This is such a hard section to write, since I feel I encompass so many things that words can’t capture, but I’ll give it a try. I am a quirky, tattooed, queer woman of color, who was born & raised in Los Angeles and surrounding burbs. I came to this realm via my two lovely parents, who decided to mingle a little too much after meeting at their class to learn english, and a moonchild arrived 9 months later. I emerged what many folk lovingly call a crabbit (Cancer Rabbit for those who love astrology)! Raised with a mix of Salvadoran, Mexican, and American values and traditions, along with a childhood experience  before the age of tech. As a youth I was fortunate to be in a private Lutheran elementary school (which when I reflect now, was so far from typical) that taught me a lot of

the different religions and cultures of the world and to value that there is no “right” way, just a lot of different ways, to live life. Thankfully, this lesson which was ingrained in my mind & soul, has allowed me to do the variety of community work that I’ve done these past two decades. All of this, combined with my fascination of the oddities, being a foodie, love of sports (I bleed blue), and an intuitive nature that connects me to the earth & other realm, has made this journey on earth an adventurous one. I’m also an introvert/extrovert, depending on the setting and my mood.

 

I’ve worked with my family since childhood, at our printing business, and this work has blessed me with the means to give back to my community in so many ways . I’ve been an activist/community organizer in my communities for the past 22 years.  My work initially started with advocacy for animals and the earth, and soon led me to the road of my anti-violence work, animal/earth wellness & protection, class/gender equality, and lgbtq liberation. I focused on working with youth for about a decade as well, and I was lucky to learn from the many brilliant youth I encountered! While doing this work, I had been doing my own personal healing work around sexual violence and my struggle with addiction to alcoholism, which in itself, created many stories and lessons to share, for my future generations.

 

All of these experiences, led to my work around guiding the healing process for sexual violence survivors and being a mentor for folk who struggled with similar addictions that I had faced. While I still do this type of work from time to time, the hardness of the world we lived in, started to get in the way of my own wellness, along with the toxicity that sometimes exists within the organizing community, and I had to take a break. Luckily my reflection path lead me down the road of death care/work, plant medicine, and working with dogs and kittens (<---yes you read right, I can be all over the place!) which has brought me to where I am at in my life.  lntersectionality has organically weaved into how I approach all aspects of my work. I am passionate about shifting the world to a better place through what I lovingly call kitchen table organizing ( <- a term that I got introduced to by a lovely southern couple in New Orleans!)

 

I lived with my  furry kids in Lincoln Heights for the past decade, but recently moved to Santa Clarita. I love reading books, I'm obsessed with vampires, a kermit the frog fan, and I have a love of being a student of the world.  Cheers if you made it this far!

 

With warmth, solidarity, and quirky love,

Karla