RACIAL EQUITY FACILITATOR | INCLUSIVE LEADERSHIP COACH | HEALING JUSTICE ADVOCATE

I have spent the last ten years leading school-based programs, building inclusive & diverse teams, and operationalizing equity across systems. During that time, I was at the forefront of building collective action movements that took equity from theory to practice, and learned what is needed to practice equity at the individual, collective, and institutional levels.

I’m a first-generation Mexican-American and identify as a Latinx womxn of color. I grew up in South Central Los Angeles, a predominantly working class community of color. My experience navigating Los Angeles public schools instilled in me a personal commitment to ensure students of color have access to learning that is culturally relevant, empowering, rigorous, and ultimately liberating. While I have straddled two cultures my entire life, such experience was heightened while living in Portland, Oregon, the whitest city in America. Both challenging and life altering, such journey sharpened my racial equity lens and deepened my understanding of the systemic role of race, power, and privilege.

My experience in talent & organizational development led me to a career in diversity, equity, and inclusion training & coaching. My social work background contributes to a personal and systemic analysis of oppression and its impact on our psychosocial functioning. Thus, I employs healing-centered practices that acknowledge our racialized trauma and need to find a collective path to transformative change. My own healing journey is informed by curanderismo, Mexican and indigenous healing and spiritual practices passed down from my parents and grandparents.

I have worked as an external consultant to schools, non-profit organizations, and foundations working in the education, health, housing, and environmental justice sectors. I am committed to helping individuals and organizations understand their role in upholding inequities and actively addressing racial disparities within their sphere of influence.

I hold a Master of Social Work (MSW) and Master of Public Administration (MPA) from the University of Southern California.