We all create a light within ourselves. The knowledge, connections, and opportunities learned in La Conferencia will spark nuestra llama! The fire within our community will illuminate the world and thrive to bring empowering and diverse ideas to uplift one another. Embracing each of our flames strengthens the bonds of our community.
Together we remember - we are not meant to be contained!
Featuring:
Dra. Nury Castro & Bryan Mejia
Get to Know Our Speakers
Nury is a dynamic and forward thinker, intentional community builder, and healing agent; her practice, guided by theory, intersectionality, critical consciousness, and principles, centers around community and social equity. Her unwavering tenacity and ability to center theory to practice have allowed Nury to serve as a university administrator in various roles. Nury holds a educational doctorate from the University of Dayton and received a Master of Public Administration and a Bachelor of Science from North Carolina State University. Throughout her many roles, Nury's guiding principle is the African humanist philosophy, "Ubuntu: I am because you are."
Pronouns: she/her/ella
Hometown: Durham, NC
Roots: El Salvador
Bryan Mejia serves as the Assistant Fellowship Manager at LatinxEd. He graduated UNC Chapel Hill in 2021 with a degree in Psychology and Creative Nonfiction Writing. After graduating, he became a Tech and Media Fellow for Poder NC Action in order to connect trauma-informed design principles to digital content for civic campaigns. He also dedicates himself to advocating for student mental health resources and experiences alongside Pupusas 4 Education.
He also previously was one of the voices from Nuestro South, where he is also currently coaching the next generation of hosts. Many of his experiences stem from his love of storytelling in its many forms and the responsibility to share them. His dreams and pursuit of higher education were only made possible by the trust, support and stories from his family and community. Now he is working to empower students from similar backgrounds to seek enrichment and strive for all the opportunities historically held back from them so they can continue to dream and create their own journeys. He is excited to be joining a team centering the strength of our community as a pathway to success.
Pronouns: he/him/él
Hometown: Durham, NC
Roots: Honduras
