Advisory Committee

Arlene is a career-long social worker, with more than ten years of direct social work practice, a BSW, MSW, and several social work certificates. She is currently a doctoral candidate obtaining her Ph.D. in Social Work at the University of Houston. Arlene's work is uniquely informed by experiences that she has encountered with clients, agencies, and communities as a social worker both nationally and internationally. Her interests pertain to programs and interventions dedicated to improving the lives of Latinx youth. Through this goal, Arlene became involved in the Central American Minors (CAM) work group when she relocated to Houston, Texas in 2019 with the vision of creating safe and welcoming spaces for migrant families 

 Paola works as HILSC’s Social Services Director and is responsible for leading the strategy, operations and logistics of collaborative projects that streamline immigrant access to social and legal services; developing short- and long-term goals centered through a trauma informed lens; co-managing HILSC events, and mentoring professionals interested in working in non-traditional social work settings to provide holistic services. Previously, Paola worked as the Social Services Coordinator for KIND (Kids in Need of Defense) where she provided referrals to direct social services organizations, trauma informed emotional support for unaccompanied minors, professional development and trainings for attorneys, as well as strategic development and growth of the KIND SSC team nationwide.

Paola was born and raised in Los Angeles, California and moved to Houston in May of 2017 where she has worked in the immigrant justice space. Paola holds a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Southern California (USC) and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology and Spanish from Mount St. Mary’s University.

Paola is extremely passionate in the development of systematic mechanisms that allow for the education and empowerment of marginalized communities of color in the hopes of creating leaders and agents of change to combat the cycles of violence, poverty, and exploitation.