Founder and Executive Director of Rhode Island Latino Arts, the oldest Latino non-profit arts organization advocating for Latin American arts, cultural heritage and history in Rhode Island. She is also an oral historian and the founder of the Nuestras Raíces: The Latino Oral History Project of RI.
Awards | Honors | Recognitions:24 People to Watch in 2024 The Providence Journal.
June 2023 | Rhode Island Pell Award for Excellence in the Arts by Trinity Repertory Company.
The Pell Award honors artists whose artistic careers exemplify the values of Senator Claiborne Pell, one of the principal founders of the National Endowment for the Arts. They also recognize artistic excellence in Rhode Island, the New England region and nationally.
April 2023 | Rhode Island Monthly magazine,
One of 45 Powerful People in Rhode Island.
2022-2023 | Oral History Association & National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow |
Diversifying Oral History Practice: A Fellowship Program for Under/Unemployed Oral Historians.
Community Fellow in the NEH/Co-Lab Curriculum Development Fellowship Program at Roger Williams University. 2023
Artist-in-Residence at Trinity Repertory Company, a partnership for the creation of the first Bilingual Theater Initiative in Rhode Island.
Executive Committee of the Latinos in Heritage Conservation (LHC). Hosted and co-organized LHC's national conference
Encuentro 2018 in Providence, RI on April 26-28, 2018.
Fellow in Public Humanities at the John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities and Cultural Heritage. 2019-2022
State Society of Rhode Island Leadership Award award for documenting Latino history and culture of Rhode Island. 2018
Creative Economy Award for Excellence in Cultural Community Development in New England at the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) 2017CCX, held in New London, CT and that same year recognized as the
YWCA 2017 Woman of Achievement.
Public Humanities Award from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities (RICH), 2016.
Other: 2015 -2016 Rhode Island Foundation INE Fellow; 2015 and 2016 Diversity Scholar for the
National Trust of Historic Preservation (NTHP); 2014
National Association of Latino Arts & Cultures (NALAC) Leadership Institute (NLI) Fellow and also 2015 NALAC Advocacy Leadership Institute (ALI) Fellow.
2015 |
New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) Creative Communities Exchange (CCX) Regional Conference in New Hampshire. In November 2016, presented a Power Session at the 2016 Annual PastForward Conference of the National Trust (NTHP) in Houston and also at the convening of the Latinos in Heritage Conservation (LHC), where I spoke about my work on the Latino History in Rhode Island project.
Teaching Experience: Teacher of Spanish and Hispanic Cultures, St. Peter’s Catholic School, Warwick, RI; Faculty, Providence College Department of Global Studies; Community Partner & Teaching Artist at Central Falls High School and the Calcutt Middle School
Boards and Commissions: Rhode Island Council for the Humanities and
Community MusicWorks; Chair and Founder of
Friends of Pawtuxet Village/Merchants Association; board member of the
Southside Cultural Center; Chair of the Advisory Board of the
Juanita Sanchez Community Fund at the Rhode Island Foundation; Member Community Advisory Board of
Rhode Island PBS.
Congressman Langevin’s Arts and Culture Advisory Committee (2016-2022) and on the City of Providence Art, Culture + Tourism (AC+T)
ArtPlace America Community Advisory Board (2015-2017). In 2015 elected as Trustee of the
Providence Foundation; in 2017-2018 served on the
Rhode Island College Presidents’ Committee on Inclusive Excellence.
Board of Trustees of Providence College (2021-present) and sit on PC's President’s Community Advisory Committee and on the College's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Advisory Committee.
I am a former elementary school teacher, an educator and a community advocate. In January 2015, I was appointed by Governor Gina Raimondo to the
Rhode Island State Board of Education |
Council on Elementary & Secondary Education (K-12).I am of Mexican heritage and raised in El Paso, Texas. Fluent in Spanish and Sign Language.