about

I am a Los Angeles native* who has traveled and worked internationally—camera in tow. Raised by a family full of organizers, I soon also became interested in photography, and was deeply affected by images of the Rwandan genocide. Quite simply, it changed the way I thought photographs could teach us about the world, thereby changing the things we care about and the ways we live our lives. A Chicana and first-generation college student, I received a full-ride to earn my bachelor's degree from USC in Photography and Political Science, and then did human rights legal work for three years with the National Lawyers Guild—a treasured relationship that continues to this day. In a mercenary move, I returned to USC to pursue a Ph.D. in Politics and International Relations, focusing on Human Rights and Visual Culture, not at all because I desired an academic life, but rather, in acknowledgement of the fact that "three letters" could be an access tool put to work by the marginalized groups of which I am a part. Alongside my studies, I worked with the Guild, remained the pro bono communications consultant of the Souls Foundation in Cambodia, and collaborated with local collectives and grassroots groups on a variety of campaigns, particularly those addressing prisons, poverty, and policing.

I completed my Ph.D. in 2015, and accepted a USC teaching fellowship in order to offer upper division "courses" in radical organizing and fighting discrimination, as well as to continue work with local comrades. While I am glad to have been a refuge and source of support for radicals, women, and students of color on campus, the opportunity to train some *phenomenal* student organizers, and university teaching has challenged and enriched my life, my horizontal, consensus-based approach is at odds with academia, and being a "professor" is not my goal. Grassroots organizing and legal activism are forms of teaching, a participatory educational experience for everyone involved, and I prefer that: the collaborative, direct action route.

I am an avid organizer, photographer, vegan-straightedge athlete, and coffee lover. I try every day to show appreciation to my family, friends, teachers, and the love of my life, for the support they give me, and am ever grateful to the people of color, women, and other justice seekers who struggled before me and made my path a little easier.

Additional information may be found in my C.V. which is available upon request. If you are LA-local or will be in town, I would be delighted to meet to discuss work and interests—yours, mine, the spaces in between—in person. Perhaps we can go for coffee...my treat.

* Born & raised in South Central—152nd & Central—and 100% car-free: I've never even had a driver's license. You can do it! Pedestrians & pedalers for the win.