United We Rise

Being American is more than a pride we inherit. It’s the past we step into and how we repair it.Amanda Gorman
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Wednesday, March 24, 2021 (7:00-8:00PM)

(Virtual Event on Zoom)

Sarahi Espinoza Salamancafeaturing
Sarahi Espinoza Salamanca
Founder and CEO of DREAMers Roadmap

Join YCS in conversation with award winning, changemaker Sarahi Espinoza Salamanca, a trailblazer for social justice. East Palo Alto resident, founder and CEO of DREAMers Roadmap, Sarahi has led the way to higher education for thousands of first generation students. Her personal story inspired her to pursue a life of service to others. As an activist within and for the undocumented community, Sarahi is central in conversations on national immigration policy. Sarahi, now continues her journey by leading the new YCS initiative Youth LEARN Commission (Leading Engagement for AntiRacism, Now!). Grounded in lived experiences, our LEARN commission provides a platform to advocate for and identify policy solutions to address systemic racism faced by our Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color (BIPOC) youth.

Sarahi was a Champion of Change at the White House in 2014, has received 4 House of Representatives Awards, was named in Forbes 30 under 30 in 2016, and more recently was recognized a Local Hero Award. A former undocumented student who once had to drop out of school to support her family, Sarahi’s personal experience informs her unwavering vision: to help hundreds of thousands of students eliminate the barriers to success and achieve their full potential.

More recently Sarahi has directed two major campaigns serving minorities. #FirstOfTheMonth where she and two other local organizations came together and raised 2.4 million dollars to help the most vulnerable of their neighbors who were impacted by covid and got no financial support from the government. The other #Supplies4FarmWorkers a grassroots community-led campaign organized by 100% volunteers where trips to farmworker camps and fields were made to distribute backpacks, school supplies, PPE kits, and other essential goods. Serving 1,060 families affected by the California fires and Covid19.

Read more about Sarahi in these recent articles in the Forbes and SF Chronicle articles. Watch Sarahi’s Ted Talk, Nation of Immigrants.

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Adriana FloresEvent Moderator
Adriana Flores
LatinxAmerica Podcast Host & Founder

After working in higher education, non-profit and media, Adriana launched LatinxAmerica. Her vision is to provide a platform to share personal and professional journeys and inspire more Latinx to join the tech, innovation, and investment fields.

Adriana is the daughter of hard working immigrants. She is living the American Dream and wants Latinx to have access to more opportunities to create wealth and social capital. She has two children who are learning to code and she wants more Latinx kids to have access and opportunities to become the next innovators to build a better future for our community.

Lunch ClubJoin us for a great food experience with the event!

Support our local restaurants and enjoy great food with the event! Since we cannot share a meal with you in person, we have compiled a list of local restaurants and food trucks where you can get delicious takeout. All of these have special foods and special people in our communities running them. Please see the list and links here.

Event Sponsors

Lucile Packard Children's Hospital
Raising Resilience
Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce
Bright Homes Real Estate
Kafenia
Palo Alto Reiki

Media Sponsor

Palo Alto Online
Palo Alto Weekly

Event Production Partners

Youth Community Service has been at the forefront of connecting our youth in community conversations about equity and social justice since our founding 31 years ago.