Ada is a queer, mixed race woman of color, an artist and healer, a Theatre of the Oppressed practitioner, a strategic thinker, and a community-based researcher and evaluator. She has nearly 25 years of experience in violence prevention, and racial, research, and gender justice in myriad capacities, including facilitation and coaching, capacity building and training, and programs and organizational development. They have a strong community organizing and public health orientation with a breadth of expertise in working with both complex systems – criminal justice, education, healthcare, child welfare, housing, etc. – and with a variety of communities – communities of color, other historically marginalized communities, immigrant and refugee communities, rural communities, and communities with a high percentage of members who speak or use languages other than English. Ada brings all of this professional and lived experience, along with her gift of bridge-building and a deep power analysis, to her work. Called to the intersections – of equity and justice, of organizations and organizers, of the scientific and the sacred – Ada is rooted in the power of collaboration and relationships, and explores embodiment practices as vehicles for individual and collective healing, transformation, and liberation.
Ada recently served as Board Co-Chair for CompassPoint Nonprofit Services, and now partners with a national collaborative of funders to provide tailored coaching and capacity-building support to a network of nonprofit leaders. Her other current work is focused on integrating liberatory practice, including equitable evaluation, into organizational development. Ada has a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, and her professional upbringing was primarily in the anti-gender-based violence arena. Originally from Los Angeles but now based in Oakland, California, Ada loves to play tennis, be with her dogs and human loved ones, and experiment with fashion in her free time.