District/College: Clackamas Services District (CESD)
Job Assignment/Position: EI/ECSE Specialist and OEA Racial Equity Director
Local Association: Clackamas Education Service District Education Association (CESDEA)
Years of Educator Experience: 22
What are three ways you have actively elevated equity?
- Currently serving as OEA Racial Equity Director and Chair of the Committee on Racial Equity
- Participated as an OEA and NEA delegate and collaborated and reported to NEA work on 3(1g) Bylaw to ensure that Oregon is meeting equity goals
- E-Sparkie Cohort #6
What is your equity stance?
Equity is a responsibility we all share. We need to encourage and support our colleagues and each other so that our systems can be better and we can do better. Equity starts with each and every one of us. Doing the work can be as simple as guiding a person to a resource or actively speaking out against racism. A grain of sand can change a mountain. Some people leave a footprint and other people a grain of sand, no matter how big or small an action, ALL of our voices matter. As an immigrant my lived experience left me to navigate college and a job force that no one in my family had done before. I was blessed to have mentors and a support system that uplifted me and encouraged me to continue even when I felt like an imposter. I did not have the same cultural code as the people around me and I constantly felt like I did not belong. I want to do the work so that future generations don’t just code switch but are unapologetically their true authentic selves. I want an educator of color to walk into a room and be recognized as an educator, not the help. We can do this through building a community of acceptance and Equity. We don’t have to leave a giant footprint or even be recognized to be the bridge for future generations to be better and to do better.
What is your favorite social justice quote?
You are not lucky to be here. The world needs your perspective. They are lucky to have you.
-Antonio Tijerino
Can you share one equity focused resource or student read that you recommend?
