Who is your mentor, and how did he/she shape your career?

I’m lucky to have many mentors! I believe in having your personal “board of directors” who can help you navigate personal and professional situations in your life. However, my greatest mentors are my parents. They taught me confidence, compassion and a strong work ethic. They challenged and supported me throughout my career, always reminding me to do the right thing and fight for what I believe in. They’ve been my biggest champions and role models.

How did you discover your passion for what you do?

My identities as a woman of color and immigrant shaped how I view the world and how I engage in it. My lived experience made me passionate about racial and social justice topics. I’ve been able to see how education can positively impact the lives of underrepresented and underserved communities. Bridging my passion for education and social justice was a natural fit!

What words of wisdom do you live by?

Mother Teresa’s Anyway Poem. “People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered; Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; Succeed anyway. If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; Be honest and frank anyway. What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight; Build anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous; Be happy anyway. The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough; Give the world the best you’ve got anyway. You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God; It was never between you and them anyway.”