Marla heads up HEAL’s School of Political Leadership (SoPL) and works alongside members to build political education and alignment for a just food and farm system.

Having grown up in Los Angeles with deep farming roots in Guatemala, her previous experience includes progressing community-led policy and advocacy initiatives with people of color, migrants and indigenous communities both in the U.S. and abroad.

Marla holds an M.A. in International Development from American University and a B.A. in Global Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

She is based in Washington, D.C.