Volunteering in the rough-and-tumble streets of North St. Louis since I was 13 shattered my illusions about the general state of affairs. The more I learned, or unlearned, the more committed I felt to accompany vulnerable communities fighting to improve their circumstances and open up opportunities for others wishing to do so as well. It put me on a trajectory to become a Spanish bilingual, mission-driven professional with proven nonprofit and community development experience, including a master's degree in International Development and Social Change and seven years working and living abroad. I am most proud of working alongside high-risk and/or vulnerable families and individuals of diverse backgrounds and managing and expanding volunteer programs. My expertise in managing volunteer experiences includes: - As a student at Saint Louis University, I gathered a team to build a new volunteer organization, SLUCORE. We recruited, trained, supervised, and recognized the efforts of 28 volunteers serving three partner organizations. - In 2012, through excellent administration, I ran an immersion program that saw 200+ annual U.S. visitors / 25 unique high school and college groups on week-long visits in Guayaquil, Ecuador, - Returning as a consultant in 2017, I broadened this program's training of staff and 24 annual volunteers around issues of cultural immersion and sensitivity. I pioneered three new immersion experiences beyond Guayaquil for university and high school groups of 10 people for 14 days.I have a wide panorama of experience accompanying families and individuals working to improve their conditions with a culturally sensitive, outcome-oriented lens. Some of these experiences include:- Supporting human rights work and advocacy for Salvadoran families impacted by forced migration as the Development Directory for Cristosal. I co-designed and implemented annual fundraising goals, strategies, and quarterly campaigns; surpassed our 2016 fourth-quarter goal of $100,000 by networking and building campaigns with 25 North American regional leaders. -At the request of community partners for Voices on the Border, I designed and was the Lead Researcher on a study concerning the impacts of Sugargace Agriculture in El Salvador.- I've run numerous educational enrichment programs for atrisk youth both in St. Louis and Ecuador.- I´m currently coordinating the outstanding work of Volunteers at Home Sweet Home