Just a Girl That Believed She Could, So She Did.

Cindy is a national award-winning art educator and artist turned professional dream chaser and memory keeper.

A first-generation Latina and Summa Cum Laude graduate, she holds a Master’s in Art Education and is currently pursuing her PhD in Human Services. She has received national recognition for her dedication to arts advocacy in and out of the classroom.

She began her career in the art room, where she became known for helping students see what they were capable of before they believed it themselves. That instinct to notice potential and nurture it became the thread that carried her forward. Community has always been at the center of her work, and many of those students still reach out years later to stay connected, something she considers one of her greatest honors.

Today, she works with the University of Hawai‘i to lead statewide digital literacy and digital health initiatives grounded in equity and access. She collaborates with partners across the islands and across the country, contributes to national conversations and shared learning spaces, and develops education and programs that help health systems and frontline teams show up more fully for the people they serve. She works alongside communities, listening first and building initiatives that reflect lived experience, always believing that meaningful change begins with and belongs to the community.

Creativity remains a constant thread in her life. She makes art because she loves it and has been invited to speak on panels about art, journaling, and creative practice, building a beautiful network of crafty friends across the world along the way.

When she is not out in the community volunteering, you can find her journaling, gardening, adventuring around the island, chasing the next sunset, or homeschooling her daughter, with a Diet Coke and teriyaki musubi tucked into her bag and her digital camera always ready to capture the next favorite moment.

She loves to paint in watercolor, but finds that illustrating brings
her the greatest joy.