CO-FOUNDERS

  • Maya Zazhil Fernández grew up in the Pilsen and Little Village neighborhoods of Chicago as a third generation Mexican-Peruvian. She attended the University of Illinois at Chicago and received a BA in Spanish Literary and Cultural Studies with a concentration in Linguistics. Ms. Fernández, comes from a family of musicians, linguists, and cultural workers. At an early age she developed a passion for and commitment to musical traditions, specifically Son Jarocho from Veracruz, Mexico. Having experienced the power of traditional arts in strengthening cultural identity for communities of color in the U.S., she is committed to the preservation and practice of Afro-Indigenous music traditions as a form of community building, resistance, and healing. She carries out this work through being a co-founder of the cultural center, 18th Street Casa de Cultura, located in Pilsen, Chicago. In addition, she is an educator at Chicago Public Schools and in community education based projects on the city’s south side. In the community she is known for her active involvement in the transnational music movements of Son Jarocho through the collective Jarochicanos, and of Puerto Rican Bomba through the all-female ensemble Las BomPleneras and La Escuelita Bombera de Corazón.

  • Jackie Rodriguez is a teacher who started her teaching career in 2009 at Rudy Lozano Leadership Academy, an alternative high school that provides second chance opportunities to students and is rooted in education for liberation and social justice curriculum in Pilsen. She currently teaches at Benito Juarez Community Academy where she is the Social Studies teacher and lead teacher for their new Teaching Academy, preparing future generations of educators. She is Mexicana and proud-to-be raised by a single mom in the Back of the Yards neighborhood. A neighborhood that has laid the foundation of her spirit and identity. She is a cultural worker and has been a part of various community organizations that center their work around Zapatismo, Latinx cultural arts, immigration, and other social movements in Latin America. She is a part of the son jarocho collective Jarochicanos performing, teaching, and building community through this music for the past 13 years. She is passionate about culturally relevant pedagogy and integrating the arts with the construction of knowledge. She has helped to co- found MECA (Movimiento para la educación cultural y autónoma) building culturally relevant curriculum and supporting educators in traditional and non-traditional settings to create dynamic experiences for BIPOC children, families and youth. All of her work for the past 20 years has led her to dive in and co- found a cultural space in the Pilsen community called 18th Street Casa de Cultura. She holds a BA in the Teaching of History, Anthropology, and a Masters in Youth Development from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

  • Gina Gamboa is an educator and cultural worker from Chicago. Her multi-disciplinary teaching career spans PK-12 and undergraduate, including Latino Youth Alternative High School and Northeastern Illinois University. In teaching and in the development of many cultural-educational initiatives, Gina promotes culturally relevant pedagogy, bilingualism, biliteracy and healthy identity development, with an emphasis on family involvement and multi-generational, multi-cultural sharing of knowledge and values. She has been an innovator and leader in developing arts and cultural integration for language and cultural identity development, cross-cultural connections through the arts, and community engagement. Projects over several decades have included: hACE Arte y Cultura en la Educación; the Chicago Children’s World Music Festival, VOCES Literacy and Culture Festivals; the Feria del Libro Mexicano y Latino en Chicago; Son Chiquitos, Son y Arte and La Escuelita del Barrio.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

  • Director of Convivir LLC | Cultural Strategist

    I am a Chicanx from Chicago's southside. I am the Director of Convivir and a Cultural Strategist. I'm obsessed with understanding forms of oppression, age consciousness and developing historical awareness in the communities I serve. I have 15 years of experience in youth organizing, teaching, training, circle work and creating intergenerational learning spaces. I made a commitment in my youth to dedicate my life to educating and radicalizing our communities. I'm a different type of adult who centers joy and creativity in everything I do. I love making things with my hands, like upscaling or repurposing old stuff. I'm a history nerd who enjoys walking outside in any weather, swimming, and dancing to house music. House music is from chicago! I go hard for my people as much as I enjoy laughing out loud.

  • Community Healer | Restorative Practice Specialist

    Victor Arroyo is a proud Indigenous-Mex-Chicagoan born and raised in the Humboldt Park neighborhood. He is the first in his family to graduate from college, obtaining a BFA from Columbia College Chicago. Over the last 12 years he has specialized in youth, community healing, and restorative practices. He received his restorative justice training from Native American elders in Albuquerque, New Mexico as well as the Community Justice for Youth Institute in Chicago. He has coached and led workshops for educators and youth in the Minneapolis Public School District, Saint Paul Public School District, Chicago Public School District, Alternative School Networks in Chicago, Northeastern IL University, Dominican University, University of Minnesota and other nonprofits. He is the co-founder of the Papalotzin Chicago Healing Collective, The Indigenous Language Academy, and Power to Change Healing Circle. Victor is also part of HueHuecoyotl Mexica danza group. Victor enjoys community fundraising, outdoor adventures, baking vegan treats, learning about indigenous healing modalities, teaching Aztec dance, and participating in cumbia and house dance battles.

  • Latin America Program Coordinator, CLRN

    Jhonathan F. Gómez (él/he/him) is a human rights defender, documentary photographer-artist, educator, and father from Guatemala City. He has worked with community and human rights organizations in Guatemala and the United States for over 15 years. Both his professional and personal work combine arts, multimedia, and technology for the defense of human rights with a focus on immigrant and indigenous rights. He and his family moved back to Chicago in May of 2021 after living in Guatemala for 10 years. In Chicago, his work focused on immigrant rights. He worked Day Laborer Organizer at the Latino Union of Chicago and his work overlapped with his ongoing work with youth arts education in the city. In Guatemala, he worked as Communications and Technology Coordinator at the human rights observatory Unidad de Protección a Defensoras y Defensores de Derechos Humanos de Guatemala (UDEFEGUA). Jhonathan has also worked and collaborated in Guatemala with human rights organizations like Centro para la Acción Legal en Derechos Humanos (CALDH), Guatemala Human Rights Commission, GHRC) and Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala, NISGUA). He was the recipient of the Voiceless Speak Grant, awarded by the Guatemalan Human Rights Commission in the United States (GHRC) for his work in developing and promoting awareness of human rights violations in Guatemala through multimedia projects. He currently works at the Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America (CRLN) where his work continues to support resistance communities in Central America and Latin America at large by providing education on the root causes of migration and advocating politically to stop interventionist, neoliberal and neocolonial U.S. foreign policy.

  • Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) | Project Manager, Human Resources

    Gabriela Fuentes (ella/she/her) is a Chicana from Chicago’s northwest side. She is savvy, strategic, and leads with a growth mindset. In both her personal and professional life, she strives to connect communities to resources and opportunities in hopes to deepen impact and efficiency. She serves as a Project Manager at the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), focusing on uplifting CTA culture, internally and externally. Her work includes launching Employee Resource Groups, promoting career opportunities, and celebrating career progression. During her time at CTA, she has also led Chicago’s largest paid internship program in partnership with One Summer Chicago. Gaby has experience in the nonprofit sector, specifically serving Chicago’s southwest communities, through community advocacy, health education, and after-school programming. She is passionate about youth development, art access, dance, and wellness. Gaby holds a BA in Psychology from Middlebury College in Vermont, where she took coursework in educational studies and led initiatives in dance, oratory, and community engagement as a Posse Scholar. She serves on the National Museum of Mexican Art Auxiliary Board and enjoys creative experiences like concerts, community theater, and visual art.

  • Community Activist, Author, Salsedo Press Inc.

  • Assistant Professor, Chapman University

    Jorge F. Rodriguez is an Assistant Professor in the Integrated Educational Studies program within the Donna Ford Attallah College of Educational Studies at Chapman University. His interests include a critical examination on how culture, privilege and power intersect within school systems and their larger community environments. His work explores the Politics of Knowledge, Funds of Knowledge, Critical Media Literacy, Ethnic Studies, and the praxis of centering counter narratives within his scholarship. Jorge is passionate about creating spaces for youth and students around social justice, self-determination, and cultural resistance. His teaching and research experience demonstrate his ability to both create and operationalize culturally relevant curriculum and reflective learning environments.