This is me
"Art is not always about pretty things. It's about who we are, what happened to us and how our lives are affected."
Elizabeth Broun
The earliest banks of my memories are clouded in beauty. My Nana painting a beautiful bouquet, an aunt making pastries that fill your soul with sweet delicious love, Granma stopping everything to take just the right picture in time, another aunt creating enchanting gardens that beg you to play in them.
​
It seemed by nature that I follow in the footsteps of my elders and ancestors. For it was art where I found my voice, my confidence, and solace in dark times. Art has been the stars on a new moon, the island when lost at sea, and the oasis in the searing and never ending desert of anxiety and depression.
​
As life moved on I continued being inspired by my elders, particularly my Granma, who showed me that one of the best ways to make the world a better place is to inspire beauty, love, and confidence in others. Over the last 15 years I found a passion in teaching and watching others connect to their inner creative power. I hope to be able to witness that moment every day for the rest of my life, whether that's through teaching a class, through my personal art, or through the successes of my own family and friends.
Professional Experience
Attitudinal Healing Connection
ArtEsteem Educator
"AHC empowers individuals to be self-aware and inspired through art, creativity and education, and to make positive choices to break the cycle of violence for themselves and their communities. In all their work, AHC promotes the understanding that we can choose peace over conflict and love over fear."
Aim High
Lead Humanities Teacher
"Aim High was founded on the belief that every student has the right to a quality education. In 1986, we launched at one site in San Francisco with just 50 students. Over the last 35 years, we’ve expanded across the Bay Area in every direction, as far as Napa and Tahoe-Truckee. Along the way, our transformative summer enrichment program has empowered thousands of middle schoolers from low-income neighborhoods, igniting their love of learning and yielding real results—97% of Aim High alumni graduate high school and go on to college."
Aspire Triumph Technology Academy
Afterschool Educator
"Aspire’s mission is to open and operate small, high-quality charter schools in low-income neighborhoods, in order to:
Increase the academic performance of underserved students
Develop effective educators
Share successful practices with other forward-thinking educators, and
Catalyze change in public schools."
National Park Service: Alcatraz
Educator/ Interpreter
"Alcatraz Island welcomes over 1.5 million visitors a year. The island's layered history offers visitors an opportunity to explore the U.S. Army and military prison period through the federal penitentiary era and the American Indian occupation. Alcatraz Island provides a powerful opportunity to encourage visitors to contemplate their personal views on crime and punishment, the judicial system, national defense, and freedom."