C-HER Freedom Dreaming Mini Grants

Not Alone: Cultivating Collective Leadership, Healing, and Joy Among Confident Single Mommas

The term “single mother” implies emotional, financial, and relational isolation. But single mothers are never truly alone. As I explore in Homemade Theory, and as this project demonstrates, single mothers are always part of networks of care, creativity, and connection. The problem is not that single mothers are isolated; it is that our social and economic systems are structured to enforce their isolation and shame their strength.

This project builds an intentional collective, a spiritual, socioemotional, and cultural community where single mothers become organizers of joy, leaders of faith, and authors of new visions for themselves and others. In doing so, Not Alone mounts a radical challenge to hegemonic family norms that define legitimacy by marriage, nuclear structure, and patriarchal oversight.

Embodied Impacts of Executive Orders: Immigrant Children and their Families Living Through Donald Trump’s Second Term

This project actively engages in praxis by fostering a continuous dialogue between theoretical frameworks and the lived experiences of immigrant communities. Our primary goal is to elevate the voices of immigrant families with school-aged children, whose lives are deeply impacted by political shifts, especially in relation to changing immigration policies. By conducting interviews with 5-10 families working with local nonprofits, we seek to understand the real-world effects of policies that have been shaped without input from diverse, demographically representative groups. These policies often fail to reflect the lived realities of migrant families, and this project endeavors to fill that gap by offering a platform to present these impacts within an academic context.

Developing Agency and Voice in Workforce Development: Supporting Transition Age Youth to Co-Produce the Best Practices to Support Persistence in Employment in Sacramento County

As a former executive director, program operator, grant writer, and practitioner in homeless services and workforce development spaces in Sacramento since 1998, I have seen programs, staff, and funding sources come and go in the region. There were many positive aspects of those iterations and dozens of youth became stably housed, having benefited from those programs and services. Still, though, I wondered if there was a more formal and robust set of workforce development supports available to programs and youth, and that there might be an addition or amplification of the outcomes already being achieved. Marshall, et al. say: “Designing and implementing opportunities that increase the incomes of persons who experience homelessness has the potential to mitigate the poverty they experience and may be one part of an overall strategy for preventing and ending homelessness ... Novel employment-based approaches that more effectively target employment and well-being outcomes for a range of sub-groups are needed (2022).”¹

The purpose of this project is to identify an actionable theory of change for TAY experiencing homelessness by co-investigating what has worked, and what does not in workforce development. In doing so, the goal is to create the conditions so that TAY can remediate their circumstances by persistence in employment. By engaging in CPAR, the process of the development of the solution is identified by those most proximate to the challenge. This co-investigation can lead to solutions to the problem of persistence in TAY experiencing homelessness employment. By developing a spirit of inquiry, involving lived experts in the investigatory process, and examining solutions with practitioners, the data collected through the research will lead to an actionable theory of change.

¹Marshall, C. A., Boland, L., Westover, L. A., Goldszmidt, R., Bengall, J., Aryobi, S., . . . Gewurtz, R. (2022). Effectiveness of employment-based interventions for persons experiencing homelessness: A systematic review. Health & Social Care in the Community, 30(6), 2142–2169. doi:10.1111/hsc.13892

Life Essentials for Black Girls

As a McCylmonds alumni, I am personally connected with this project to give back to my community and connect with black girls who are now where I once was. It is my hope to create a safe space where black girls can be themselves and share their experiences to build strength within themselves. Bell Hooks reminded me about the importance of your homeplace, where she could “return to Kentucky and feel again a sense of belonging that I never felt elsewhere, experiencing unbroken ties to the land, to homefolk, to our vernacular speech.” (2009, p. 6) For me, my homeplace is returning to my community and high school that shaped me as an early scholar and helped me define my identity as a black woman from Oakland. I am honored to be able to partner with Brian and Relonda McGhee, who work at McCylmonds and are also alumni, and family members who have played a pivotal role in my life. Connecting with my high school also connects me with my roots in Oakland to give back to my community. Often, McClymonds has been negatively stereotyped, but I know the power and love that this school has given to the students and the Oakland community.

Within this project, my goal is to engage, educate, and empower black girls by nurturing mental, social, and academic growth mindsets. It aims to prepare them for college while affirming their cultural identities, particularly concerning aspects like their hair, appearance, language, and interpersonal relationships. We will be spending time on the values of black hair and how it shapes us as a person. How is black hair seen as a form of power, resistance, or liberation? The concept of black hair and the connection to ancestral practices, which builds cultural confidence. We will better our understanding of black women as a community, to uplift one another and our relationships. Empowerment through our actions and speaking over one another to show our love. We will bring in community members and black women scholars to share their stories and ways of perseverance. We will spend time on academics and how we connect our identity with who we are as scholars. This will include help with personal statements and senior projects. This project aims to disrupt negative stereotypes about black women by offering a comprehensive curriculum that not only celebrates the essence of Black girlhood but also equips students with the necessary tools for success in higher education and beyond.

Dreaming Beyond Borders: Youth Against Deportations and the Creative Retelling of Nuestras Historias

This project engages high school youth in praxis by centering critical consciousness through intentional reflection and education. Through pláticas, youth critically examine the real-life impact of U.S. immigration enforcement policies on their families and communities, connecting concepts such as systemic oppression, resilience, and community power to their own lived experiences. As they engage with undocumented and DACAmented leaders, youth connect these reflections to models of grassroots organizing and advocacy, applying what they learn in practice. By leading community pláticas, listening walks, and circles, youth not only (Un)Document the effects of deportation and family separation, but also highlight community joy and resistance. In doing so, they move from reflection to action—transforming personal and collective narratives into tools for education, empowerment, and systemic change.

Building Critical Multilingual Pedagogies with Latinx Indigeneity at the Center

Friere (1982, p.75) stated:

Within the word we find two dimensions, reflection and action, in such radical interaction that if one is sacrificed, even in part, the other immediately suffers. There is no true word that is not at the same time a praxis. Thus, to speak a true word is to transform the world.

 

Alma Flor Ada (1991, p.25) refers to the central role of action through the cyclical process of the word, dialogue, reflection, action, and praxis, stating that:

Participatory research, the dialogues, the mutual collaboration, are all actions. Even the silences of emotion, reflection and thought are harbors of fundamental action.”

This participatory teacher action research project aims to provide a space of praxis for teachers to engage with, utilize, and provide feedback on a curriculum-in-progress that centers the experiences of Latinx indigenous children and families with a focus on the themes of migration, language, culture, and identity. Through the use of critical, multilingual culturally relevant pedagogies, my hope is that teachers will also provide a space of praxis for students. Through the process of learning about Latinx indigeneity and reflecting on their own Latinx identity and/or Latinx indigeneity, including familial, transnational, linguistic and cultural experiences, there is the opportunity and possibility for critical learning, growth, reflection and healing.

Seeding Queer Abolitionist K-12 Educational Futures Hoy y Mañana

For this C-HER Freedom Dreaming Mini-Grant, I am scaling up my work beyond Rainbow Gems in my own classroom by building learning and organizing opportunities at both site and district levels for students, families, staff, and teachers. I am also centering translanguaging in my abolitionist and intersectional teaching and student learning to serve the more complex cultural and linguistic needs of my multilingual and newcomer students. We need parents, families, and caregivers as partners in this work. When students feel seen and supported at school, home and in the community, they gain the bravery and strength to explore, ask questions, and grow. This year, students in my classroom have shared that they have LGBTQIA2S+ family members—a truth that, in many cases, they hadn’t previously voiced. I see how much potential there is when school spaces openly honor LGBTQIA2S+ realities. Yet too often, our school’s “Culture and Climate” conversations focus narrowly on students’ behavior, sidelining deeper conversations about identity, belonging and structural harm. I believe that if our school site knew (or cared to learn) that our students do indeed have family members who are LGBTQIA2S+, (I’d hope) that they would want to hold more space.

We are also pursuing to move this work beyond the club, namely by embedding it into a school-wide climate, family engagement, and teacher learning. We want to see our administration, teachers and families fully invested in queer abolitionist work, not as an “extra” option, but as a core part of how we nurture safety, belonging, and joy in schools. Our collective goal is to shift the culture so that students not only feel supported inside Rainbow Gems, but everywhere on campus. This requires love, courage and consistency from all adults in the building.

ArtAbility Collective

Ruth Asawa School of the Arts (RASOTA) is an audition-based public high school in San Francisco for the arts. Students who attend RASOTA attend academic classes in the mornings and are a part of the arts department in the afternoons. Students in special education who require more than fifty percent of their education to be provided in a special day class (SDC) have been historically under-represented in the arts departments at RASOTA. Students in the special day class setting have not had the same opportunities or been included in an arts department because, before this school year, they were placed at our site and had not auditioned for an arts department. We have faced obstacles with their inclusion in the arts department due to a lack of professional development for our teaching staff and staffing to support students’ needs. Our team has been working this past school year (2024-2025) to create an arts department for students in the special day class track that fosters inclusion and a diverse set of arts curriculum.

The ArtAbility collective strives to be a specialized arts course designed to meet the unique needs of students receiving special education services who benefit from differentiated and hands-on instruction. This inclusive, process-focused department celebrates creativity, self-expression, and skill-building through a wide range of craft and fine art experiences.

El Guateque - Creating Space for Cultural retention and belonging

Our logo says, “Familias Tomando Acción” (Families Taking Action), which means that we aim for our Latinx families to take action in their life choices by bringing resources and opportunities to where they are and providing support, education, and HOPE. We know que “Si Se Puede!” Our aim is to create a space for Spanish speaking families in South San Francisco (SSF), California, where they see each other as a neighbor, community support, and possible friend, as they navigate their constant journey of challenges and barriers they face everyday. The stories we hear in our community, after living in SSF for more than 20 years, are that immigration status, language barriers, low salaries, housing needs, and mental health needs get in the way of success. However, we would argue that with all the potential that these Latinx community members bring with them from their countries of origin, it is a matter of matching them with the right resources and opportunities.

It is for that reason that we want to propose a pilot monthly gathering: El Guateque. The word guateque is thought to have originated in the Mukuchi language, an extinct aboriginal language from the Mérida area of Venezuela. It eventually spread to the Caribbean and México by the end of the 19th century (Google, 2024), where Spanish speaking families (mom, dad, grandma, aunt, children, teenagers, etc.) can come together to meet each other and create community (trust and bonding), so that united we can support each other with information related to education and mental health. The space will have opportunities for local community based organizations that support Latinx community to table with their resources. It will also be a day to share traditional food and beverage (non-alcoholic) and activities that remind us of our Latinx countries. It will provide a service in the gap that the City of SSF has in spaces where Spanish speakers feel they belong.

TribesWomxn Leadership

The purpose of this project is to honor and celebrate black, brown and indigenous womxn leaders and their leading efforts that are promoting social justice and who are facilitating empowerment for the next generation of black, brown and indigenous womxn. A structured conversation such as a panel discussion will assist to recognize black, brown and indigenous womxn’s identities, narratives, activism and the aim is to engage other black, brown and indigenous womxn’s leaders from other communities as well. The goal is to gather such community leaders and build a coalition or network that acts as an environment to support younger, emerging leaders. The panel discussion is a starting point, the ending goal of this project will be up to the four womxn, which I have personal connections with three of them and hoping to bring a new womxn, and it will be up to them to decide the end goal of this project.

Black Women Be Knowing

The central purpose of our podcast is to explore the racial challenges faced by Black women working in predominantly white suburban institutions. This project is crucial as it amplifies the voices and experiences of Black women, fostering dialogue around systemic inequalities while building community and empowering listeners to advocate for change within their workplaces.

The podcast process encourages collective and radical imagination by centering the experiences and knowledge of Black women, challenging dominant narratives in both pop culture and academia. By fostering open dialogue and sharing diverse perspectives, the project aims to disrupt existing systems of oppression, inspiring listeners to envision and enact new possibilities for equity and justice in their workplaces.

Navigating Equity and Well-Being: The Experiences of Black School Social Workers and Counselors in K-12 Education of California Bay Area

My project explores the well-being of Black school social workers and counselors by critically examining how they navigate systemic racism, institutional barriers, and cultural expectations. Using narrative inquiry and prompted journaling, my research centers Black voices and reimagines professional well-being through culturally sustaining approaches. My study not only critiques existing structures but also engages participants in a process of collective reflection and resistance, creating new pathways for professional practice, mental health, and educational equity. By fostering a radical and collective imagination, my research aims to disrupt oppressive systems and contribute to policies and practices that affirm Black experiences and promote racial justice.

Ultimately, the central question of my project is how can we reimagine and sustain the well-being of Black school social workers and counselors in ways that honor their identities and experiences while dismantling oppressive structures? This is crucial for both their personal and professional flourishing, as well as for transforming educational systems to be more inclusive, equitable, and supportive.

Earthseed Text: Implementing Humanizing Institutional Responses and Approaches to Student Demands and Organizing in Higher Education Organizations

This project is an extension of my dissertation research, which is critical and useful in that it would add to a growing body of work that ushers in a call to action for new and established leaders across institution type, through new considerations surrounding the impact of racial capitalism and Black student activism on organizational change within Higher Education organizations; setting best practices for how we respond to change, acknowledge that change, and dismantle the continued laboring and intellectual looting of Black student populations and the Black community.

The aim of this project is focused on identifying best practices for University responses to student demands and organizing. The Earthseed text will propose liberatory frameworks and recommendations that guide system and campus leaders in how to respond to future demands of student organizers in a freedom dreaming and coalition based approach by (re)imagining the roles and responsibilities; policies; organization and structure; and training of its organization and constituents in a humanizing way to enact racial justice.

Ethnic Studies in Catholic Education

We seek to meet the continuing needs of Catholic school teachers who have been asked to or would like to teach Ethnic Studies in their schools, but have not received sufficient professional development on how to develop this curriculum. As a result, it is important that they connect their courses to Catholic education’s mission, all while creating and adopting culturally responsive content and practices in their classrooms. DEI practitioners in Catholic education are also a target audience for this conference, because they are also charged with connecting culturally responsive teaching to the tenets of Catholic Social Teaching on an institutional level simply by virtue of their roles. This project’s main objective is to continue the work of Aldana, Castillon and Jiménez with special attention to the needs of students, the role of reflection and reconciliation for educators, and the ways in which DEI practitioners can offer coaching and support in classroom spaces:

Engaging in reflection helps culturally responsive teachers recognize the beliefs, behaviors, and practices that get in the way of their ability to respond constructively and positively to students.”

Hammond, 2014

Grandma's Wisdom-Self Love, La Sabiduria de la Abuela-Amor Propio

The purpose of this project is to document the bilingual (Spanish/English) stories and well-being strategies, specifically- self-love of female elders in the United States Latinx community via photography and oral history documentation. Research shows that an area of health, mental health that drives overall physical health that has been largely ignored in BIPOC communities (Zuckerwise, 2024) The objective of this project is to have their wealth of stories told and recorded in a respectful and professional way to create a sense of personal empowerment, uplift (re) education and grace in a symbiotic way for the storyteller and current new generations of communities of Latinx female Youth in the US and in others such as visual and print wellbeing storytelling in Chinatown Pretty and Chicken Soup for the Soul Projects.

Poetry for Our Lives: Transgression and Transformation for Critical Literacy Development and Engagement for Marginalized Students in Secondary English Language Arts Classrooms

What can we do as English educators to not only improve but encourage the literacy (academic, social-emotional, mental, wellness, financial, and critical) of students but especially marginalized students? How can we take stagnant English Language Arts classrooms and turn them into transgressive and transformative spaces where students can take their lived experiences and use them to inform the work in the classroom? What does an English Language Arts classroom that values voice and self-expression look like?

This project engages in praxis as well as the constant and fluid relationship between theory and practice because it is a theoretical framework that I aim to introduce into secondary English Language Arts Classrooms to enact change. For my theoretical framework, I will be using poetry as a way to build critical literacy skills within my students and encourage them to find and express their individual voices. Furthermore, I will be engaged in critical pedagogical theory to guide my teaching practice and use the research of critical pedagogy to inform how I create and execute my curriculum. I view poetry as the bridge between the figurative and literal as well as the theoretical and practical because of its innate nature to transgress and transform.

Grown Ass Academics: How Black Female College Students Navigate Higher Education Utilizing an Arsenal of Community Cultural Wealth & Intersectionality and the Importance of Creating Internal Black Girl Joy

As I navigate through my third year of doctoral studies, I am focused on my area of interest for my final dissertation project: exploring how Black women over age forty use their cultural wealth and scholarship to succeed in academia, their careers, and society. My research question is: 'How do Black women use their cultural wealth and scholarship to successfully navigate predominantly white spaces and the importance for creating internal Black girl joy in doing so?

The importance for this research is to create a support circle for Black female students and to lift their voices to create a positive impact in academia and beyond. Through my research, I aim to report my findings on this topic and emphasize the significance of understanding the experiences of Black and students of Color. I believe that the experiences of my community are valuable, worthwhile, and add to academic scholarship. By creating a supportive environment for Black female students, I hope to promote their success and contribute to creating a more equitable academic and professional space.