Why I Do This

Growing up between La Capital and The Bronx—literally between two countries, two languages, two ways of being—I felt that weight early. I still do. And I’m not trying to escape it or minimize it. That responsibility is the whole reason I show up.

My faith in Jesus grounds me in this work. It’s not separate from the social justice piece—it is the social justice piece. My faith tells me that if I see people being left out, pushed to the margins, denied access to things that could change their lives, I have to do something about it. I can’t just pray about it. I have to build toward it.

The Real Talk

I’m a Dominican immigrant and a first-generation college grad. That means I know what it’s like to navigate spaces that weren’t built for people like me. I know the weight of being the first. I know what it feels like to code-switch, to translate not just languages but entire worldviews. I know the privilege of access and the pain of watching people you love get locked out of it.

That’s not sad background story stuff I’m sharing for sympathy. It’s the whole reason I’m good at what I do. When I work with survivors of human trafficking, refugees rebuilding their lives, or Brazilians trying to access opportunities through language—I’m not coming at it from theory. I’m coming at it from lived experience. I speak Spanish, English, and Portuguese because those languages connected me to my family, my heritage, and eventually, my purpose.

What I’m Building

I founded ELSI® (Experience. Learn. Share. Inspire.) because I got tired of watching people with incredible potential get blocked by barriers that had nothing to do with their ability. Right now, ELSI is focused on providing 1-on-1 English language coaching to low-income Afro-Brazilian adults. But it’s bigger than language lessons. Language is the entry point. It’s access. It’s advocacy. It’s being able to walk into a room and be heard in your own voice.

I’ve worked with the International Rescue Committee supporting refugees rebuilding their lives after displacement. I’ve worked with Restore NYC training survivors of human trafficking on job readiness and economic empowerment. I’ve designed curriculum, managed programs, trained teams, built partnerships. And through all of that work, I’ve learned that the most transformative thing you can do is show up with respect for people’s resilience and remove the barriers they’re facing.

My approach is trauma-informed because the people I work with have been through it. It’s culturally responsive because one-size-fits-all doesn’t work when you’re trying to serve communities that have been systematically ignored. And it’s rooted in collaboration because I’m not here to save anybody—I’m here to work alongside people and help clear the path they’re already trying to walk. It’s holistic.

What Matters to Me

Education, Community, and Justice.

I believe people can learn, grow, and transform their own lives and the lives of those around them—if they’re given the chance. I’m not building for people in the abstract. I’m building with real people. I listen. I ask. I show up. This work is explicitly political—I’m not neutral about whether historically excluded communities deserve access and opportunity. They do.

I’m interested in work that’s unapologetically rooted in faith, that centers the experiences of people who’ve been left out, and that actually moves the needle on real people’s lives. Not just feels good. Not just sounds progressive. Actually moves things.