About Us

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Kathryn Lombera is a born and raised resident of this occupied Pomo Territory - aka - Sonoma County.  A graduate of Windsor High School in 2002, Kathryn continued her academics at the University of California in Santa Cruz earning her Bachelor’s degree in American Studies.  Today she lives in Windsor with her husband and 14 year old son.  Described by the Raizes Collective as Genuine, Rooted, Sweet, COLORFUL and Loving, she comes to Raizes with a lifetime of varied life and work experience and she wears many hats.  Professionally, she brings 15 years of experience in retail banking operations and project management.  Purposefully, she serves local expectant mothers and families as a traditional Indigenous birthworker of Huasteca Nahua descent offering traditional Indigenous labor and postpartum support.  She is a lifelong student of birth and her ancestral medicines and brings with her a passion for Indigenous cultural historical preservation and advocacy.

Lisa Diaz McQuaid was born and raised in Santa Rosa, Ca. Lisa is a mother of 3 adult children and 5 grandchildren. Lisa is a graduate of Ursuline High School. Lisa, a human trafficking victims advocate, mentor, educates our community and surrounding communities around human trafficking awareness and prevention, motivational speaker, and returning student with her educational goal being a Masters in Social Work. Lisa is a passionate member of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women movement and founded VOICE, a support group for Indigenous women who have been victimized by ceremonial exploitation. Lisa is the Co-founder of Redemption House of the Bay Area, a non-profit organization with the mission to assist those who have been trafficked find healing and freedom. Lisa continues to use her voice to spread awareness around the human trafficking epidemic and speaks her truth in hopes to  encourage other victims of trafficking to begin their healing journeys. Before the unfortunate closure, Lisa was employed with California Human Development at The Athena House/ StoneHouse working with women who are in residential treatment for drugs and alcohol, facilitating groups varying from relapse prevention, self-awareness, self-esteem, Big Book study and The Red Road to Wellbriety (the Native American 12 steps to recovery). Lisa is currently employed with Santa Rosa Community Health as a ‘Peer Health Advocate’ assisting those in our unsheltered communities. Lisa is a member of the Sonoma County Human Trafficking Task Force. Lisa received the 2022 Woman of the Year award from Congressman Mike Thompson and the 2022 ‘Spirit’ award from Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women.

Katie Greenwald is a storyteller and strategist who believes deeply in the power of connection.  Born in the Rust Belt and now rooted in Sonoma County, she has built a career centered on community, creativity and care.  Katie has served on boards for both educational and community-based organizations and currently works in donor relations at Santa Rosa Junior College Foundation. There, she builds bridges between students, donors, and local partners, ensuring philanthropy is not only generous, but just. Her professional background includes leading multi-million-dollar campaigns and managing national communications for Fortune 500 companies. Across every role, public relations manager to brand strategist to agency lead, Katie has worked to open conversations, build trust and amplify the voices of those too often left out.  Her artistic practice lies in boudoir photography, where she uses light, lens and gentle guidance to help people feel confident, complete, and fully seen in their bodies.  Katie has earned a BA in Public Relations as well as an MBA.  She brings grace, grit, and a bit of sparkle to everything she does.

Jazzy  is a Real Estate Agent at Keller Williams for One Jazzy Team. She services California and areas such as Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, and Sonoma, to name a few with over 22 years of experience. 

Isabel Lopez is Founder and Executive Director of Raizes Collective, a non-profit in Sonoma County serving its Bilingual and Bicultural Communities.  The Raizes Collective was established in June 2015 to empower and mobilize community through the arts, culture and leadership development receiving a City of Santa Rosa Merit Award in 2017 for Strengthening Our Neighborhoods.  Lopez immigrated from Mexico at the age of 7 with her family and was the first of 8 siblings to graduate from college. She obtained her B.S. in Business from Sacramento State and was a member of M.E.Ch.A of Sacramento State, (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx de Aztlán) a national student organization that seeks to promote Chicano unity and empowerment through political action. Prior to her current role as executive director she held various positions at State Farm Insurance Company before retiring from her corporate position of 11 years to fulfill her dream of continuing to mobilize communities through art and culture. 

April Reza was born and raised in unincorporated Santa Rosa, around the corner from the nation's first bilingual radio station, KBBF 89.1 La Nuestra! Being raised in a multifamily household, instilled in April the power and indispensable value of community care. At a young age, her dream was to travel and experience different cultures. She has since visited 38 states and 16 countries. Today, April aspires to give back to the community that gave her so much. Since 2021, April has served as Program Coordinator at Raizes Collective, coordinating youth field trips, camps, and social emotional wellness workshops. In her free time, she enjoys developing her plans to create a summer program in her family's hometown of Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico.

Renee Saucedo has worked in the Immigrant/Indigenous rights movements as a Community Organizer, Advocate, Attorney, Educator, and Non-profit Manager for over 35 years.  As the Executive Director of the Northern California Coalition For Immigrant Rights, Director of the San Francisco Day Labor Program, and Policy Director of La Raza Centro Legal, in San Francisco, Renee acquired extensive experience in conducting culturally-appropriate, community outreach and community engagement within marginalized communities.  She has helped lead numerous grassroots campaigns, like the campaigns to protect the labor rights of undocumented workers, to extend benefits to undocumented families, to pass the California Drivers License Law, and to move just Immigration Reform policy. She led the formation of the Women's Collective (San Francisco), Centro del Pueblo (Humboldt County), and the passage of Measure K, declaring Humboldt County a "Sanctuary County." Renee has received numerous awards for her community work and currently coordinates the ALMAS Libres Program at Raizes Collective.

Chad Bolla, he/him pronouns, is a graduate of Montgomery High School and long time youth worker and community organizer in Sonoma County. His work with our youth ranges from working as a counselor in group homes and teaching English to “newcomer” ESL students to managing a restorative justice program and facilitating critical dialogue circles with incarcerated youth. His Restorative Justice experience, which has put him in the position to train on the subject, along with his experience of organizing renters to build stronger protections and agency for tenants, has given him the wisdom and skills to guide and develop leadership of our young community members into the empowering world of community engagement—let’s move from spectators to players.

Chad’s interest in this work stems from his personal struggles as a youth and he does this work because he believes that those of us most impacted by the problems are also the most suited to create solutions—together. If not us, then who? If not now, then when? 

Chad does not see this work as a “youth advocacy” project because as parents and adults, we also have a stake in the struggle for a dignified future. And that future depends on the well being of our younger generations. 

For joy and nourishment, Chad spends his free time surfing our local beaches, and playing drums for a local cumbia group made up of community organizers who incorporate their collective struggles into the music.

“ It is the highest honor to be trusted to work with young people and for that reason I will continue to show up as my best self..”

 Mi nombre es Gabriela Hernández, soy una mujer indígena originaria del  estado de Oaxaca, México, residente de Santa Rosa California desde el  año 2020.

Actualmente soy Organizadora de ALMAS Libres, programa  de la Colectiva Raizes, una organización de empoderamiento cultural y  político en el Condado de Sonoma, una organización de mujeres  Inmigrantes e Indígenas quienes crecen su poder individual y colectivo a  través del desarrollo de liderazgo y campañas organizativas.

Mi pasión es ayudar a mi comunidad latina, abogar por nuestros derechos y organizar por la justicia y equidad.

Me encanta viajar, conocer lugares mágicos y pasar tiempo con mi familia.
 

 Mi  nombre es Socorro Díaz Rojas nací en el estado Oaxaca México; Soy la  número Once de quince hermanos, inmigré a este país en busca del sueño  Americano , a los 23 años arrive acá con mi familia siendo ellos el  motor que me hicieron tomar esa difícil decisión . Y la necesidad de  sobrevivir  Me he interesado en apoyar en mi comunidad, es algo que me  gusta hacer ahora como Organizadora de ALMAS LIBRES Raíces collective,  Me siento aún más  feliz de poder apoyar. Aunque extraño cosas de mi  país como es la comida y definitivamente mi familia amo lo que he  construido acá.  Me gusta el condado de Sonoma y me encanta la  naturaleza. 

Daysi Carreno inmigrante de Michoacán, México me gusta disfrutar de mi familia, bailar, y tomar café. He sido madre activa en las escuelas de Roseland por 19 años, mi transformación de liderazgo comunitario empezó en 2017 con el Equipo en defensa de inmigrantes de North Bay Organizing Project enfocado en retos de inmigrantes indocumentados después de desastres naturales. Mi trabajo como organizadora de ALMAS libres me está ayudando a crecer y aprender más sobre la necesidades que hay en las mujeres inmigrantes e indígenas. Mi visión es tener un condado con justicia del lenguaje que se respeten los derechos de las mujeres y les trabajadores inmigrantes, creo firmemente que les jóvenes son la voz de un futuro mejor, orgullosa ser parte de esta comunidad llena de ESPERANZA.