• BIPOC
• Immigrant

• American Indian or Alaska Native
• Black or African American
• Hispanic or Latine
• Biracial

After studying art and design, with a thesis project focused on eco-efficent production methods, and ‘designing for compostability’, I returned to my birth town, New York to enter the marketplace. I’ve worked with several non-profits, mostly teaching/coordinating young adults, mainly ‘Grow-NYC’ and the ‘YMCA’. From teaching young counselors how to engage with school aged students, to teaching inner-city high school students about local food systems, and giving lessons in basic job skills. I sit Zazen with the Brooklyn Zen Center, and have volunteered extensively with them as they begin their new monastery in Milterton NY. Most recently I completed a class in socially engaged Buddhism with Kosen Greg Snyder and the senior students of BZC.

For me, my biggest change-making efforts have been, ‘opting out’, and/or, voting with my wallet. From secondary school, I became passionate about divesting from lifestyles which promote the ‘culture of combustion’. Everything from refusing to buy gods in excessive packaging, seeking out local markets, to bigger decisions about careers and futures. Many artist/designers like me are sent into the commercial design pipeline, to make products and content for mass consumption. I vowed to never put forth my energies for such companies, no matter the wages. I chose to work non-profit, and work smaller scale, with my local artisan communities. I chose to teach art/design/making, and preserving the craft traditions of my ancestry. I chose to join an artist union, to advocate for fare artist wages in the city of New York.

I practice martial arts, yoga, and multiple body-mindfulness schools since childhood, with the core belief that healing and self care comes about through training and sustained inquiry into the self. I have done individual talk-therapy since secondary school, and as a student was widely interested in all forms of spiritual offerings. I distinctly enjoyed visiting different churches in different neighborhoods every Sunday. I grew up both Catholic, and Anglican, but went to synagogue with my school friends. My best friend in school was Muslim. I cultivate a pan religious view of our world, and have always been one to study scriptures from many faiths.

In 2015 I joined with the Brooklyn Zen Center, to begin a more in-depth investigation into training the mind, and healing in community. I will be the first to admit, I’m not great at sharing. My cultural Karma as an indigenous Yucatec Mayan and mixed race Afro-Latino, born in Harlem, NY, is one of mistrust and caution.

It is in this recent phase of life, that I have been able to truly begin to engage with my Belizean ancestry from a spiritual perspective. Kosen, and the BZC leadership allowed space for my indigenous body to settle and take refuge. I realied their was a lot of trauma I was living without knowing it.

I want to know how to talk about these global and cultural troubles. I want to know how I can start to share them with my students. I’m starting to move into becoming and indigenous studies teacher and I want to know that which is a present day indigenous activist. The call for activism runs deep with me. I have been sitting in silence for many years, without the knowledge to know how I can act to bring change. I want to learn about that space between healing through action.

The biggest take away will be bringing some of these lessons back to my native Belize, Central America. I am a dual citizen and come to Belize every other winter. There is a lot of suffering here, and so much room for activism and community building. The spiritual community here is a bit sparse and scattered, kept back by the nature of the population here, so mixed up by the former British occupation. The young nation of Belize is still forming its own higher educational institutions and global identity. I want to rise to become a spiritual leader within my national community and I believe understanding the movements and community building of your organization can empower me with knowledge and experience.

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Brooklyn Zen Center