Montzerrat, better known as Montze, is rooted in Southern California where their leadership stems from growing up in a low-income, immigrant Mexican family in Santa Ana, CA. Montze’s youth development and organizing experience roots back to joining her first youth organizing efforts at the age of 16. Montze lived 8 years in the Bay Area where she got her B.A. in Ethnic Studies from UC Berkeley in 2015 and worked in our San Mateo County office as a Program Coordinator and Program Manager. In 2018, Montze moved back to Orange County as Program Manager for our Long Beach office and is currently our Southern California Director of Programs. Montze works in partnership with our SoCal offices in Long Beach and Eastern Coachella Valley to support staff and youth participants in leading community change efforts in their communities.
Montze values community organizing, policy advocacy, and strategically working to better the livelihood of communities disproportionately affected by lack of investment and access to healthy resources. Over the past six years with yli, Montze has led several youth and community coalitions addressing health inequities in their communities through alcohol, tobacco and other drug prevention work, financial and economic justice, transportation equity, and immigrant justice.
Montze loves to run, hike (follow their hiking page on IG: @las_hiking_osas, and brunch during her free time. Montze is currently in her first year of her graduate program at CSU Long Beach pursuing a Master’s in Public Health. Go class of 2023!