Central Texas, Sr. Program Coordinator

Elena Lopez

Education:

• BA in Comparative Literature and Spanish at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst

Experience: Elena grew up in Portland, OR but moved to Austin to explore what it's like to live in the sunshine. Elena graduated with a degree in Comparative Literature and Spanish from the University of Massachusetts Amherst where she worked at the Center for Women and Community as an Educator Advocate and doing outreach for the Civic Engagement and Service Learning program. These have been foundational to her growth as a facilitator and opening up safe spaces for commonly ignored conversations around women. She has extensive experience and a passion for empowering others; from volunteering at a youth crisis hotline in high school to running empowerment-based after-school programs with Latina youth and serving as a fellow for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon on their legislative action team - she cares for her people. From an early start, she understood the impact of storytelling and the self-agency it creates for the storyteller. Before GIRLS, Elena worked in global education, connecting schools and local community groups to rural communities in the Dominican Republic, Thailand, Laos, and the US to create sustainable infrastructure projects. She also worked for Refugee Services of Texas to develop and strengthen community and corporate partnerships to build RST's capacity to welcome new families into Austin. Outside of her work, Elena spends her time cooking, going on bike rides and picking flowers, exploring in the greenbelt, and crocheting!

What I love about Girls Empowerment Network: GIRLS creates the opportunity for community and growth in a way that benefits us all. A safe space to truly explore what it means to be yourself, and a space that gives permission to change and blossom. This is the space I wish was presented to everyone as they grew up, and I am so honored to hold space for this next generation of incredible young people to strengthen their voices!