My journey to lawyering and advocacy has not followed a “traditional” path. I studied Religion and Biology as an undergraduate and first-generation college student at Florida International University where I worked as a research associate. As a Ph.D. candidate in the Environmental Science, Policy and Management program at the University of California, Berkeley, I continued my research into fungal genetics, but left to translate scientific research into action, knowing that the solutions to environmental problems were about more than ecology and science, but also about people and planet . With my Master of Science degree in Environmental Science, Policy and Management, I worked in regulatory compliance for the U.S. Department of Agriculture while also working as a science educator and volunteer community organizer. During this time, I began raising a family in the Miami area and felt the growing awareness of the interconnection between environmental and social justice. Feeling yet again there was a better way to advocate for the environment and its most vulnerable populations, I entered law school at the University of Miami School of Law, where I honed my legal skills and expanded my view of environmental law and justice. I joined La Gringa Aplatanada as an Associate in 2020, then led the transition to P.E.E.R. Group in 2021. I remain an educator as adjunct faculty at the University of Miami in the Ecosystem Science and Policy program and in the School of Law's Environmental Justice Clinic.