Barbie is the founder, curriculum creator, and one of the facilitators of Mariposas. A school counselor by trade, she is based out of Frank Porter Graham Elementary, the Spanish dual-language magnet school in Chapel Hill, NC. Originally from Puerto Rico, Barbie learned at a young age about the dichotomy of living between two realities, and the impact an inferior “citizenship” can have on power, access and opportunity. Her passion for issues of race, immigration and gender strongly influences her counseling program.
Barbie graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst with a B.A. in Journalism, and a minor in Latin American Politics. In 2013, she received her M.Ed in School Counseling from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Barbie is a member of the Teaching Tolerance Advisory Board.
You can read some of her writing:
Puerto Rico: Decency, Outrage & Collective Power: https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/puerto-rico-decency-outrage-and-collective-power
On Truth & Neutrality: https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/on-truth-and-neutrality
Just Human: https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/just-human
Your Voice is Safe Here: https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/your-voice-is-safe-here
MARIPOSAS 