CalSAC is proud to highlight Isabel Gonzalez and Kiwan “Cato” Cato-Fox from CalSAC's 2020 Leadership Development Institute for Emerging Leaders of Color fellowship. Isabel and Cato are leaders who have demonstrated unrivaled commitment to the field and drive for advanced leadership in the out-of-school time and early learning field.
Isabel Gonzalez, Oakland Leaf - Oakland
Isabel is a Mexican-American born and raised in Oakland California. In many ways, Oakland shaped Isabel’s personal mission to become an active leader of change in her community. Being an Oakland native, she witnessed and experienced first-hand what it meant to be from an inner-city community where schools were often labeled as “Dropout Factories” by the media. At many points in her life she witnessed the ways that the education system was strategically designed for students of color to fail. In 2006, the East Bay Times reported that “The four-year average dropout rate for Oakland was 37 percent”. Learning these statistics impacted Isabel’s outlook on the education system and the external factors that impact Oakland youth on a daily basis.
In 2006, Isabel was merely an 8th grader learning to find her voice and identity through her everyday experiences. That same year, she became the only 8th grader in her school who was chosen to participate in a Critical Media Afterschool Program named YouthRoots that came about through the Oakland Leaf Foundation. From that moment on, she became an active participant in the program where she was able to explore complex surrounding social inequities. She remained active as a student intern in Oakland Leaf through High School until graduating in 2011.
Furthermore, Isabel began her journey through Higher Education in 2011, in which she attended the University of California Santa Cruz. During her time at UCSC, she was able to work for East Bay College Fund as a College advisor to incoming students from Oakland. In this role, she provided a safe space for incoming students to learn how to confidently navigate a higher education institution. Simultaneously, Isabel helped establish a chapter of Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Incorporated at UCSC where she became a founding sister. In 2014-2015 year, she served her term as Chapter President leading her sorority in philanthropic efforts and initiatives to support Latina academic excellence. Her time at UCSC concluded in 2015, when she triumphantly earned her degree in Feminist Studies with an emphasis in Law, Politics and Social Change.
In 2015, Isabel returned and continued her commitment to Oakland and education by working as a Program Assistant at a dual site in the heart of East Oakland. In 2016, she took on the role as Afterschool Program Manager at International Community School and Think College Now where she presently works. Through her experiences, Isabel, has used a restorative lens in her daily approach. As an educator who grew up in Oakland, she understands the social factors that impact the youth. Therefore, she has strategically created a culture where youth have the opportunity for safe physical, emotional and developmental growth. Recently, she has focused on providing staff with a framework that focuses on social emotional learning with the goal that youth will learn how to effectively and positively use their voice to advocate for themselves, their peers and their community. Ultimately, Isabel is driven by the following quote:
“I will learn all that I can in order to give my best to my people in their struggle for liberation.”
Top 5 Strengths:
Restorative | Adaptability | Strategic | Activator | Developer
Kiwan Cato-Fox, Operation Progress LA - Los Angeles
A humble but ambitious, razor-sharp professional and educator who has passion for teaching and learning, Cato embraces those who see things differently, are not afraid to experiment, and who have a healthy disregard for constraints.
His commitment to equity in education began at a young age. The Program Director of ‘Operation Progress LA’ had access to a quality education. “I was afforded a quality education that peers in my own family did not have the same access to,” Cato says. “I understood this as a privilege and as I persisted through my education, committed to sharing as many resources as I could.” Active in the field of education for over twenty years, his career began as a high school English teacher before serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in southern, Africa, Namibia – training teachers. He later worked for The Food and Agricultural Organization of The United Nations - Namibia incorporating youth development principles into agricultural programming throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
It is during the latter pivot in his career that made him starkly aware of not only inequitable school systems, but also inequitable access to after-school programming as well.
His work with Operation Progress LA strives to provide children and youth a quality education without having to leave their community, by providing services for in-school and out-of-school educators, children and youth, and their families to transform their systems and build more equitable learning opportunities from elementary school through college.