Ashley Heidebrecht has worked in the field of social services for over 15 years, with over a decade of experience in creating and facilitating professional and community education. From 2007 to 2015 she worked as a direct care provider, program coordinator, and community education facilitator at the Mental Health Association of South-Central Kansas (MHASCK). 

 

Since leaving that agency in 2015, Ashley has provided case management and trauma support for families recovering from homelessness, and has become active in community organizing, and legislative and community advocacy, particularly surrounding migrant child detention, LGBTQ rights, and racial justice, and has completed her Master of Social Work degree. 

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In 2018 when the policy of migrant family separation and child detention was instituted, Ashley worked in collaboration with many individuals and organizations to fight for an end to that policy and to shut down the migrant child prison in Tornillo, Texas.  

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Ashley began her work with Borderland Rainbow Center in 2019, where she served LGBTQ youth and adults in group and individual settings, engaged in casework with the Deaf community, focused on immigrant rights and issues of racial justice, and engaged in advocacy work as an intern. In 2020, Ashley began to lead the development of the Diversity and Resiliency Institute of El Paso, the education program of the Borderland Rainbow Center, where she currently works as the director of that program. Through this work, Ashley has been able to engage in education and advocacy work reaching over 60,000 people.

 

Through her work privately as the Radical Social Worker and as the Director for the Diversity and Resiliency Institute, Ashley focuses heavily on advocacy and education, providing educational opportunities to improve community awareness and allyship, and engaging in regional and national initiatives to fight discrimination. Ashley is also working to mobilize social workers across the nation to become more engaged in social justice initiatives.

Hilda has been a faculty member at UT El Paso for the past 12 years and currently serves as the Director of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program where she teaches courses relevant to Latina Studies, global feminisms, feminist theory, civil rights, queer theory, among others. She has earned her doctoral degree in Educational Leadership and Administration in Higher Education, where her focus was on educational policy and curriculum in both K-12 and higher education institutions. 

 

She earned a Master of Arts in Latin American and Border Studies and a Master of Education in Educational Leadership and Administration in Higher Education.  Hilda also spent time studying in the Medico Cirujano  (M.D.) program at the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at UACJ. Her research interests include critical pedagogy, educational policy and its effects on minority students, multicultural/culturally relevant curriculum, the sociology of education and women’s healthcare issues on the U.S./Mexico Border.

 

She enjoys serving her community through volunteer work, such as serving as a children’s volleyball and basketball coach. Her four children also keep her very busy and fulfilled.

Jennifer Dahlgren is an Assistant Professor at El Paso Community College in the Sign Language and Interpreter Preparation Program.  Jennifer has worked in the field of communication access, education, interpreting and advocacy for more than 15 years with a passion for the empowerment that comes through communication.  They have trained countless service providers and students in the medical, legal, educational, social services and business fields.  They have presented both nationally and internationally to audiences large and small, and actively engages in advocating for the communication access rights for persons who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, DeafBlind and DeafDisabled so that they can function independently and equitably in society.  Additionally, Jennifer advocates for the intersectional needs of the LGBTQ and Deaf communities. 

 

Jennifer believes education is the key to access and equality.  By educating service providers, students and leaders about the rights and needs of marginalized communities, we make the world a more equitable place.  Jennifer is Deaf-Queer native American Sign Language user who utilizes interpreters in their everyday life. Jennifer firmly believes that when you know better you do better.  So, they do their part to spread a little more knowledge about the Deaf culture so that the world is a more equitable place for all Deaf people whatever their intersecting identities may be.

I’m Rynn Myles (she/they), a community-centered advocate and organizer with a multidisciplinary background spanning social work, HIV prevention, mental health, education, administration, music and the creative arts. Across every role I’ve held, my focus has stayed the same: building real connection and ensuring people never have to navigate systems or struggles alone.

 

My work has included psychiatric youth care, LGBTQIA2S+ outreach across the South, harm-reduction education, and community-driven HIV prevention efforts centered on Black queer and trans experiences. I’ve organized workshops, events, and programs that bring together sexual health, mental wellness, and intersectionality in spaces that actually feel human.

 

I show up with intention, creativity, and a commitment to collective care by helping communities define safety, empowerment, and liberation on their own terms.