I am an immigrant granddaughter of a courageous woman who learned to read in order to teach me that education can break barriers. My Mexican parents raised four first generation college graduates to take pride in our Latinx heritage and “open doors” for those who come after us. They taught me to value justice and integrity to overcome any obstacle. I put those values into action as a student at Stanford University and as the teacher and coordinator of the first-ever Chican@-Latin@ Studies Program at Berkeley High School in the 90s. I raise two courageous and compassionate children in the community of East San José where I collaborate with other social justice educators to build a beloved community at KIPP Navigate College Prep since its founding in 2018, when I joined KIPP. I have been the school leader since 2022 and I have been an Educator since 1996. Both of my children are future KIPP Navigate graduates and I work hard on behalf of ALL of our Navigate students to build the change we want to see in the world so that we may become our ancestors’ dream come true!