by Vincent Daniel Perez, MPA Alum

November 20, 2020

In another example of our Alumni’s amazing work, we share the successes of Vincent Daniel Perez. Over the course of the MPA journey, Vincent’s course work and independent learning contracts (ILCs) helped the founding of the Equity Institute. Below Vincent outlines the incredible work the institute is doing along with some recent successes.

I founded the Equity Institute in August of 2020 to address the burgeoning equity needs in educational, nonprofit, and governmental sectors. The Equity Institute is a collective of consultants and researchers working for racial healing and social justice. We exist to foster structures by which students and families make policy that impact their day-to-day educational experience. Our mission is to position youth as critical researchers, transformative intellectuals, and empowered knowledge producers. Together, our core team of five is building our internal trauma-informed practices, our service capacity, and our culture. In our first two months, the team began managing the Equity Fishbowl, secured two grants through PESB to serve paraeduactors, established a Latinx student outreach project (La Cima Orcas Island) and a multigenerational teach-in (December 5), and signed a significant contract with Lewis County to serve Spanish speaking families with rental assistance through December. In addition, we will be serving Character Strong through a curriculum audit and operational equity supports. Our affiliate organizations include Sisterhood Nation, The Root of Us, The Root of Our Youth, Erin Jones LLC, The Unspoken Truths, Praxis, La Cima and Rethink Manhood.

In Community-

Vincent