difference-makers.

💖 All proceeds go directly to The Madrina Project’s mission of empowering young women through access to mentorship, education, and transformational experiences.

🎉 Let’s celebrate Erika Prosper Nirenberg the Madrina way — with gratitude, with joy, and with action.

👉 Buy your medal today! Click here to purchase now!

Let’s make this a Final Fiesta to remember!

(Special thanks to journalist Ken Rodriguez and the San Antonio Report for chronicling Erika’s powerful story.) #FirstAndFinalFiesta #TheMadrinaProjectMedal #SanAntonioTX #ErikaProsperNirenberg