Griselda Rodriguez, Secretary

Griselda Rodriguez hails from New York City with strong roots in The Dominican Republic. Both of her parents migrated from the Caribbean in the late 70's and thus instilled very traditional and specific values in both the life of Griselda and her twin sister. It is because of her parents, her mother in particular, that Griselda is dedicating her life to creating the happiness that she knows belongs to all of us as human beings. Griselda and her sister are the first to ever graduate from college in their family. At SUNY Binghamton Griselda attained a Bachelors of Science in Human Development and Latin American and Caribbean Areas Studies. Part of Griselda’s experiences as an undergraduate were enhanced via membership in a Youth Program, which reached out to younger children sharing similar histories and upbringings (households led by single-parents on public assistance who are bi-lingual, etc.). Griselda earned two Masters Degrees, one in Cultural Foundations of Education and the other in Sociology from Syracuse University. Currently, she is a doctoral candidate completing a degree in Sociology. She continues her passion of fostering change outside of the classroom by creating a balance between scholarship and activism through participation in a number of organizations (i.e. The Black Graduate Students Association, a Caribbean Working Group, and The Image Initiative, Inc.). Griselda’s future goals entail continuing the delicate balance between scholarship and activism, which she is learning to master as a graduate student. She believes that she did not get to where she is on her own and must therefore turn around and continue to help those that come behind her.