Malena is a very compassionate, creative, and adventurous person. She was born in El Salvador and at the age of six had to migrate with her family to Mexico. And though they immigrated to the US a couple years later, she has always stayed deeply rooted in her Latin-American origins, being fully bicultural and bilingual. She is curious and loves to learn, excelling in academics and continuing to study art. She loves to paint and dance, is part of a Latina women’s theater group, and plays folkloric music of Latin America. She is a free spirit, feels enlivened in nature, especially en el tropico, and enjoys taking long morning walks with Juztino and having big brunches with her family and friends. I know she will be a loving, patient and nurturing mama to the little one she raises.

Malena is also an educator, community organizer and artist. She combines her experience in popular education with her Master’s in Education to dedicate herself to grassroots work for justice for asylum seekers and domestic workers. In her role as Director of Leadership Development at a women’s organization, she worked for years to strengthen the immigrant community and foment the leadership of Latina women. She also supported countless women through pregnancy, labor and early parenting as a doula.