

Her current interests include reading, watching movies, and spending time with friends and family.


Kayla currently resides in Lambayeque, Peru with her husband Denis and loves ice cream, indie movies, and ugly clothes.

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology, Julie returned to her home state and pursued working with youth in the criminal justice field in Austin, Texas. As she progressed in her career Julie worked with local State Judges, District Attorneys and Defense Attorneys in a collaborative effort to reduce recidivism and implement rehabilitative measures within the community. Julie also volunteered with various youth organizations, developed professional relationships with local leaders and was selected to attend Austin City Works Academy where she learned about government entities and social programs available for the betterment of her community.
In 2019, Julie and her family moved to South Florida to raise their daughter near its beautiful beaches and palm trees. Julie enjoys being active, spending time with family and is more driven than ever to help our youth.

While there, she worked with former President Pershing as the Presidential Ambassador Director, The Lassonde Entrepreneur Ambassador Program Director, and with Former Associate Vice President of Student Development Kari Ellingson to continue to enhance opportunities for underrepresented first-generation students.
She recently returned home from Colorado, where she completed a Masters in Science in Student Affairs in Higher Education from Colorado State University. She previously was the Director of Supporter and Corporate Relations at The Salt Lake Tribune, where she lead the nation’s first nonprofit metropolitan newspaper membership program and all fundraising efforts.
Her goal is to transform spaces for students by providing them with equitable resources that serve their community and other historically marginalized populations. Just like those who have mentored her and helped her persist through school. She aspires to be a mentor to students and teachers working towards increasing college access and retention rates.
Liz loves spending time with her family, being outdoors with her dog Max, and taking any opportunity she has to travel the world.

Crew team as captain, she was recruited to row for Princeton University, where she spent her
four years earning a Bachelor of Arts in Public and International Affairs with a focus on
International Organizations and Global Governance with a certificate in Latin American Studies.
Monica has worked as Residential College Advisor at Princeton University, a Program Lead for
Ivy Camps USA in Singapore, a Research Assistant at Princeton University, and has served as a
Senior Commissioner for a Policy Task Force for the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton
University where she was part of a panel that presented to the United Nations Headquarters in
New York. Monica is half Colombian, half Puerto Rican and speaks Spanish, Mandarin, and
Cantonese. Her personal upbringing and experiences abroad are the foundation for her passion
in understanding individuals’ unique stories and empowering Latino youth to actively engage in a path to happiness and success. Outside of the academic and work environment Monica
enjoys rowing, painting, and baking.

She graduated from Granger High School and then obtained her Associates degree from Salt Lake Community College. Being a first-generation college graduate came with its adversity. Yadi, however, was able to utilize different school programs to help her navigate her way through her undergrad degree. She graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelors of Social Work.
Yadi has worked with youth in different forms. She has history as a Direct Support Staff working with children and adults with disabilities. She has supported parents and youth at a children’s mental health office, and has also volunteered with organizations such as YMCA, assisting teachers with the after-school programs.
After completing an internship with them, Yadi worked on a permanency (foster care) team with the Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS). While working in the child welfare system, she worked with diverse families and assessed their needs as she helped them navigate the court system. She was a mediator between court staff and the families and would make sure that all parents, no matter their background, knew their rights and were well aware of the court proceedings that were happening in their case. Yadi would help families identify their support system by helping them create a team. She would provide a safe space for the team to meet and work together to achieve the family’s goals.
Yadi is very excited to be a part of the LIA team and to be surrounded by others that share her passion of helping youth discover their potential and of being of service to those in underrepresented communities.
Yadi feels that it’s important to cultivate those relationships that are most important to us, so she likes to spend her free time doing different activities while spending time with her own family and friends. She recently found that she likes outdoor activities, such as camping, more than she thought she did. She also enjoys watching movies, going to concerts, and traveling.

After graduating from UCF, Linda focused on improving the lives of young people by working in education and for youth-serving organizations. She was the Education Coordinator at Mothers Against Drunk Driving, where she visited schools and even dressed as the Grim Reaper to spread a message of safety on our roads. Linda also worked as the Director of Prevention Services for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Florida, where she trained staff in the implementation of programs such as SMART Moves and SMART Girls.
As an educator, Linda’s experience includes over 20 years and many roles, including Reading, Health and ESOL Teacher, Testing Coordinator, Reading Interventionist, ESOL Compliance Coordinator and Staffing Specialist.
Linda is mother to two young men and three chickens. During her free time, you may find Linda kayaking or practicing shooting sports and archery. She loves to spend time with her family and traveling, especially to places with beautiful bodies of water.
Linda’s favorite quote expresses the importance that she gives to being authentic:
“…Para saber a dónde se va hay que tener primero la voluntad y la determinación de seguir siendo quien se es. De otro modo, el que llega es otro... Quien deja de ser no llega."
Ernesto Ramos Antonini

Prior to joining LIA, Val has held various positions in education including Student Advocate, District Behavior Interventionist, Youth Court Supervisor and Health/LIA teacher. Her passion for forming positive relationships and connecting with students has only grown stronger over the years particularly in relation to high risk youth and underrepresented communities.
Val believes that the path to success starts with education. She looks forward to working with educators and LIA students as they advocate to help students discover and unleash their full potential. She is excited to be part of a team who shares her passion in empowering Latino youth to lead and strengthen their communities through the pursuit of education.
Outside of work, Val loves spending time with family and friends. She loves the outdoors and a good run to Target.

When she was a young teenager, they had the opportunity to live in Brisbane, Australia for a time. She was immersed in Australia’s melting pot of cultures, where she met peers from all over the world and learned to speak English. These experiences coupled with her education gave her the foundational skills and values she has used to succeed in teaching LIA.
Her training and work in the travel industry has also broadened her knowledge. She believes that traveling is one of the best ways to educate yourself, as you not only learn about a country, its people and way of life, but also a lot about yourself while visiting different parts of the world. As they say, “traveling is the best teacher.”
She moved to the States as a young adult and married an American. They have worked to combine their cultures while raising three children who are bilingual and bicultural. They make it a point to incorporate traditions from both cultures in order for them to experience their rich heritage. They have also been able to travel back and forth from Utah to Spain, strengthening their family ties on both sides.
After teaching LIA for six years she has a deeper appreciation and passion for what our mission is: empowering our Latino youth to lead and strengthen our community. Her priority has always been to help students learn to be comfortable being uncomfortable. Nothing brings her more joy than seeing students get out of their comfort zone, making a difference and realizing their individuality and potential. She’s excited to be a part of this organization where culture, leadership, service and education are the essentials in making this program a success.

Camilla’s passion for education began when she was a young student, her parents instilling the immense opportunity it is to have an education. It was precisely her parent’s sacrifices and her own adversity that motivated her to always challenge herself and strive for academic excellence. But it was disheartening for her to see so many of her Latino peers neglect pursuing their academic potential, lacking the right resources, motivation, and mentorship. This led her to start her own STEM-focused program in high school, called Never Stop Dreaming. Never Stop Discovering (or NSD2), where she tutored and mentored Latino elementary students in math, conducted science experiments with them, and motivated them to persevere amidst socio-economic challenges.
During her time at Harvard, Camilla worked on immigration advocacy and organizing with the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, asylum case management with Physicians for Human Rights, and school program data collection with Special Olympics, D.C.
Her upbringing and story have motivated her to continue opening doors for other Latino students and their families through education.
Outside of work, Camilla enjoys hiking, spending time with family, playing board games, and singing.


I like to always challenge myself and stay on top of different trends and markets thus I choose a variety of areas to work on, the crossover between design and programming has always been of interest to me I hae been lucky enough to work alongside some talented teams on a number of high profile websites.

Victoria Chile Born, Luis C has applied himself to an entrepreneur status due to the several Companies that he owns (Afuego Fridays, The Mixkings, Innovativemad, Onfire Productions), and as an organization, we can utilize.