Juana Tello

Community Organizer, 5 Elements

"THE. DOPEST. That is all.

Except there's more: In 2010, she organized a citywide youth alliance to institutionalize Ethnic Studies into SFUSD. In 2012, she organized a mobilization of over 1000 youth in a march to defend public education. In 2013, as an organizer for the organization POWER (People Organized to Win Employment Rights), she successfully led a San Francisco-wide campaign establishing free public transportation for all of our City’s youth. In 2014, as an organizer for Causa Justa, she initiated several campaigns to push Mayor Ed Lee and the City Supervisors of San Francisco to taking action to protect the housing rights of the City’s most vulnerable, against the forces of gentrification. She has also pushed local government to hold law enforcement accountable for its excesses and abuse of power, against the citizenry. Her international movement experience informs her ability to connect our local context to a global movement for justice."

As a San Francisco native, Juana Tello has grown her dedication and commitment to the conscious development of youth leadership over the past 14 years. Since 2005, Juana has contributed to the long legacy of Bay Area youth activism as an organizer, educator, skill development trainer, and program leader in and outside of public schools. Her organizational experience includes campaigning with Causa Justa, POWER, SOUL, and the Watsonville Brown Berets around issues such as immigrant rights, housing, educational reform/justice and nationwide youth coalition building. Throughout the multiple roles she has played in her professional trajectory, Juana has acquired experience working directly with low-income youth and families of color across the Bay Area, while also collaborating with individuals and organizations nationwide. Juana has worked both inside and outside of learning institutions, using liberation education, popular and political education to develop strategic community interventions through education and campaigns that win immediate improvements in the lives of working class families. Juana has co-founded a youth development model, 5 Elements Youth Program, which is an innovative program approach to support the next generation of emerging leaders through critical education, arts, and civic engagement. Juana’s dream is to create an academic, leadership, and community-action pipeline for youth, with the hope that their efforts will surpass her own.

"In 2010, I campaigned to institutionalize Ethnic Studies classes in SFUSD as a foundation to politicize students on resistance and movement history. Through the expansion of these classes, I have been actively creating a school-to-community pathway that involves students in community campaigns and issues. I have trained, and supported the development of diverse populations to increase their leadership, capacity, and protagonism to organize and advocate for social justice, equity, and solidarity on all fronts."

Juana Tello