Nosotrxs
Angel Fajardo
Director
(909) 833-1412
Angel Fajardo was born in Mexico D.F. and grew up in the Inland Empire; she graduated from University of California Riverside in 2016 with a degree in Global Studies. As the new Director of the Inland Empire Immigrant Youth Collective (IE-IYC), Angel believes that empowering youth and building leaders is essential to create a community in which all people, regardless of status, ethnicity, or class, can live with dignity, grace, and power. Angel is honored to lead the IE-IYC through a strong, positive, and fresh new pathway to triumph for the immigrant community in the inland empire.
Najayra Valdovinos Soto
Youth Engagement Coordinator
As a DACA recipient herself, Najayra earned her BA in Gender and Sexualities at the University of California Riverside (UCR). During her time at UCR, she was very active with the group PODER in which she helped advocate for immigrant issues through events held throughout the school year. When she isn’t working on eliminating social injustices, she enjoys hiking, lifting, and painting in her free time. Najayra is excited to continue to establish a connection as well as, to educate and engage the youth leaders and community members in the IE through the numerous projects we will host. Some of these projects include, DACA workshops, CA Dream Act workshops, Teatro Popular Know Your Rights workshops, as well as numerous actions that take place throughout the year.
Board Members
Erika Flores
Ericka Flores is a DACA recipient and a proud resident of the Inland
Empire where she has lived for the last 20 years. She migrated to the US
from her native Mexico when she was a little girl, and is the daughter of a
resilient Salvadorian woman. For over 10 years, Ericka has worked alongside community leaders to tackle various social justice issues impacting different communities in the region. She has spearheaded a multitude of campaigns, promoting social and economic equity, health, voter engagement and responsible industrial development while striving to
access long-term sustainable resources and solutions and conducting
leadership development practices. Ericka is the Organizing Director with
CCAEJ, holds a BA in Sociology from California State University, San
Bernardino and is a Women’s Policy Institute graduate, where she led local
policy efforts. She is passionate about the intersectionality of social
justice— particularly those centered on environmental justice, migrants’
and women’s rights.
Lyzzeth Mendoza
Lyzzeth In an Inland region native since 1989. She is currently the Chair for IEIYC and has been a member since July 2012. She first came to the space to learn more of how she can support as an ally to immigrant youth in the region after actively working with youth and young adults in the OC and LA area. She supported immigrant folx and other communities as she earned two Bachelor's degrees in American Studies and Public Relations from California State University of Fullerton. As a person of faith with a strong desire for social justice, She has been active in education justice and immigrant rights work in the last eight years. She is currently also the community engagement and policy associate with Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice (ICIJ).
She believes that policy and community engagement are essential part of our civic duty to help create a world where we are not merely surviving, but instead thriving. She has seen and learned of the needs in this region after conducting thousands of one to one conversations, which has influenced local and statewide policies to advance the lives of the most vulnerable.