ART & CULTURE

I am an ethnographer by training, and am driven by the power of storytelling and narrative to make meaning in the world. I conducted years of research in Oaxaca, Mexico focused on local arts and cultural organizations and cultural philanthropy. Other projects have focused on Philadelphia arts organizations, including a 2-year project at Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens (for which I now serve on the board); a quantitative project focused on the distribution of funding to arts organizations in Philadelphia and the relationship between funding and organizational survival; and research into the colonial-era art of Northern Mexico. As a consultant, I led and collaborated on research, reflection, and evaluation projects focused on art and culture’s role in social wellbeing, community development and creative placemaking, the work and characteristics of BIPOC arts organizations, and philanthropic grantmaking in the arts. Earlier in my career I worked for a variety of arts organizations in roles ranging from education to exhibitions, collections to evaluation.

Social Justice & IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES

As a proud South Philadelphia resident, I've consistently sought opportunities to contribute to my community via work in organizations serving Latinx communities. I recently spent several years as Health & Wellness Director at Puentes de Salud, where I contributed to Vidas Suspendidas, a sculpture and storytelling project that celebrates the diversity and complexity of immigrant stories, and co-led Proyecto Grandote, a three-year, community-based project to build interactive public art installations in South Philly that engage families around the intersection of culture, heritage, and literacy. I am a long-term mentor to a Mexican first-generation-to-college high school student through Philadelphia Futures, and have also served as a volunteer for Juntos and contributor to South Philly Barbacoa’s dinner series about undocumented workers’ rights in the restaurant industry. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I served as an advisor to Proyecto Tamal, and shepherded an initiative focused on supporting South Philly Latinx business owners to survive the pandemic. I continuously learn from these experiences about resilience, courage, and injustice, and about the importance of collaborative and grassroots work to address the systems of social and structural inequity that impact my community on a daily basis.

Organizations & Public Good

I’ve always been fascinated by organizations, and how, through a mixture of personalities, relationships, structures and processes, organizations work (and don’t) to help us accomplish our goals. I'm interested in relationships between nonprofit organizations and funders, in nonprofit and philanthropic strategy, and in impact evaluation. My mixed-methods dissertation project in sociology (completed in August 2020) focused on strategy and evaluation consulting firms in the nonprofit sector. Via ethnographic, interview, and survey methodologies, I analyzed strategy consultants’ activities and processes for nonprofit clients, and explored their impact on the nonprofit sector.

Getting It Done

I find joy in tackling complex problems and am an adept manager of competing objectives, priorities, and timelines. I love working collaboratively and learning from my colleagues.

I have experience leading large-scale initiatives, managing staff, and dealing with complex nuts-and-bolts logistics. At Puentes I managed nearly thirty direct reports and contractors, and liaised between funders, technical assistance providers, Puentes staff, and community members to set strategy and advance our wellness-related goals and initiatives. I have also led planning and execution for major projects and events, including brokering relationships between partners, coordinating timelines and personnel, and securing and managing in-kind and monetary donations.