Wednesday, September 30, 2020 - 3:00pm to 5:00pm
Location:End The Silence Initiative
Critical Race Mentorship: Dismantling White Saviorism through Counterstorytelling
Through a critical race framework, the presenters will engage in a discussion centered in the mentoring approach of the CSUN MOSAIC youth mentoring program along with practical applications that could be utilized to foster a healthy, reciprocal mentor-mentee relationship within both student and faculty dynamics. Grounded in critical authenticity—with the intention of establishing meaningful connections—this presentation aims to deconstruct common notions of the White mentor-savior complex while emphasizing the importance of power and positionality through a racialized analysis of mentorship. As a fundamental tool to validate the lived experiences of communities of color, a counterstorytelling methodology will be employed to inform potential mentor-mentee practices.
Wednesday September 30, 2020 | 3:00PM - 5:00PM
RSVP by September 29, 2020 | https://forms.gle/VT1cpAi6sWXMgS368
Facilitated by:
Nadine Bueno
Nadine Bueno (she/her/hers) is a Latina first-generation college graduate from East Los Angeles, California. Nadine was the first in her family to attend and graduate from both Community College and University. She is proud to be an East Los Angeles College (ELAC) graduate where she earned her Associates Degree in Sociology and transferred to California State University, Northridge (CSUN) to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology with a minor in Psychology. Nadine’s academic career has focused on the School-to-Prison Pipeline being that she was also an “at-risk” youth. The CSUN Mentoring to Overcome Struggles and Inspire Courage (MOSAIC) youth mentoring program has allowed her to continue her passion of working with youth exposed to multiple risk factors.
Jocelyn Cortes
Jocelyn Cortes (she/her/hers) is a Queer Latina from East Los Angeles, California raised by an immigrant single mother from Mexico City. Jocelyn is the first in her family to graduate High School and College. After attending East Los Angeles Community College (ELAC), she obtained her Bachelor’s Degree from California State University, Northridge (CSUN) in Sociology with a minor in Psychology and is currently obtaining a certification as a Chemical Dependency Specialist in Criminal Justice in the Addiction Studies Program at ELAC. Jocelyn’s experience with the MOSAIC mentoring program and her passion for youth work, educational justice and equity led her to become a College Advisor serving the beautiful young scholars of Watts, California.
Monica Montoya
Monica Montoya (she/her/hers) is a proud, first-generation, Latinx graduate student raised in Van Nuys, California by two immigrant parents from Durango, Mexico. Monica holds a Bachelor’s Degree from California State University, Northridge (CSUN) in Sociology with an emphasis in Criminal Justice and is a current graduate student in the 3-year, 2021 cohort in the Master of Social Work Department at CSUN. Since 2016, she has been involved with MOSAIC—a youth mentoring program that links CSUN students with opportunity-youth attending local continuation and alternative high schools. Monica is also a current student-leader in the annual, We Are Power: Community in Action Conference Committee and is currently serving as the President for the CSUN Social Work Society.
Dr. Alex Ojeda
Dr. Alex Ojeda (he/him/his) is a lecturer in the Criminology & Justice Studies Department at California State University at Northridge (CSUN), Director of CSUN's MOSAIC youth mentoring program and Coordinator of Los Angeles Valley College's NextUp and Guardian Scholars Foster Youth programs. As a first-generation, formerly incarcerated educator, son, brother, tito, artist, organizer and huehuetzonqui ("Aztec" drummer), Dr. Ojeda utilizes indigenous culture and philosophy to engage students in their learning processes while assisting in developing the Continuation High School-to-Community College Pipeline. He has spent over 15 years studying and researching Pre-Columbian cultures and knowledge throughout Mexico, Central America, Canada and the U.S. while disseminating his findings to his community in the San Fernando Valley. Dr. Ojeda holds a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education, a Master's Degree in Chicana/o Studies and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies.