Born and raised in the East Bay, Kristin Land is doing her dream job: teaching English in Hayward alongside her Puente familia. A middle-class, anti-capitalist, white cis-woman, Kristin is motivated by each opportunity to learn in partnership with her colegas and students. She is committed to imagining and building a more socially and environmentally just world for the generations ahead. Her parents sparked this commitment, especially her ma who was the first in her Italian-American family to graduate from college in the ‘60’s. During Kristin’s undergrad, as she specialized in Chicano Studies and American Lit at UCSB and UCLA, she felt her personal and professional values align. In 2001, she earned a secondary teaching credential and Masters in Education at UC Berkeley, and ever since she’s been striving to teach in a way that amplifies equity, justice, joy, and healing in our communities.