[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 129 (Wednesday, July 26, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E729]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  TRIBUTE TO EVELYN SERRANO--30TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT WOMAN OF THE 
                                  YEAR

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 26, 2023

  Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as we pay special tribute to 
the contributions and sacrifices made by our Nation's women during 
Women's History Month. It is an honor to pay homage to outstanding 
women who are making a difference in my Congressional District. I would 
like to recognize a remarkable woman. Evelyn Serrano of the Sunland-
Tujunga neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.
  Evelyn is a Cuban immigrant, artist, educator and community volunteer 
working at the intersection of creative activism, placemaking, land 
stewardship, memory, and community engagement, and her employment and 
volunteer activities are indeed a reflection of her collaborative, 
artistic nature. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the 
Maryland Institute College of Art, Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art 
and Integrated Media from the California Institute of the Arts 
(CalArts), a Master's in Education from Alliant International 
University, and her teaching credential from the University of 
California, San Diego.
  Ms. Serrano is a co-founder of Sunland Tujunga Forward (ST Forward), 
a non-profit organization that focuses on equity, anti-racism, 
intersectional feminism, land stewardship, and transformative 
relationships through collaborative action. ST Forward organizes an 
annual Indigenous Peoples Day, monthly land restoration events at Big 
Tujunga Canyon, an annual Pride Festival, and native plantings and 
curriculum at local schools.
  She served as Co-Artistic Director of Nuestro Lugar: North Shore, an 
innovative large-scale resident-designed, culture-driven community 
development project in a rural community on the Salton Sea, and she co-
founded Nomad Lab, an award-winning non-profit arts organization that 
worked with Canyon Country and Newhall residents and city officials to 
develop art-centered initiatives and inclusive spaces for learning, 
community organizing, and grassroots change through the arts. Ms. 
Serrano is the co-founder of I.D.E.A. Wave Co-lab, a project that 
creates open-source tools for coalitions, organizations, schools, and 
communities to support their journeys of transformative justice 
healing. She has worked in partnerships with visual and performing 
artists, policy makers, writers, educators and students, community 
organizers, non-profit organizations, and diverse communities 
nationally and internationally, and her curatorial projects have been 
featured in Los Angeles, Miami, Baltimore, and in Mexico, Uruguay, and 
Israel.
  Evelyn has taught courses on activism, the arts and community 
engagement at CalArts and has led workshops and lectured in Miami, 
Dallas, Los Angeles and Baja, California. She is the lead artist of El 
Acercamiento/The Approach, a transnational art project with U.S. and 
Cuban artists and, is an Arts for Advocacy Fellow and the Director of 
Arts Integration and Visual Arts Specialist at the California Creative 
Learning Academy. In addition, Evelyn is training to become a seed 
keeper with a Mohawk leader, working to develop nature spaces and 
curriculum for growing and rehydrating our connection to the Earth, 
seeds and all creation. Ms. Serrano has been recognized and supported 
by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Los Angeles County 
Commission on Human Relations, and the Los Angeles County Department of 
Arts.
  I ask all Members to join me in honoring this exceptional, well-
respected woman of California's 30th Congressional District, Evelyn 
Serrano.

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