Executive Director

As far back as I can remember, I’ve always carried a sense of service and a desire to help others. I was born and raised in the small South Texas town of La Feria, where I grew up with a strong sense of community and possibility. My family owned a bakery specializing in Mexican sweet bread, so a strong work ethic was ingrained early on. I worked before school and after school to help the family business and learned the value of responsibility and purpose.

After spending a couple of years in college in South Texas, I began my career in television at a station in Harlingen, where my father served as the studio manager. My mother managed our family's bakery, grocery store, and coffee shop, and watching both balance family and work gave me understanding of responsibility. After two years learning every aspect of television production, I moved to Austin to work in a larger television market. I spent the next three years there, eventually becoming a graphics producer.

While in Austin, I began to feel a deeper calling to service, which led me to the Pontifical College Josephinum, a Catholic seminary in Columbus, Ohio. There, I found joy in the study of philosophy, graduating after three years with a degree in the subject. I then joined the Carmelites, a religious order committed to contemplation, community, and service. After two years of theological study and formation, I transitioned back into what some might call “the everyday world,” carrying with me the life lessons, knowledge, and experiences that continue to shape who I am today.

My next chapter took me in a completely different direction. I worked briefly as a bail bondsman, an experience that taught me to withhold judgment because we rarely know the full story or circumstances that influence the decisions people make. It reminded me that understanding often comes before compassion.

From there, I moved into social work, serving at a high school through Communities In Schools (CIS) in McAllen, Texas. That year changed me in many ways. The students taught me more than I could ever teach them, reminding me that every person, no matter their age or background, has a deep need for connection and to know they matter.

That realization motivated me to pursue an alternative teaching certificate and later a master’s degree in counseling. My path led me to teach first grade in Donna ISD, then to Dalton, Georgia, where I taught 3rd and 4th grade ESL. Returning to Texas, I served as an elementary school counselor in Plano ISD, later as a senior high school counselor, and then as a district administrator overseeing social services.

In 2007, I joined Irving ISD, where I led our Responsive Services department for 11 years. After serving as a principal at a private school in 2018, I was invited back in 2019 to launch and lead our Employee Wellness Program. Today, I have proudly served Irving ISD for 18 years, leading initiatives that promote employee wellness and support a healthier workplace culture.