Rising Stars: Meet Christy Moreno of Volker/Northeast

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christy Moreno.

Hi Christy, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I grew up in a bilingual (Spanish/English) home in Mexico City, Mexico, one of the most stunning, culturally rich, and diverse, and one of the most populated cities in the world. Growing up, I was fortunate to travel extensively throughout Mexico with my family and several long road trips to the U.S. to visit relatives and marvel at the amazing sights and places in this landscape. When I was a little girl, someone asked me, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” my answer was clear and firm, “I want to be a tourist.” Funny and all, I always enjoyed seeing new places, meeting new people, challenging my preconceived thoughts, and expanding my horizons. I came to the US for college and graduated with a Sociology Degree and two minors, one in music and the other in Latin American studies. Upon graduation, I moved back home to Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, México, where I married. A few years later, I had the opportunity to live in Switzerland and Turkey and traveled a bit on that side of the world until I had my first baby (in Kusadasi, Turkiye) and decided I wanted to be closer to home to raise my baby. After spending a few years in Mexico City, México, going through an immigration process to bring her and her father to the U.S., we moved to KC in May of 2009. I was pregnant with my second daughter. So, why KC? One of my siblings was established here, and we have a very close connection, so we came here with the idea to go somewhere else once my second child was born, and here we are, nearly 15 years later! KC is my second home.

For over 25 years, I’ve owned my own translation and interpretation firm, Moreno Denton Language Services. Facilitating effective communications between parties that have thoughts and ideas to exchange while advocating for the embracement of language diversity is something that I particularly care about. I am very fortunate to have been trained by one of the best, my mother, Joyce Denton, a renowned interpreter at international conferences. As my mentor, teacher, and business partner, she helped me develop and expand my expertise in several fields. I currently work as a language accessibility provider, both in oral and written form. I advocate for policies that shed light on the need to connect people across communication channels and formats, regardless of their language preferences and abilities.

I co-led the Cultural Identity brands at Hallmark Cards, Inc. for about 8 years, directing the creative and product development teams, including editors, writers, illustrators, designers, and many more, all highly talented people worldwide! There, I was charged with developing editorial solutions, leading consumer research activities, deep-diving into creative exploration, and getting very involved with DEI initiatives and employee resource groups (ERGs) to ensure the voices, celebrations, relationships, and needs of varied consumer segments were available to them expanding the product offering to national and international markets. I serve as the Community Advocacy & Impact Officer at Revolución Educativa and the Latinx Education Collaborative. These non-profits are dedicated to building the necessary conditions for advancing Latino youth in Missouri and Kansas. I work closely with Spanish-speaking families, their students, the learning environments they belong to, and the community organizations and institutions that serve (or must serve) them. This includes working with policymakers, community leaders, and legislators. Much of what I do at RevED/LEC has everything to do with my professional role as an interpreter and translator, as a parent of two bilingual and bicultural daughters, and as an energetic promoter of equity. I am a member of the Family Advisory Council for the National Parents Union and a founding board member of Forever Welcome. I advocate for research funding to find a cure for ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). A horrible progressive neurodegenerative disease that cut my mother’s life too short.

It wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I have had several challenges I’ve been able to overcome throughout my life. When I came to study college in the US, I planned to study Biomedical Sciences in Mexico at the UNAM. However, a teacher strike broke, and I was pushed to find alternatives to my education. As a jazz pianist, I was invited to audition for a University jazz band in the Midwest and got in! Leaving everything that defined me, reinventing myself in a new place, away from everything familiar, and leaving my friends and family behind was rough. Any person who has had to leave home to explore other possibilities will tell you that homesickness can be paralyzing, and its toll on a person’s well-being is heavy. I miss home every day in so many ways. The smells, the sounds, the people, the food, the air it’s all irreplaceable. The immigration process for my former spouse and my daughter was long, costly, and exhausting. Because we had an unusual set of variables, I had to study immigration law quite a bit. I represented our cases successfully (in the end). Still, the stress, anxiety, uncertainty, and lack of guarantees that it would go well was an obstacle I don’t wish to tackle again. I will also share that on a few instances in my life here, I’ve been made to feel that my family and I are not welcome from “go back to where you came from” to “in this country, we speak English,” but to that, I say: “challenge me, I’m up for the discussion!” The struggles the communities I belong to are painful as I type: being Latinx, Spanish dominant, my family being part of the LGBTQ community, and with immigrants in my immediate and family circles, the pushback and questions on belonging come up every day. But I meet challenges with courage (not the opposite of fear), embrace them with love and humility, and try my best.

I appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
For the last two and a half years, I’ve dedicated much of myself to building up the community-led education advocacy organization I’m so proud of, Revolución Educativa. RevED for short! My work, as I mentioned before, is essential to me. There are so many, given that Latino representation is crucial to carrying out our mission, and representation can only occur when you work collaboratively with others who are mission-aligned and eager to eliminate the barriers that get in the way of justice, progress, and well-being. So, like I always say, “We all have something to learn, and we all have something to contribute,” learning from trailblazers who have come before and helping others kickstart their initiatives in social justice, entrepreneurship, and education is what energizes me.

What makes my work challenging and high-powered?

My role is expansive and multidisciplinary; I get to design and deliver special programs that Latine adults request from us better to support their children and youth regarding their educational experiences. I lead innovative and exciting projects that pave the way for the betterment of our society. I position Latinx students front and center when creating a platform to support (or oppose!) policies and legislation that impact our (significantly) culturally diverse Hispanic population; the best part is that I get to do this alongside many incredible people who care about kids and their happiness. I love that in my line of work, every day is different! I never get bored because ideation, creation, and problem-solving are always ever-present. And almost everything I do, I do in both languages, which keeps me sharp, ever-growing, and ever-learning.

While much of what I do is fulfilling and rewarding, some aspects of my job are heartbreaking and frustrating. Like confronting the reality that many of our Latinx students struggle every day because educational systems are not designed to see them succeed and thrive; because 2 in 10 Latinx students in Missouri can read at grade level; because the rates of bullying, discrimination, and disproportionate disciplinary practices impact the present and future of our kids daily; because mental health is a huge concern for so many Hispanic parents, and because Latina teens have the highest rates of suicide attempts in the US. We have much work to do as a society to ensure our children and youth have the life and opportunities they deserve. We can only accomplish this when we acknowledge what’s wrong and agree to improve it in the community. The way we do it at RevED is by bringing the necessary tools for families to support their precious children, showing up for them as advocates to challenge the decisions made by others that harm our families, and making sure that equitable policies move forward with the proper implementation of evidence-based practices and solutions.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Nothing moves forward without risk and the potential for fruitless sacrifice. We can only control what’s in our hands and should only worry about what we can shape, change, or create! Risk-taking is creating the possibility for our dreams to come true. Risk-taking sometimes comes with strong confidence; other times, our gut instincts move us (I’ve learned to trust them!), and sometimes the risk is a simple leap of faith. I credit my professional and personal wins to my conscious decisions about what I’m willing to risk. Sometimes, when I speak up and show up for my family or people, I will likely ruffle some feathers but get my point across. It’s a risk I’m willing to take. Sometimes, when I defend the rights of my LGBTQ+ family, I risk engaging in a hurtful argument that won’t change minds but will send a clear message about my stance and boundaries. Risk-taking is part of growth and development. I always recommend calculating risks as best as possible because taking the risk might only be worth it if the sacrifice is manageable.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christy_laa/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RevEDKC
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christyjmoreno/