Parent Coordinator and Leader
As a native of Chile, Marcela witnessed cruel oppression under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. For the past 20 years, she has lived in the US. During this time she has been a community leader and organizer in the Hispanic immigrant community in Ossining. Marcela has been consistently engaged on behalf of poor and undocumented immigrants: supporting children’s education; a pathway to immigration reform; affordable housing; access to higher education; equal rights between men and women; LGBT rights, and rights for persons with disabilities. Marcela has been a parent coordinator in the Ossining school district for nearly ten years. She is the voice of the Hispanic Parents Association in her school district and fervently works in support of immigrant parents in their efforts to navigate the school system. She has been involved with Envisioning Westchester in their struggle to bring change and social justice to Westchester County. At her local church, she runs informative meetings in support of Hispanic children’s religious education.