What is your first name, occupation, and role (or roles) you most identify with?
Celina: educator, activist, mother

What is the most positive thing about being a woman in 2020?
This year marks 100 years of women’s suffrage, which is pretty incredible. A lot has changed since 1920, and it’s exhilarating to see more women holding political offices than ever before.

What is the hardest thing about being a woman in 2020?
There’s still so much work to be done. When women gained the right to vote in 1920, it was really just white women. The right to vote for all women was not enshrined into law until the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Today, we’re still dealing with voter suppression that aims to disenfranchise black voters. I think it’s incumbent on white women in particular, who may have recently gained access to spaces that were previously only occupied by white men, to look around and ask “Who else needs to be at the table? What voices are missing from this conversation?” That can be hard to do when you feel like you’re just starting to crack the glass ceiling yourself, but it’s necessary. The opportunities that are available to us now exist because of all the women who came before us and endured a whole lot of bullshit so we would have slightly less to endure today.

When did you first notice that society treated men and women (or boys and girls) differently?
I’ve always been head-strong and willing to speak up for myself, but I also understood as a young girl the importance of playing by the rules. I didn’t really start to rock the boat until I got older. I’ve been told a few times --by female colleagues no less-- that I’m too direct. Even in the field of education, which is dominated by women, there are still gendered expectations for behavior, especially as you take on more leadership. Above all, women must be likeable, which is maddening. It doesn’t matter if you’re the smartest person in the room, you still have to go out of your way to make friends first and cushion your ideas with qualifiers so the men in the room don’t feel threatened.

How do you maintain your resiliency in these times? 
Find one or two causes you are passionate about and pour your heart into them. There is so much urgency to heal the country and the world right now. I know a lot of people feel overwhelmed by it and just want to bury their head in the sand. For me, activism can be therapeutic. I do volunteer work to end gun violence, help register voters, and canvass for political leaders who are committed to social justice.

Why do you think past movements haven't moved the needle for women?
They certainly have! We have several generations of courageous women to thank for all the incremental progress they’ve made that got us to where we are today.

Do you think the current movement will be the one to change things for future generations?
Progress is jagged; it’s not a smooth trajectory up. It can feel like we’re stuck, or like things have gotten worse. This is especially true when we have a xenophobic misogynist white supremacist for a president, but we ARE still moving forward. As a direct response to this vile person taking over our country, a whole new generation has been galvanized to take action. I believe in the power of youth, and I see them making big changes already. The March for Our Lives movement is a great example.

​​​​​​​What needs to happen for us to move forward?
We need to let go of tribalism. There’s entirely too much “othering” happening and it’s only exacerbating the political polarization we all feel. Go out of your way to get to know people who don’t look like you or who don’t share your same worldview. Put some effort into building new friendships, even if it’s awkward at first. Also, white people need to talk to other white people about race. We are not exempt from the conversation. If we fail to confront the ways each of us contributes to systems of oppression, our lack of action makes us complicit.

What can women do to make it better for other women? 
Take up space. And then invite more women into the space you’ve claimed. If you are a hiring manager, hire more women and people of color and pay them as much as you pay white men.

What can men do to make it better for women? 
Step back. Talk less and listen more. Give women credit for their ideas. Invite more women into the conversation, and facilitate opportunities for women to lead.

Were there any influences you found growing up that inspired or drove you?
My paternal grandmother was a huge inspiration to me. She was a life-long social worker who would befriend strangers daily. Her commitment to loving all the children and parents in the schools where she worked inspired me to go into education. As for music, there was a lot of Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello in my college years.