Our Story

Where Healing Takes Flight

Mariposa Healing Alliance was born from both professional experience and personal calling. As a clinical psychologist, I've spent years walking alongside individuals and families navigating trauma, loss, and the daily struggles of mental health. But as a Latina woman, daughter of immigrants, and advocate for marginalized communities, I’ve also lived the reality of what it means to be unseen, unheard, and underserved.

I created Mariposa Healing Alliance because I saw the gaps. Gaps in access to culturally responsive mental health care. Gaps in education and resources for women, BIPOC, and immigrant communities. Gaps where systems failed—but where community, compassion, and empowerment could thrive.

Mariposa—the Spanish word for butterfly—symbolizes transformation. Just as the butterfly emerges from its cocoon, we believe every person has the power to heal, grow, and reclaim their story. Our programs reflect this journey, offering mental health services, psychoeducation, and advocacy that honor the whole person—their culture, their identity, their lived experience.

Through this work, Mariposa Healing Alliance helps individuals and families not only survive but truly thrive. Because healing isn’t just about reducing pain; it’s about creating spaces where people feel safe, seen, and empowered to soar.

Our Founder's Story

Mariposa Healing Alliance was born from my story—a story shaped by family, personal trauma, and the determination to create change.

I come from a family of immigrants. My grandparents left their homes and everything familiar to come to the United States, searching for a better life. Like so many, they faced language barriers, discrimination, and the constant struggle of navigating a system that wasn’t designed for them. Their sacrifices and resilience laid the foundation for my journey, even as the challenges they faced echoed into future generations.

As a young woman, I carried their dreams with me into higher education, only to find that those same systems of exclusion and racism persisted. In college, I experienced discrimination that cut deeply—not just professionally, but personally. And then, tragedy struck. I survived a devastating fire on my college campus, an experience that left me with PTSD and a long road to recovery.

That trauma taught me, in the most personal way, how isolating it can feel to struggle with mental health in spaces that don’t understand you. It also showed me the life-saving power of community, culturally affirming care, and having someone who truly sees you.

That’s why I created Mariposa Healing Alliance.

This is not just a nonprofit. It’s a safe space for people who are often unseen. A place where healing is culturally grounded, trauma-informed, and rooted in justice. We provide mental health services, psychoeducation, and advocacy that honor each person’s identity and lived experience—because I know firsthand how critical that is.

The butterfly—mariposa—is our symbol because transformation doesn’t erase our scars; it helps us carry them with strength. My own healing journey fuels the work we do here: walking alongside individuals and families as they reclaim their voices, their power, and their right to thrive.