Meet the Team: Cristina Escobar

Meet Cristina Escobar, Director of Communications and Marketing

Where are you from?

My parents are academics so we moved around a bunch but I’d say I’m from Arizona. I went to middle and high school there. My claim to fame, though, is that I’ve lived in all four US-Mexico border states.

Where do you feel most at home?

California. I live there now, it’s the first place I ever picked to live, and it’s where both my parents are from so it was the place we always went back to even as we moved around. Give me that Golden State!

What inspires you, professionally and personally?

Young people – I started this work at youth organization Break the Cycle and I am continuously inspired by the leadership of young people. They are the best to work with, somehow managing to have the most hope and the clearest vision for what is really going on. Now that I’m a mom, I look at my kids and see all the reasons to keep at it, day in and day out.

In terms of your work for the National Latin@ Network, what are your areas of expertise or what areas are particularly interesting to you?

I’m all about storytelling. I want to use the full suite of communications techniques – social media, PR, storytelling, writing, advertising, etc. – to help maximize the impact of Esperanza United. We already create such such amazing resources, it’s exciting to be charged with getting those resources to more people and more of the right people.

Share one thing you have learned, big or small, doing your work.

I love seeing how organized the Latin@ community is! Whether it’s organizing at the local, political, business, or news level, I’ve been so grateful to engage with Latin@ organizations who are uplifting the voices of our communities, seeing our culture as strength, and helping us use our innate power. 

Who inspires you?

I’m particularly inspired by barrier-breaking Latinas like Maria Hinojosa. She was ‘the first’ in many newsrooms and she didn’t stop with just being excellent at her job. She created her own media platform (Futuro Media) so that other Latin@s could tell our own stories authentically and avoid the extra hurdles she faced. A true hero.

What do you do to relax, de-stress or recharge your batteries?

I hang with my family, write media reviews for my blog latinamedia.co, cook, and run. All of those things give me energy.

Why have you chosen to do this kind of work?

I believe the world can be better. It can be more just, more fair, and more kind. But we all have to work to make that happen and I’m committed to doing my part. For me, working towards ending gender-based violence, towards racial justice, towards freedom are all part of that.

What is your favorite food?

Mexican rice and beans with a little side of avocado is my ultimate comfort food (obviously it has to be homemade).

What is your favorite book?

Beloved by Toni Morrison. It’s the great American novel.