JORGE RIVERA is a graduate of California State University of Long Beach earning a BA in Psychology and Philosophy. After working in the private foster care sector and disenchanted with the system, he ventured into other professional realms. He was then led to become involved in his own community and local government in Long Beach, CA. In so doing, he emerged as a community organizer advocating and fighting for tenant rights and affordable housing. He is currently the Southern CA Regional Coordinator for Tenants Together, a statewide organization for tenant rights.

Concurrently, his personal journey began by focusing on healing his own personal trauma. In developing a coherent narrative, he was forced to explore his [parental] relationships and all the effects they’ve had on his emotional, spiritual and physical well-being. In his reflection and healing, he fully understands what it means to embark on this type of path. Now, his purpose is to introduce and support others as they embark on their own journey of healing.

His personal and professional paths have since converged creating a desire to focus on healing trauma, fostering resilience and addressing systems of oppression and other root causes. To support this paradigm shift, he has now set out with others, to develop a worker owned cooperative, ‘Cambio Colectivo::Collective Change’, offering professional development, consulting and direct service to educate and support others in understanding, establishing practices and a culture of healing and resilience building.