Meet Patty, our Community Impact Coordinator. Originally from Madrid, Spain, she brings all her passion for community organizing, interpretation + language justice skills to the East Fork table.
Jasmin: Tell me about your role at East Fork.
Patty: As Community Impact Coordinator, in the big picture I see my role as connecting the visions of different grassroots organizations (Community Partners) with East Fork.
I work with organizations in our community who are doing such amazing work, and they’re so good at what they do. They see an issue and put all their energy into trying to solve it or find resources to support it, so the idea of being able to take some weight off their backs and use our platform and highlight the work they do is huge.
Our directors choose a theme for our Community Partner program every year… This year the theme is “belonging.”
Jasmin: Would you tell us about your background in social justice and movement work?
Patty: In 2011, I was part of the "15M" movement in Spain…similar to Occupy Wall Street in the US. I was within the first group of 20 people that took the public square and grew to millions in the following days.
I stayed really active and present during the entire movement until I left the country a few years later. The movement resulted in a new political party in Spain that’s now part of the current government.
I moved to Asheville in 2014 and got involved with social justice work here before starting at East Fork in 2023, and I bring language justice to the company through interpreting and translating services, including helping current and potential employees have equal access to the workforce and growth within the company.
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