Fabiola Montiel

My career path has been a journey anchored in my vision of working for cultural change. I believe that in the advocacy world, you can change policies, but if you do not accompany that with culture change - ensuring that people know how policies or the rights that have been gained are there to protect them and help them live happy, healthy, free lives - the policy change is nothing more than just a piece of paper. This has been both my vision and my anchor for doing the work that I do. My journey has taken me from working in a political party in Mexico City to working for prevention of childhood well-being, and also for health and well-being of communities in general. Since 2005, I have been working in public communications and social justice communications. Today, my key responsibilities include elevating the voices of promotoras who are dedicated community leaders, bridging what community members need to have access to knowledge, tools, and very specific programs for their social health, physical health, and emotional health. My most notable professional achievement is empowering women, through encouragement and tools, so they can find their voices and tell their own stories - women with very little access to even a computer. I make sure that their voices are the most important, because they are the experts on how to fix the problems of their communities, not somebody behind a desk in a 20th floor building in the downtown area. And I have helped get their stories published.