2025 Vision Awards

Louise Thomas, co-founder of Angel Charity for Children, Inc., is an everyday hero - an “Angel” who turned a personal tragedy into a cause that has positively impacted the lives of more than a million children throughout Pima County, Arizona. A highly respected leader, her vision, creativity, and dedication have left a lasting impact on the Tucson community and beyond. With a career spanning more than four decades in event design, nonprofit service, and community engagement, Louise has been a tireless advocate for organizations that improve the lives of children, youth, and families in Southern Arizona. 

As the founder of Events Made Special, Louise has elevated the art of bringing people together with purpose. Her talent for transforming spaces into unforgettable experiences has been matched by her generosity in donating countless hours and expertise to causes that strengthen families, foster resilience, and create opportunities for children. 

Through her leadership with Angel Charity, the organization has granted more than $33 million to 144 nonprofit projects, benefiting over 1 million children in Pima County since 1983. Highlights include paying off the mortgage of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern Arizona and supporting groundbreaking research and care at the University of Arizona Steele Children’s Research Center. 

Beyond Angel Charity, Louise has supported a wide range of community initiatives, partnering with schools, cultural organizations, and healthcare institutions to advance education, wellness, and access to resources for underserved youth and families. She is admired for her ability to inspire collaboration, mentor emerging leaders, and bring both beauty and heart to everything she touches. 

Louise embodies the values championed by Frances McClelland: service, integrity, and a lifelong commitment to improving the well-being of others. Her work demonstrates how leadership rooted in compassion can ripple outward to transform entire communities. 

Dr. Alfredo Valenzuela has spent more than four decades empowering children and families in southern Arizona through music while championing equity, resilience, and community heritage. An Army veteran and a first-generation college graduate, he began his teaching career at Mission View Elementary (1974–1977) and Hollinger Elementary (1978–1985), where he launched guitar programs that introduced students to music and performance. 

In 1985, Dr. Valenzuela joined Davis Bilingual Elementary School and founded Las Guitarristas, a student guitar ensemble that grew into Mariachi Las Aguilitas in the early 1990s, recognized as the first official performing elementary mariachi group in the country. In 1988, he also created the Davis Mariachi Summer Camp as a free program for neighborhood children, providing access to music education for families who might not otherwise have had the opportunity. Both programs have since reached thousands of young people, teaching teamwork, perseverance, and responsibility. By bringing mariachi into public schools, Dr. Valenzuela strengthened music education while fostering students’ appreciation for heritage, history, and language. 

His work has been recognized with numerous honors, including Arizona State Teacher of the Year (1997), Tucson Father of the Year (1998), and an Honorary Doctorate of Music Education from the University of Arizona (2008). Yet his greatest legacy is not awards, but the resilience he has cultivated in children who have found achievement, stability, and joy through music. 

Although officially retired in 2011, Dr. Valenzuela continues to teach guitar, sing monthly at Santa Cruz Catholic Church, and repair instruments for youth music programs. His three children, now music teachers themselves, carry forward his vision and extend his impact to future generations. Dr. Valenzuela’s enduring commitment to youth engagement, bilingual music education, and community enrichment has left a lasting mark on students, families, and the broader southern Arizona community.

Pueblo High School Student Instructors in the Davis Bilingual Summer Mariachi Program  

Pueblo High School students serve as instructors in the Davis Summer Mariachi Program, where they teach elementary school children mariachi music while modeling resilience, responsibility, and cultural pride.  Their contributions extend beyond music instruction—helping younger children build confidence, responsibility, self-esteem and love and appreciation for their culture. The majority of these youth instructors are part of the Pueblo College Preparatory Academy where they aspire to pursue higher-education. Mostly first-generation college students, some alumni from this program have demonstrated their leadership, commitment, and love of music and cultural heritage by helping to found mariachi groups in their post-secondary institutions. These youth are emerging leaders in our communities.