Candidate for
Council Member; City of Richmond

I am a Latina immigrant of African-Caribbean descent. I was born in Panama City, Panama in 1963, where I grew-up in a bilingual, multicultural family and country. My parents moved to the U.S. in 1972 and I went through the challenging process of immigration and cultural adjustment. At home, my parents taught me the critical values of respect for self and others, along with hard work and integrity. I learn to bridge over many barriers.

I attended Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Florida on a full basketball scholarship, and graduated cum laude in 1988 with a BA degree in Psychology. I later earned a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Phoenix.

I moved to the Bay Area in 1989 and have worked as a counselor, youth educator, team builder and strategist, client advocate, housing case manager for the homeless, and mental health specialist for 18 years. For the last ten years I have worked in Richmond. I am a homeowner and a licensed small business owner in the City of Richmond, and I spearheaded the ongoing efforts to create an San Pablo Avenue Business Association.

As a Richmond resident I have been both the victim of crime and an advocate of solutions that prevent it. I support the Tent Cities Peace Movement and a variety of local community responses such as Mothers Against Senseless Killings(MASK), and the Not Today Movement in opposing violence and promoting peace.

As the Vice-president of the Richmond Heights Neighborhood Council, I promoted strengthening local livable and walk-able communities, developing stronger connections and loyalties with businesses in local corridors (like on San Pablo Ave) and surrounding communities.

As a member of Concilio Latino and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), I have collaborated with West Contra Costa County School District members, and community health providers to share information on best practices to meet the need of community members. I worked with the Latina Center and others in organizing the Children's March Against Violence. I oppose anti-immigrant raids, and I support a comprehensive and just immigration reform with path to legalization for all immigrants. As a member of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration I advocate for a fair and comprehensive immigration reform and educate different communities on related issues.

As a member of the Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA-Richmond), the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP-Richmond), and the Richmond African American Round Table, I strongly affirm and promote the historical contributions of African Americans to Richmond and our nation, and I advocate for further equity in the distribution of resources and for an expanded African-American community presence in our city.

As a member of the UPE-Local #1, I believe in strong, independent, and pro-active unions that assert and protect member rights and benefits. I have never crossed a picket-line.

As a citizen of the United States, I see our nation in a very deep moral and economic crisis. We need to continue the process of rethinking and redefining ourselves as a nation and our participation in the world.

As a Richmond voter and a registered Democrat, I know that there are needs in our city that cannot be postponed. We need to take immediate action to stop the bloodshed, and to preserve the viability of a Richmond that is healthy, fair, diverse, inclusive, peaceful, green, and prosperous. No one will do it for us, we must do it ourselves