Introducing...Aileen!
Hello friends!
Today, we are so excited to formally introduce you to our brand new Storyteller and Communications Director, Aileen Rueda-DaCosta! Among so much more, Aileen embodies a bubbling, joyful presence, a radically honest personality, and a selfless compassion for others. Aileen has had a wild couple years, to say the least. Graduating from WSU in 2020 with a bachelors in Political Science and three minors in Communications, Sociology, and Women’s Studies, Aileen gave birth to her daughter the same week she graduated! In the past couple pandemic-y years, she has been a full-time mom and also leaned into her gifts as a doula and a photographer, combining these gifts to do birth photography. To see some of this incredible photography, click here: www.thenaceraproject.com Aileen has a passion for doing this work with lower-income families and families of color, and provides a more personal touch with an affordable price for work that can traditionally be less personal and extremely expensive. Aileen has a heart for the people, and this is ever so clear even in small interactions with her. Recently, Aileen decided to shift her work’s focus to community storytelling. She kept hearing touching story after story from the people she was working with - immigrant families making their home in the States, people working nonstop to build companies from the ground up - and realized a deep passion within herself to continue learning these stories and then share them with larger audiences. As our Storytelling position at The Neighboring Movement opened up, Aileen deeply resonated with the language we used, and the job description itself, and decided to take the leap. Gosh, we are so excited that she did! It’s a deep honor to us that Aileen chose this position, as, in her words, she wanted to make sure that any job she chose was worth giving up her role as the stay-at-home parent. We are so honored that she found this job to be worth that choice and so glad that she can now often bring her daughter to work with her! In Aileen’s words, she saw that we are seeking to make the world a better place, and she wants to take part in that work. That is indeed our goal - one good neighbor at a time! We are so excited to have Aileen take part in this effort and have been blessed by her amazing work already. Be on the lookout for some beautiful photographs, touching tales, and witty posts! Please join us in welcoming Aileen Rueda-DaCosta!
