The Moonshot Showcase

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Program Manager, Denver Healing Generations Network

John is, first and foremost, a father, husband, son, brother, and homie.  John is the Program Manager at Denver Healing Generations, where he passionately aligns with the organization’s mission centered on the La Cultura Cura framework. John’s solution, Calmecac Academy, is a program within Denver Healing Generations, which looks to strengthen BIPOC youth’s sense of cultural identity and responsibility to self, family, and community through healing practices found in ancestral knowledge.

Connect: perezro22@gmail.com / DHG Facebook & Instagram

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Para Educator, Traverse Academy (Cherry Creek School District)

Miarri Phillips is a sociology student at the University of Colorado Denver, deeply passionate about social justice and creating change in her communities, from Rochester, New York, to Denver. A natural leader, she has held various roles, including Teaching Assistant and Outreach Chair for Millennials 4 Environmental Justice, focusing on active citizenship and civic engagement. Miarri's love for nature inspired her to develop Green Goddess, where she envisions an inclusive and equitable environment that fosters connection, culture, and community for young girls, women, and gender-expansive folx of color. 

Connect: miarriphillips@gmail.com / green1goddess.com / Green Goddess Instagram

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Teacher + Leader, The Girls Athletic Leadership School Denver

This is Jen's 24th year in education and 14th year at the Girls Athletic Leadership School, where she has served in a variety of roles, from Social Studies Teacher to Dean to Assistant Principal, to most currently teaching a class designed to center the social-emotional well being of girls, trans and gender non-conforming students. Jen's solution, We Need Each Other,  centers on middle school girls, femme-identifying and gender-expansive youth, cultivating the opportunity for them to dream of and create better worlds for themselves and each other.

Connect: jenniferderosby@gmail.com

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Director of Student Voice & Leadership, Denver Public Schools

Magnolia Landa Posas, raised in Aurora, CO, by a proud Mexican immigrant family, learned the value of advocacy and leadership early on as the eldest of six. Magnolia’s solution extended beyond her as a collective of seasoned educators focused on fostering accountability and driving institutional change to support the most marginalized communities in education. Her solution will cultivate a community of BIPOC education leaders engaged in sustainable disruption of education inequities.

Connect: magnolia_landaposas@dpsk12.org / LinkedIn

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Executive Director, Colorado Youth Congress

Currently the Executive Director of Colorado Youth Congress (CYC), Jasón is an educator and community organizer who has taught Chicano and Ethnic Studies courses at the high school and college level for over a decade. His solution, Regional Hub Development, for CYC, establishes local centers for youth to engage in transformative systems and social change work, amplifying the leadership and healing of young people in diverse communities across Colorado.

Connect: jason@coyouthcongress.org / LinkedIn

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Program Manager, Project Invent

Alexis is a STEM education and nonprofit professional who cares deeply about interest-based, equitable education for all who love to learn. She is currently the Senior Program Manager at Project Invent, a national organization that brings invention education to youth engaged in school and out-of-school time programs. Alexis is crafting the STEM Educator and Youth Alliance of Colorado (SEYAC) to ensure equitable exposure, access, and opportunity to STEM fields and career paths for youth traditionally excluded from STEM.

Connect: alexis@projectinvent.org / LinkedIn

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8th Grade English Teacher, DSST: Green Valley Ranch Middle School

Victoria De Leon is a dynamic educator deeply committed to supporting and empowering students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Victoria’s solution, Red Latina, envisions a future where Latina youth in the Denver metro area are celebrated and empowered leaders, thriving academically, socially, and culturally while building inclusive communities and shaping a more equitable world.

Connect: deleonva1217@mail.com / LinkedIn

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President, YBN (Yachay Bolivia for the Neurodivergent)

Moved by her own school experience and driven by advocacy, Cecilia specializes in Gifted and Talented education.  In 2017, she was hired by Denver Public Schools to launch the Spanish immersion preschool program at Bryant Webster Dual Language and moved to Northwest Denver, where she instantly fell in love with the culture of its community. Ceci’s solution, YBNeuro, works with neurodivergent students to positively engage with and thrive in their community by developing knowledge and skills to address their unique needs as learners.

Connect: cecilia@ybneuro.org / LinkedIn / ybneuro.org

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Director of DYS Programming, Fully Liberated Youth

Frida Fernanda Soto Leyva centers the values of resilience, cultural pride, and the significance of indigenous spirituality in her professional path as a mental health provider. Frida and her solution, Tloque Nahuaque: Interconnectedness Healing, believe that when mental health providers merge therapy and lived experience and are equipped with a cultural conceptualization framework, Latino, Indigenous, and Chicano youth can thrive with confidence that their cultural identities are a source of strength and healing.

Connect: fridafernandasoto@gmail.com

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Research Coordinator, Denver Botanic Gardens

Karen was born in Mexico City and migrated to the U.S. at 7 years old with her family. Embracing her identity has helped shape the values that ground her as she continues to navigate the complexities & injustices of the immigration system. Karen’s solution, Sociedad Toltecatl, aims to build confidence in BIPOC youth to pursue professions in the arts.

Connect: karo4919@gmail.com / LinkedIn

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Executive Coach/Change Management Consultant, Lyceum Leadership LLC

Ramone Carson currently works with leaders and professional teams nationwide as an executive coach and change management consultant. Ramone believes earnestly in the power of transforming organizations by inspiring teams and individuals to find confidence in their solutions. Ramone’s solution, Sardonyx Media Collaborative, looks to disrupt systemic racial injustice by cultivating a community of socially conscious young artists who center BIPOC protagonists and heroes in art.

Connect: rc.lyceumleadership@gmail.com

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Programs Consultant, Convivir Colorado

Karen J. Nuñez Sifuentes is a multifaceted visionary: Program Designer/Researcher/Youth Advocate. Karen is focused on redesigning the Speakers' Collective at Convivir Colorado to meet the evolving needs of youth better, and increase the number of youth leaders who speak in public to shift societal narratives to be more pro-immigrant and pro-refugee.

Connect: karen@convivircolorado.org / LinkedIn

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Band Leader, Mariachi Las Dahlias

Marialuisa Meza-Burgos is a singer, musician, and actor from Colorado, specializing in Mariachi music as the lead vocalist and vihuela player for the all-female group Las Dahlias. With a Bachelor's in Music and a Master of Fine Arts in Theatre, she has performed with various theater companies in the Metro Denver area. Mari’s solution looks to elevate and enrich Mariachi education across Colorado, fostering cultural understanding and excellence in performance.

Connect: marimezaburgos@gmail.com / Instagram