Author: Justice Valadez

This year, Tina Morrow (she/her), Site Director of Public Allies Delaware, celebrated 20 years with Public Allies! We sat down with her to learn more about her leadership journey over the past two decades. Read her Q&A below:   Q: In the time you’ve been with Public Allies, what has changed and what has stayed Read More

It all started with a flyer. In 2001, Ramona Ramos (she/her) (Public Allies Wisconsin ‘02), a mother of two with a love for community building and leadership, was introduced to Public Allies through a friend that recognized her passion, and that’s where this legacy begins. 15 years later, Ramona’s first son, Elio Garcia (he/him) (Public Read More

Melissa Dunmore (she/her) (Public Allies Arizona ‘12) has always been a writer. As a Brooklyn-born Boricua living in the Valley of the Sun, she has developed her keen artistic style to illustrate the lived experiences of marginalized communities and to shed light on social issues that are often overlooked. Her term of service with Public Read More

You know that saying, “Opposites Attract?” Well for Michaela Lacy (she/her) (Public Allies Wisconsin ‘20 & 21) and Prince Grayson (he/him) (Public Allies Wisconsin ‘20 & ‘21), that couldn’t be more true. As self-proclaimed extroverts and introverts, respectively, the duo never imagined themselves falling in love with one another and having Public Allies to thank Read More

It’s May 2009. Anthony Espinoza (he/him) (Public Allies Wisconsin ‘18) and Marleisa Quiles-Espinoza (she/her) (Public Allies Wisconsin ‘16 & ‘17) meet by serendipity, on a gloomy day in a backyard through mutual friends. Although they didn’t yet know it, teenage Tony and Lisa would soon learn, grow, and thrive together with Public Allies playing a Read More

Sometimes, fear is just a little voice in our heads holding us back from achieving and experiencing something great. For Hartley Villagra (they/them) (Public Allies Central Florida ‘22), letting go of these fears helped to propel them forward into finding their life’s purpose, serving others in whichever ways possible. Becoming a Public Ally was like Read More

  For many people around the world, the onset of the pandemic was a time to pick up hobbies and to pursue your passions. For Michaella Kosia (Public Allies North Carolina ‘19) this desire to follow one’s dreams was no different.    Lockdown induced re-centering and reflecting encouraged Michaella to propel herself into culinary arts Read More

To Kwyn Townsend Riley (Public Allies Chicago ‘19) and her closest friends and family, it is no surprise that poetry is her calling. For as long as she can remember, Kwyn has felt drawn to the magic of language in art and how she can use it to share her story.    “No one was Read More

Above all else, Adelle White (Public Allies Milwaukee ‘11) wants to provide a pathway for universities to assist in increasing visibility for educators with shared identities in public grade schools, starting with sex education.  Through her experience as a Health Education Manager at CommunityHealth Chicago, the largest volunteer-based health center in the nation, Adelle has Read More