Zaida Ismatul Oliva

Bi-cultural, proud immigrant, first in family, English-language learner, dual citizen—so many ways to describe our Executive Director, Zaida make her empathetic to the lives of the young women we serve. More importantly, her life experience renders Zaida profoundly committed to cultivating a world of women empowering women, a sisterhood of love and uplifting one another. She came to chica project from her leadership role at Bunker Hill Community College where she directed dual enrollment and early college related programming. Her experience conducting outreach, recruiting 60-90 mentors annually, spearheading curriculum and trainings for academic achievement and cultural competency brought her to what she describes as her dream job. (Of course, second place to her role as mom to 4-year-old Luna).