Maria immigrated from Michoacán, Mexico with four of her children. One child still lives in Mexico. She first heard about PODER through member Alicia Briceño. As Maria states, “She invited me out to a convivio (skill share) where I learned

I came to San Francisco about 12 years ago from La Costa Grande, Guerrero, Mexico. Now the Excelsior and Mission Districts are my home. For past two years, I have been an employee-owner at Arizmendi Co-op Bakery in the Mission.

Jesus is 21-year old student at City College of San Francisco. His parents immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico. “PODER has made me aware of issues affecting my community and its people such as immigration, environmental justice and housing,” he

The Obama Administration’s announcement of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in June 2012 changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Dream generation students who came to the U.S. as children. These young leaders have built a movement to

Growing up in an immigrant family in San Francisco’s Mission District, I constantly struggled to find my niche. Most people who I grew up with were also immigrants, or children of immigrants, but were ashamed of acknowledging that aspect of

Two generations of the Guzman Ramos family—Estela and her two daughters—are community activists in the Mission and Excelsior districts. Their commitment to grassroots social change is rooted in their immigrant experience and in the fights for social justice in Estela’s

Alex Samayoa is an immigrant from El Salvador. He found out about PODER through the Arizmendi Co-op Bakery that opened in the Mission District in 2010.

One of the workers referred him to PODER’s Community Organizer, Oscar Grande, who recruited

PODER member Juan Segundo has become an outspoken activist for immigrant rights on the San Francisco City College campus. He credits PODER with helping him become a strong leader in his community.

PODER has helped me gain organizing skills that