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P'urhépecha Community Member & Xicano, 

Asesor Cultural de Bear Root Resource Center

I was raised in one of so-called California’s most diverse cities, by a single warrior Madre of four and a fierce Abuela of many. This, along with being active in my P’urhépecha community in so-called Michoacán, so-called California, and so-called Washington, empower me to always center racial, gender, and social justice in community, professional, and academic efforts. I live in so-called Vallejo, my hometown, in a multi-generational household with my wife, two children, mother, brother, sister-in-law, and nephew, and value growing with and spending time with them and being active in my community.  I was raised as a Xicano and grew to reject my colonizer roots. Outside of ancestral herbal medicine and cuisine, I did not learn about my Indigenous roots in my youth. 

After a couple decades of living in this current life, I more intentionally dedicated time and energy to learning Indigenous ways of being and doing. My wife and I met in so-called Oaxaca as we were both on similar journeys of re-Indigenizing our ways. Our initial union led us to walk the Red Road together and later our marriage in the P’urhépecha tradition and being in relation with our local Indigenous communities led us to further integrate Indigenous ways of being and doing into our daily lives. This includes being very purposeful in practicing reciprocity, relationality, and respect with all my relations, especially with Nana Echeri (Mother Earth) –with whom my family and I endeavor to have an intimate relationship with and collaborate with to grow traditional foods and medicine.

I began my higher education journey at Napa Valley College before earning a B.S. in mechanical engineering from UC Berkeley and a M.S. in engineering management from CSU, East Bay. I am now a Ph.D. candidate in adult and higher education with a concentration in community college leadership at Oregon State University and center the experiences of P’urhépecha community college students in my doctoral work.

In my former role as Dean of HSI Initiatives, STEM Resources, AIBL (American Indigenous Business Leader) Chapter, and Dream Center at the Napa Valley College, I led an amazing equity-minded team and together we managed numerous student programs, multimillion-dollar HSI grants, state grants, and student spaces, while fostering environments with a high sense of belonging and thriving through intentional and critical praxis. With my team and other colleagues, we developed student internships, organized and hosted an Indigenous speaker series and a STEM professional of color speaker series, created spaces and support systems for minoritized students, championed many districtwide and statewide initiatives, and developed partnerships with industry and school districts to significantly impact students' academic and professional trajectories. I have also served on various boards in my community, including my current role as treasurer for Movimiento Cultural de la Unión Indígena (MCUI), which I joined in early 2019.

As a seasoned college administrator and a critical scholar, I stay abreast of best practices and theory in higher education through active professional and scholarly development, including my current participation in The Coalition’s Aspiring Radical Leaders Institute (ARLI). I also contribute to the discourse on race, racism, and equity in higher education as a published author, conference presenter, and equity coach. Furthermore, all my life’s work is strongly influenced and continuously improved by the intentional being and doing that I share with my wife, children, mother, grandmother, P’urhepecha elders in so-called Santo Tomás, Michoacán and other elders and peers in my immediate and regional communities.

My wandering spirit, legal status, and my achievements have afforded me the privileges of living in rural and urban cities in so-called California and so-called Washington and traveling all around Mother Earth. This has allowed me to share space, time, and energy with relations from many Nations and to develop a network of relationships that I am committed to and that I leverage for mentorship, inspiration, and connecting community to professional, educational, cultural, and social opportunities. I will continue to be the node on the matrix that connects my community to this network and lean on it to inform my best practices as a community leader.

Ultimately, I strive to have a high impact on the next seven generations of community members and to foster a system where all have a strong sense of belonging and the resources to thrive. I offer my vision, purpose, and skillset to Bear Root Resource Center’s Cultural Advisory Committee and am excited to be a part of the organization’s beautiful, powerful, and needed work.