Our paid organizing team

Mariella Mendoza

Grassroots Action and Media Coordinator

Mariella Mendoza is an illustrator, writer, and direct action trainer; born in Lima, Peru, raised in northern Utah, lovingly calling Salt Lake City home. Their work centers their personal experiences as an undocumented immigrant, and abolitionist perspectives on autonomy and liberation.

Community taught, and proud of it, they have had the honor and privilege to partner up with community leaders and local organizations across the salt lake valley. Their murals, illustrations, and essays have given recognition to critical issues, including indigenous sovereignty, migrant rights, and LGBTQIA+ visibility, while continuing to bridge local narratives. As a community organizer, and as a teaching artist Mariella’s work has marched on the streets of New York City, San Diego, and Standing Rock.

Mariella is currently studying illustration and graphic design at Salt Lake Community College. They enjoy bicycling to class, making tea, camping in the nearby canyons, and gardening.

Lyrica

Education and Fundraising Coordinator

Lyrica is a second generation Guatemalan immigrant with settler, immigrant, and indigenous (Maya Mam) roots. She grew up among the diverse landscapes of the Colorado Plateau, and now feels most responsible to these communities and landscapes in the Southwest and her ancestral homelands of Guatemala. She comes into this work from the intersection of Indigenous sovereignty, migrant justice and climate justice. Lyrica believes that the most powerful tool we can possess in this moment is the ability to imagine an alternative future, one rooted in joy, care, and liberation.

They graduated from Northern Arizona University with bachelor degrees in Political Science and International Affairs. She enjoys hiking, plants, reading, cooking, cats, and being with friends.

Jaiden Willeto

Indigenous Youth Co-Director

Yá'át'ééh, shi éíya Tódich'iinii nishłí, Maiideeshghizhnii bashishchiin, Mandan/Hidatsa dashicheii, aadóó Tábąąhí dashinalí. Akot'eego asdzaní nishłí. Tł'izí Tóó'í dę́ę́' naashá. 

Hello, My name is Jaiden Willeto and I am Bitter Water, born for Coyote Pass. My maternal grandfather is Mandan and Hidatsa of the MHA Nation, and my paternal grandfather is Waters Edge clan. I am from Tł'izí Tóó'í (Goatsprings, AZ) and this is who I am as a Diné, Mandan, and Hidatsa femme. I am 22 years old and a senior at Northern Arizona University working towards my Bachelors of Science in Environmental Sustainability Studies with an emphasis in Southwest Environments and Biocultural Diversity. I am a collective member of the K'é Infoshop, a Diné Feminist Organization located in Tséghahoodzaní, Dinétah (Window Rock, AZ). I am also a collective member of the Hood Initiative, a student-led initiation at Northern Arizona University that addresses the needs of students from environments with systemic injustice. I have done research in the Indigenous Food, Water, Sustainability and Sovereignty nexus and on riparian habitats, and Southwest region ecosystems. My interests include photography, beading, singing, sustainable agriculture, and reading. I come from a family of sheepherders and artists and feel most connected to the land when I am outside herding the sheep and working on and maintaining the da'ak'eh (cornfield) during the summer. I strive to recenter my purpose of upholding healthy and dignified lives for all based on kinship with human and non-human relatives. In order for the Earth to live we must slay the monsters of Colonialism, Capitalism, Patriarchy, Poverty and Racism. 

Belen Martinez

Education and Training Coordinator

Belen is a first generation Nicaraguan-Mexican immigrant with roots in Managua, Nicaragua and Zacatecas, Mexico. Belen is of indigenous descent on both sides of their parental lineages. They are an artist and through their art they attempt to reconnect and give money to the people they photograph or source research from. Their interdisciplinary work centers around memory, body celebration, and liberation. They believe that with art and education they can help envision a liberated future for all. 

They frequently collaborate with local Phoenix artists, teachers, poets, and community spaces to create artwork that is culturally significant. They seek to share information in a way that is accessible to all and love spending time with youth to help give them autonomy and tools they need to be strong critical thinkers for themselves and their communities.

Belen holds a Bachelor's in English from Barrett Honors College, Arizona State University. She loves all concepts covered in the film Interstellar, laughing, and the ocean. She travels frequently between Phoenix and Los Angeles.

WYATT WILSON

Operations Coordinator

Yá’át’ééh, shí éí Wyatt Wilson yíníshyé. Sháátóhí t’áá ííysíí déé náashá adóó Kinłanídí kéehasht’í. Todích’íí’níí nishłí adóó Maíídeeshgízhníí bashichiin. Naasht’ezhí Tabaaha éí dashicheii adóó Tsinaajinii éí dashinali. Éí ákotéego Diné nishłí.Wyatt was raised in Flagstaff, Arizona but also spent much of his formative years in his hometown of Shonto, Arizona. He currently attends Fort Lewis College as a pre-law student, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Native American and Indigenous Studies. After completing his baccalaureate studies, Wyatt plans on pursuing law school with the intent of focusing on Tribal Advocacy and Environmental Policy. He enjoys hiking and going on road trips. Wyatt is passionate about land stewardship, youth advocacy, civic engagement, and a plethora of Indigenous social issues. One day, he hopes to return to his hometown to launch a career in local tribal governance.

2022 Uplift Organizing Fellows

Featured
Elana
Elana

Ya’at’ééh,

Shí eí Yanktonai Dakota nishłį dóó ta’chi’nii báshíchíín. Naałání (Dakota) dashicheii’ dóó Tótsohnii dashináli. Elana Begay yinishé.

Hi! My name is Elana Begay, and I use she/her pronouns. I am originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, however right now I reside in the bay area. I am a junior at Stanford University, pursuing my B.A. in both Sociology and Native American Studies. I am working on my thesis, which focuses on how tribal judges understand different legal concepts through Indigenous Peacemaking frameworks. I plan on going to law school, and eventually working to help tribes implement their own traditional laws to their tribal legal systems. My overall goal is to help Indian law transition from European ontology and instead center Indigenous epistemology. My hobbies include lifting, cars, and watching horror movies.

Kadelyn
Kadelyn

Hi there! My name is Kadelyn Arévalo (they), a mixed indigenous queer diasporic individual living on the traditional and ancestral homelands of the Shoshone, Paiute, Goshute and Ute Tribes; so called Salt Lake Valley. I am a third-generation Peruvian immigrant and some of the things I enjoy doing include gardening, urban foraging, making art, playing and listening to music, and time spent with my friends and community. I am also very passionate about finding and building community that fights for each other’s ability to survive and thrive in an authentic, intersectional and sustainable way.

Talia
Talia

My name is Talia Rose Sehongva (She/They). I am from the Hopi reservation. I am in my third year at the University of Arizona. I am majoring in Pre-Elementary Education. I look forward to working with Uplift Climate and other individuals as this experience will open new opportunities to learn and grow.

River
River

Koo-ha’-ah’hut’, my name is River Whittle and I am from the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, the Delaware Nation of Oklahoma, and am of European-settler ancestry as well. I am from the Conner and Edwards families. My Caddo or Hasinai homelands are in areas of Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. My Delaware or Lenape homelands are in areas of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. My European homelands are mostly in Ireland. I grew up in Nez Perce and Cayuse territory, which has greatly shaped my ideas around protecting land, water, and everything living. I owe a lot to them and am forever grateful to Plateau Peoples. I identify as two-spirit and am heavily influenced by Indigenous queer feminism. My partner and our dogs and I are migratory but spend most our time in Tewa and Tiwa territories currently. My organizing work is based in youth mentorship and the arts. I have a degree in Race and Ethnicity, having concentrated on how art can be used as a tool for radical change. I currently attend the Institute of American Indian Arts, studying pottery and jewelry making, so I can work on my skills to help revive Caddo traditional practices of pottery and shell work. I view these skills as land back skills, practices that help us as displaced peoples reconnect to our lands, bodies, ancestors, and future. I care deeply about tearing down the settler colonial state and am invested in supporting all life to make that happen and thrive afterwards.

Jaren
Jaren

Yá’át’ééh! My name is Jaren Wyaco and I am from Tségháhoodzání (Window Rock), Arizona. I am Kinłichíí’nii (Red House) born for Tł’ogí (Weaver-Zia). I am a recent graduate of Dickinson College in what is now known as Carlisle, Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience. In my work, I study neurodecolonization and the neurobiological processes of the brain that occur in tandem with traditional practices, spiritual experiences, and cultural medicine. In expanding my knowledge, I am excited to work with Uplift and engage in shared knowledge to learn about the role the climate and land play in neurodecolonization. With this, I plan to further my studies in the field of public health by advocating for climate justice to build a strong foundation for neurodecolonial efforts.

Vanessa
Vanessa

Hello! My name is Vanessa Soncco (they/them). I was born in Miami, Florida, but have lived in Phoenix, AZ for most of my life. My family is from Acomayo, Arequipa, Chuquibamba and Chucuito Puno, Peru. In 2019, I graduated from Dartmouth College with a Government degree. In college, I organized with and for undoumented students and worked to build resources they needed. My recent work after college has mostly been legal admin jobs at immigration law firms or for self-represented litigants. I long for communities where I can envision and work beyond current bureaucratic arenas. I'm very excited to learn with Uplift and nurture spaces that are centered on our collective healing and relationships.

Naya
Naya

My name is Naya Anllo-Valdo and I am from the Pueblo of Acoma on my father’s side and of Spanish descent on my mother’s side. I grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico on Tewa, O’ga P’ogeh land. I am currently going into my last year at NYU majoring in Politics and Human Rights, where I will be writing a thesis on traditional Pueblo farming. Aside from my work with Uplift this summer, I will also be a youth mentor as part of the Three Sisters Collective in O’ga P’ogeh. I am interested in healing in all of its forms, but especially through rematriation. I am excited and honored to be a part of Uplift - to learn and collaborate with other youth from the Southwest, as we all bring something unique to the movement.