Ismael Huerta, a youth educator and counselor who works predominantly with Latino boys in the Santa Barbara school district in California, will speak at Vanderbilt March 26.
The talk, “Empowering Our Youth With Compassion and Mindful Teaching,” will take place in the Bishop Joseph Johnson Black Cultural Center auditorium at 5:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
Working with youth facing many challenges, Huerta has dedicated his adult life to inspiring the lives of our future generation. Raised in public housing projects, Huerta experienced the harsh realities of growing up on the mean streets of East Los Angeles. The eighth child of Mexican immigrants, his childhood included attending overcrowded schools and being raised in a community surrounded by factories, railroads, two highways, violence, drugs, suicide and police abuse.
Through hard work and the support of his family, Huerta pursued his studies at Rio Hondo Community College and at the University of California-Santa Barbara. As part of his efforts to make positive changes among youth, since 2009 Huerta has been employed by the Santa Barbara Unified School District as the Lead Outreach Coordinator for youth, families and educators. In this capacity, Huerta has created organic programs for youth by utilizing their experiences and channeling their survival instincts and street smartness into higher education. In addition, he has counseled countless youth on probation and youth incarcerated in the juvenile system, such as the Los Prietos Boys Camp.
During his Vanderbilt talk, Huerta will share pedagogical tools as well as speak about his life experiences. Huerta’s life story and creative teaching strategies will not only inspire students, but also educators across disciplinary boundaries.
The talk is sponsored by the Latino and Latina Studies Program in the College of Arts and Science and the Bishop Joseph Johnson Black Cultural Center.
Contact: Marzia Milazzo
marzia.milazzo@vanderbilt.edu