Valley native returns to launch Casita Feliz, a haven for Fresno’s Latino LGBTQ community (2024)

Diana Feliz Oliva had long dreamed of a gathering place for the Fresno area’s gay, lesbian and transgender community where she and others could feel safe and welcomed.

“When I came out and I transitioned back in 1998-1999, 25 years ago, there was not a community center for people like me,” said Oliva, who grew up in Sanger.

So, after decades away from the Valley, Oliva moved back to Fresno last year and launched the Casita Feliz Latine LGBTQ+ Center, where she says members of the community can receive services and have an opportunity to grow and thrive.

Oliva, founder and chief executive officer of Casita Feliz, established the nonprofit last year and initially operated out of her home. She found a more permanent spot for Casita Feliz in September, when she moved to an office at the corner of Van Ness and McKinley avenues in the Tower District that serve as a central hub for activities.

“I want to make sure that people like me don’t have to suffer and feel alone and isolated, because back in the 1990s there was not a center for me,” Oliva said. “I needed that support, I needed that education, I needed that empowerment, and unfortunately, there wasn’t.”

The nonprofit celebrated its one-year anniversary earlier this month with a Dia de los Muertos fundraiser. Proceeds helped fund services and general operations for the nonprofit for 2025.

Growing up in a small rural town and a Mexican Catholic farm-working family “wasn’t easy for a kid like me,” Oliva said.

Despite the lack of support Oliva pursued higher education, graduating from Sanger High School, Reedley College and Cal State Los Angeles. In 2005, she earned a master’s degree in social work from Columbia University. Oliva also is the head of public affairs for Gilead Sciences in Mexico City and Latin America, splitting her time between both cities.

Oliva said she wants to make sure the next generation of people in Fresno who are Latino and identify as LGBTQ feel supported and have a place to come home to be their authentic selves and express themselves however they want.

“That’s why it was important to name my organization Casita Feliz, because Casita Feliz means happy little house, happy little home,” said Oliva, 52.

City and community support

Casita Feliz was one of seven nonprofit LGBTQ+ organizations that received grants this year from the City of Fresno.

The Fresno City Council allocated $200,000 for LGBTQ+ support in the city’s 2023-24 budget — committing half of the funds for the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission LGBTQ+ Resource Center. The city budget earmarked the other $100,000 in grants for nonprofit organizations that directly provide services to LGBTQ+ individuals in Fresno.

Casita Feliz received $13,500 from the city for Latinx LGBTQ+ cultural events.

Robin McGehee, a local activist in the lesbian, gay and transgender community who was hired as the city’s first LGBTQ+ liaison, said many of the community-based organizations that serve Fresno’s LGBTQ+ community lack infrastructure and rely on grants to support their work.

“We see communities flourish when you provide the resources,” said McGehee, who works in the in the mayor’s Office of Community Affairs.

Oliva said she is grateful for the support her nonprofit has received from Fresno City Councilmembers Annalisa Perea, Luis Chavez and Nelson Esparza.

Oliva said the services and programs the nonprofit offers are available to anyone looking for a supportive environment, regardless of sexual orientation or ethnicity.

Oliva said Casita Feliz serves a multi-generational community, including senior citizens who support their LGBTQ+ family members.

“We call them ‘The Golden Girls,’ or ‘Las Comadres.’ They are like the mothers of the community because they have daughters or relatives that are LGBT identified,” Feliz Oliva said. “It’s a very multi-generational organization.”

Oliva recently attended the peaceful demonstration to counter the presence of a small group of Westboro Baptist Church protesters who targeted Roosevelt High School students last month.

“Our mission at Casita Feliz is always to improve the health and wellness of our Latino population here in Fresno,” Oliva said. “So, it’s important for Casita Feliz to show support and unity for all the students. They matter.”

This reporting is supported by the Latino Media Collaborative, a non-profit news media organization that creates and fosters transformative media as well as everyday news for the Latino community. Visit www.latinomedia.org to learn more.