Biography

From a very young age I have been confronted with many great obstacles, challenges, and oppression which has resulted in the deep realization for the necessity of positive change in the world around me, and most importantly, within myself. I was born in 1985 in Bordeaux, France while my mother was on a Fulbright scholarship to study abroad. At the age of one, we moved back to the U. S. where we continued our hard but powerful and beautiful journey through this life together.

My mother is the strongest person I know, and the one who has truly inspired me to constantly strive to be a better person in this world. As a single mother on welfare she was always dedicated to working hard for our family, although there were times that we were threatened by the reality of homelessness. Throughout my whole childhood my mother taught me by example that positive change is possible, and that peace begins within.

My service work started when I was and I embarked on a mission to raise money for the victims of hurricane Andrew. With the supervision of my mother, I went door-to-door asking for donations and handing out information on the natural disaster for about a month. At the end of that month I had raised over $200, which to me at the time seemed
like millions. From this point on, my understanding of the world around me grew extremely complex, and as I got older I began to start making connections between all oppressed people and the difficulties that we are confronted with on a daily basis.

Through my upbringing as a young woman of color I faced the realities of racism and sexism, which manifested violently both verbally and physically, resulting in a deep concern struggling people everywhere. I knew things had to change and that Mahatma Gandhi was absolutely correct when he said, "Be the change you want to see in the world".

In high school, I began truly dedicating myself to volunteer work with organizations such as the Rape Crisis Center, Food Not Bombs, Soka Gakai International, Victory over Violence, Take Back the Night, Women Against War, and numerous other smaller (but just as important) projects. I helped organize several nonviolent demonstrations against war and torture, and fundraised money to bring a drama program to a middle school at the Akwasasnee Reservation in Canada. Currently I am dedicating myself to doing work with youth through poetry and art. I am holding poetry workshops with two other poets at Alameda Middle School and the Girls Ranch. I am also starting a series of workshops at Wise Fool New Mexico working with young women to articulate the necessity for justice within ourselves and out communities.

It is my life's mission to help create more spaces where young people can truly be safe to find their authentic voice, be that visually or verbally, and I absolutely believe that together we can create a beautiful and positive force to combat the hatred and oppression that exists in our world.