Cecilia (she/they) is first-generation born and raised in Southern California. Their mother is from Chalatenango, El Salvador and their father is from Jalisco, Mexico. Visiting her self-sufficient family in the motherlands has shaped her worldview and responsibility to take care of Mother Earth. After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Animal Science, they initially began working with wildlife, then transitioned to leading riparian, native plant restoration conservation corps crews. Since 2018, they have volunteered at local farms in CA, NV, WA and NM. She witnessed how turning large piles of food scraps into compost can bring communities together to not only act as an extension of the food soil web, but be a conduit to reconnect humans back to thinking one’s relationship to food, land, and water. When Cecilia is not working, you will find them cooking up a storm in the kitchen, starting new art projects (not so much finishing them) or in their xochimilpa (farm field) in South Valley.