Experience

Immigration Law & Justice Network

• United States
• Legal Services
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Co Executive Director

  • Jun 2022 - Present



Teatro Dignidad

• Founder

  • Jan 2017 - Present

  Founder of Teatro Dignidad whose mission is to produce plays and foster art movements which call for the recognition of the inherent dignity of all human beings, within the spirit advancing the inalienable and fundamental freedoms of all human beings as declared in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Founder of Teatro Dignidad whose mission is to produce plays and foster art movements which call for the recognition of the inherent dignity of all human beings, within the spirit advancing the inalienable and fundamental freedoms of all human beings as declared in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.



Arizona Justice For Our Neighbors

• United States
• Legal Services
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Executive Director

  • May 2019 - May 2022

  Oversaw all operations of Arizona Justice For Our Neighbors, a non-profit organization that provides legal services to immigrants and asylum seekers. Created and laughed a legal orientation program for asylum seekers in Nogales Sonora seeking refuge in the United States. Oversaw all operations of Arizona Justice For Our Neighbors, a non-profit organization that provides legal services to immigrants and asylum seekers. Created and laughed a legal orientation program for asylum seekers in Nogales Sonora seeking refuge in the United States.



YWCA Southern Arizona

• United States
• Non-profit Organization Management
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Director, YWCA Latina Leadership Institute

  • Sep 2015 - Feb 2019

  Director of the Latina Leadership Institute a series of programs aimed at empowering Latina Immigrant women. Pograms include empowerment through the arts, professional development, personal development, leadership skills, gender violence prevention, legal rights for immigrants, and community organizing. Director of the Latina Leadership Institute a series of programs aimed at empowering Latina Immigrant women. Pograms include empowerment through the arts, professional development, personal development, leadership skills, gender violence prevention, legal rights for immigrants, and community organizing.



Pima County Juvenile Court

• Tucson, Arizona Area

• Coordinator for Volunteer Programs

  • Mar 2014 - Mar 2015

  Managed the juvenile court’s volunteer programs; created and managed an internship program for every division of the court; recruited, trained, and managed over 100 volunteers and interns who provided over 4,000 hours of free service to the court; fostered relationships between the court, academic institutions, non-profit agencies and members of the public; and, created and managed an evidence-based mentoring program for delinquent youth. Managed the juvenile court’s volunteer programs; created and managed an internship program for every division of the court; recruited, trained, and managed over 100 volunteers and interns who provided over 4,000 hours of free service to the court; fostered relationships between the court, academic institutions, non-profit agencies and members of the public; and, created and managed an evidence-based mentoring program for delinquent youth.



Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance

• Richmond, Virginia Area

• Co Executive Director

  • Apr 2011 - Apr 2013

  Served as one of two Executive Directors to manage the operations of a statewide membership coalition that represents over 500 individuals and is the umbrella organization for over 70 sexual and domestic violence non-profit centers in Virginia; co-managed a budget of 2.2 million dollars of government funding; assisted member organization with accreditation; supervised over 30 staff members; oversaw the implementation and quality assurance of the organization’s federal and state grants; served as the organization’s point person for public relations; spearhead the organizations fundraising efforts, co-led the organizations public policy and lobbying efforts; secured over 1.5 million in government grants; led and developed the organizations communications plan; and, worked closely with the Board of Directors to realize the mission of the organization. Show less



Community Legal Services

• Phoenix, Arizona Area

• Volunteer Attorney

  • Apr 2010 - Apr 2011

  Provided legal assistance for low-income members of the community with housing problems; prepared demand letters; conduct community outreach events; conduct legal research; and, negotiate for clients in Section 8 housing hearings. Provided legal assistance for low-income members of the community with housing problems; prepared demand letters; conduct community outreach events; conduct legal research; and, negotiate for clients in Section 8 housing hearings.



Abarca-Wilson Law Office, PLC

• Phoenix, Arizona Area

• Legal Independent Contractor

  • Jan 2009 - Apr 2011

  Drafted immigration appeals and briefs for immigrants who have been ordered removed from the United States. Cases involved complex immigration issues including political asylum, VAWA Petitions, and Human Trafficking Visas. Drafted immigration appeals and briefs for immigrants who have been ordered removed from the United States. Cases involved complex immigration issues including political asylum, VAWA Petitions, and Human Trafficking Visas.



Fresh Start: Women's Resource Center

• Phoenix

• ASU Public Interest Fellow in Family Law

  • Dec 2009 - Apr 2010

  Worked with low-income women in preparing their court documents for divorce, legal separation, and, child custody, and child support; provided presentations to Spanish speaking women about navigating Arizona’s family court system. Worked with low-income women in preparing their court documents for divorce, legal separation, and, child custody, and child support; provided presentations to Spanish speaking women about navigating Arizona’s family court system.



Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA Kenya)

• Nairobi, Kenya

• Women's Rights International Legal Intern

  • May 2008 - Aug 2008

  Worked on legislative reform to improve the legal status of women in Kenya; met with Members of Parliament and advised them providing for women’s rights in the Revised Constitution; represented FIDA at conferences with the United Nations; interviewed women who were living in “internally displaced peoples camps” as a result of Kenya’s presidential election violence in 2008 and assessed how the political violence had impacted their lives; drafted human rights monitoring rights reports; researched international treaties for the advancement of women’s rights; lead women’s rights coalitions; and, created educational material on Kenya’s domestic violence laws. Show less



Arizona State University Immigration and Policy Clinic

• Phoenix, Arizona Area

• Immigration Law Clinical Student

  • Jan 2008 - May 2008

  Assisted detained refugee and abandoned immigrant children from Central America attain legal immigration through Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and political asylum; represented children in immigration court proceedings. Assisted detained refugee and abandoned immigrant children from Central America attain legal immigration through Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and political asylum; represented children in immigration court proceedings.



Mazingira Institute

• Book and Periodical Publishing
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Human Rights Legal Intern

  • May 2007 - Aug 2007

  Worked on environmental justice and human rights issues in Nairobi, Kenya. Worked in Nairobi’s “slums” to promote sustainable development, participated in constitutional reform meetings with civil society; and conducted extensive research on human rights treaties. Worked on environmental justice and human rights issues in Nairobi, Kenya. Worked in Nairobi’s “slums” to promote sustainable development, participated in constitutional reform meetings with civil society; and conducted extensive research on human rights treaties.



Southern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assualt

• Tucson, Arizona Area

• Community Educator/Program Evaluator

  • Jul 2003 - Jul 2006

  As the Southern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault’s (SACASA) lead person in community education, managed a community education program to raise awareness about sexual and domestic violence; provided presentations to over five thousand youth, adults, and professionals in Tucson; organized large-scale community events; organized and led coalitions for the advancement of women’s rights; developed a culturally-sensitive and scientifically-based curriculum on gender violence prevention; initiated and supervised a community education volunteer and internship program; supervised program interns and volunteers; represented the Southern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault (SACASA) at various state-wide and national conferences as a workshop speaker; represented SACASA in media conferences; wrote grant proposals to raise funds for community education (achieving over $600,000 in awarded government grants), managed all aspects of the grant that funded the community education program, including managing the budget and filing all grant reports; and, evaluated the program’s effectiveness. Show less



University of Arizona, Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology (BARA)

• Tucson, Arizona Area

• Intern in Applied Anthropology

  • Aug 2001 - Aug 2002

  Initiated and spearheaded a reforestation project in Nogales, Mexico with maquiladoras (assembly plants); led and facilitated meetings with project partners, including members of industry, civil society, government, and academic institutions; conducted fieldwork in Nogales’s poorest and environmentally devastated communities to asses current environmental issues; interviewed maquiladora managers, workers and politicians to research the environmental degradation of Nogales, Sonora; worked with maquiladora workers to design an ecological park within the maquiladora, Weiserlock,; and, co-authored a chapter in the book, "The Social Cost of Industrial Growth of Northern Mexico" detailing the design and outcomes of the research project. Show less