Sharim Algarin is 28 years old. In spite of becoming a mother at the age of 16, she continued her education gaining a GED and Associates degree in computer science at Monroe College. She was born and raised in the Bronx and worked at a local youth and community organization for the past 3 years; as the Executive Assistant and IT Supervisor. Sharim has been involved in organizing around policing and environmental justice issues in her community. She coordinated community meetings to address Waterfront development in the Bronx River community. Despite many obstacles and difficulties, Sharim has achieved a successful and fulfilling life with her 3 children. She is a survivor and brings a very important perspective to her position at Sistas on the Rise.
Jadine Ortega
is 16 years old. She has been involved with Sistas on
the Rise since she was 14. Jadine has helped start the organization,
and she is a co-founder and a current member of the organization.
Jadine attends Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School in the south
Bronx and she is in her junior year. Jadine's mother was teen
mom,so growing up Jadine saw the stereo- types and the treatment
teen mothers received first hand. Jadine was born in Brooklyn
New York but moved to the Bronx when her mother became homeless
and they moved into a shelter located in the Bronx. Jadine has
seen many of the struggles teen moms have gone through,many of her close friends and her older
sister are teen mothers.
Yomara Velez is an Open Society Community Fellow and Union Square recipient. She began her organizing work around Welfare Reform in the mid 90’s. While attending the University of Massachusetts with her son, she began to organize women on welfare to demand access to higher education. Her personal experiences as a teen mother and a welfare recipient fueled her passion for social justice work. At the University of Massachusetts, she help establish a parent’s services office, worked to organize family housing tenants and served as the Events Coordinator for Boricuas Unidos. Yomara also worked with the Care Center in Holyoke, Massachusetts teaching GED and Life Skill classes to teen mothers. After graduation, Yomara returned to the Bronx to work with Mothers in the Move, organizing around housing and environmental justice issues. Prior to founding Sistas on the Rise, she worked at Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice as their Environmental Justice Director. In addition to her organizing work, Yomara taught ESL and GED classes to the Latino, male population in Rikers Island’s Correctional Facilities.
