In 1999, I moved to the beautiful Central Coast of California to start a new journey in teaching English and social science. In 2004, I was excited to start a brand new and totally unknown (to me) career - as an activity director. I had no idea how to run an ASB business meeting, grade a leadership class, or plan rallies, Homecoming, and graduation. Fortunately, my friend and mentor, former CADA President John “Rod” Rodriguez, took me to the CADA Convention in Reno, Nevada. At that CADA Convention, I filled my brain with as much information as possible, but even more importantly, I met PEOPLE…people who had walked these paths, and who were so kind to share their ideas and offer support! I went home with not just knowledge, but with email addresses and phone numbers. For the first five years, these wonderful CADA heroes kept me sane! Now, I am blessed to call them dear friends who offer support, guidance, and love.
The summer of 2004, I started working with an amazing group of people at CADA Leadership Camp. Working with them to train young leaders, and learning from them while working, I found a tribe of the most generous, kind, and hard-working people you could ever meet. I met activity directors from all over the state, and young leaders who were full of ideas and creative plans for changing their campuses. The month of July is my vacation - it is the time when I recharge my batteries and find the excitement for my journey once again. I missed a few years, but all together, I have worked at CADA Leadership Camps for 14 years - and I have treasured every one of them.
I have served on the Area D council since I became a member of CADA, minus a few years when I wasn’t working in activities. My Area D family is truly family, and I have worked with them to bring the best of training and support to our members. In our area, we hold 3 student conferences - Salinas, Ventura, and Santa Maria , and one advisor conference- and it definitely takes a village to put all the pieces together. Since 2017, I have been both honored and blessed to serve as Area D Coordinator. Through the journey, working together, Area D has worked to build our area and meet the needs of our advisors. We share, we plan, we disagree, we compromise, and we support our CADA programs. I have found strength for my journey as the activity director at Pioneer Valley High School through my leadership journey as Area D Coordinator.
My leadership journey started almost 20 years ago, and through every step, CADA has been my rock. One of my amazing Area D sisters, Shannon Hurtado, calls CADA “the North Star of activities” because it always points us to the answers we need -no matter at what point we are on our journey. Navigating all of the changes on YOUR leadership journey - and all of them are different and equally beautiful - that is why I want to be your Vice President. The strength of CADA is the people…the ones who can help you figure out the beginning questions - “How do I do this finance stuff?” “How do I set up teams in my Student Council?”…the questions that come later - “How can I spice up my rallies to get more participation? “Which app is best for making social media posts?” “Who are the best motivational speakers for ___________________ (the topic you want them to discuss)?”…and the ones who will always know how crazy your life is, who can commiserate about last minute Costco runs, Painter’s tape, and the lack of storage space for your Homecoming decorations after the dance. Post-pandemic, there are more questions than ever. We are seeing the changes that time brought to our campuses and our students. Sometimes, it is a little scary, because we are not really sure where to start in navigating a new world that we don’t have a map for yet. That is my vision as Vice President - to make it easier to share with one another, to bring people together in order to draw a new map for today’s world of activities, and to find out from YOU what CADA can do to support you on your leadership journey.