Born to Mexican, immigrant, field-working parents in Santa Maria, CA, Veronica Xochitl Valadez is a long-time advocate of Ethnic Studies, as well as K-16 educator, community organizer, Xicana visual artist, and traditional Aztec dancer. Veronica has a strong educational background and much work experience in the field of Ethnic Studies, with a BA in Chicana/o Studies from UC Santa Barbara and an MA in Chicana/o Studies from CSU Northridge. She is currently working towards earning a Doctorate in Education with an emphasis in Social Justice from CSU San Bernardino.

Veronica currently teaches Chicana/o Studies at CSU Channel Islands and is an instructor for UC Riverside’s Ethnic Studies Certificate Program for K-12 educators. In addition to specializing in Ethnic Studies, Veronica is also well grounded in best practices for language learners. She was a K-5 Dual-Immersion teacher for 14 years in Ventura where she was part of a team of teachers that piloted and established Ventura County’s first Dual-Immersion program that not only became an effective bilingual program but that also embraces and teaches meaningful multicultural education.

As an educator, Veronica has dedicated herself to teaching culturally relevant curriculum that promotes social justice since 2001 in elementary schools, community colleges, and university classrooms.

In collaboration with other stakeholders, Veronica’s advocacy and efforts helped lead to the implementation of Ethnic Studies in Ventura, Oxnard, Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, and Rialto. Along with other social justice educators, Veronica’s advocacy helped in advancing the statewide push to make Ethnic Studies a high school graduation requirement, which eventually led to the passing of AB101 in 2021.

As EWP’s President & Co-founder, Veronica’s mission is to assist school districts in establishing transformative, impactful, and sustainable Ethnic Studies programs. Being a traditional Aztec dancer of over 20 years has given Veronica the opportunity to absorb Indigenous “ways of being” from Indigenous elders and cultural workers. Her work is grounded in anti-racist and Indigenous perspectives that support the re-humanization and empowerment of historically marginalized and oppressed communities.

In addition to developing rubrics and frameworks that ensure the curricular integrity of Ethnic Studies, Veronica has played a key role in developing culturally relevant curriculum for K-16 classrooms. Along with her partner and EWP Co-founder, Gabriel Orosco, Veronica has created an impactful and transformative professional development series to prepare educators to teach Ethnic Studies effectively, serving school districts across the state of California.