Yamily Pardio (she/they) was born and raised in Yucatan, Mexico before migrating to the US in the early 2000’s. Her experiences navigating various institutions as an undocumented Indigenous immigrant have shaped her into the educator and advocate she is today. She is keen to the needs of migrant, queer, trans, and indigenous communities, especially in education, and pays special attention to the ways policies affect these communities. Yamily considers herself a lifelong learner and embodies the dialectical relationship between educator and student as she is pursuing an undergraduate degree in Anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles and leading the development of youth programs at Arts For LA as the organization’s Programs Associate. Yamily hopes to use her time at VTS to continue building practices that build and better serve diverse communities.