journey

how I got to today

because uncertain roads,  take us on beautiful journeys and captivating destinations.

Born and raised in Spain by a flamenco guitarist and an elementary school counselor and teacher, human connection and music accompanied me in every step of my existence. Singing Breathe from the musical In The Heights kept me grounded as I embarked on the path of traveling across the ocean at the age of 17 to enroll in the National High School Institute at Northwerstern University in the Acting and Musical Theatre program. 

After the twists and bends of navigating the performing arts conservatory university system and its barriers for international and low/middle-income students, I knew I wanted to make a change toward equity in the arts industry. The Entertainment and Event Management program at the Rosen College of Hospitality Management in the University of Central Florida, became my next step. As the Covid-19 pandemic hit, and many like me became displaced from their college residences and home countries, I moved to Mexico City. With the heart of an artist and a deep growing concern for global and mental health, I was awarded a merit scholarship to transfer to Sarah Lawrence College in New York– where I earned a Bachelor of Arts in Performing Arts and Public Health with an additional concentration in Psychology. 

As a graduate student in Psychology at the The New School for Social Research, I not only apply a public health lens to reimagining wellbeing in the performing arts sector, but I extend my focus to other vulnerable populations like refugees and migrants. My work at the Trauma and Global Mental Health Lab, lays on supporting projects that aim to expand pathways for people facing adversity to access mental health care at a local and global level. 

Beyond my current work, my evolving list of interests includes meaning-making and resilience, the Caribbean and Latin America, lessons from traditional, Eastern, and indigenous healing, maternal and child psychology, the singing voice, sensory sensitivity, poetry, storytelling, and the revolutionary practice of slowing down. 

"In a gentle way, you can shake the world." – Mahatma Gandhi