Cristina Piña (She/Her)

Founder & CEO 

Cristina grew up with a dream... a dream to heal the pain and suffering she experienced in her childhood, a dream to create educational spaces where students feel seen, welcomed, cared for, and can be their authentic selves.

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As a Trans Woman, raised my immigrant Latinx parents, and growing up in the rural communities of the Central Valley,

Cristina's work is inspired and uplifted by her Queer and immigrant ancestry who fought and died for her to reside in the spaces she holds today. 

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Cristina leads with an open heart, and as the Founder and CEO of Central Valley Scholars, her goal is to create transformative changes in education -- in which students go to spaces not because they have to, but because they want to, and share the common mission of making the Central Valley a more loving, accessible, and opportunity-filled place to live.