Teresa Bendito is a community organizer and co-founder of Parque Padrinos, a grassroots community organization that leads park advocacy, relationship building, and culturally relevant outdoor experiences in South Wenatchee, Washington. Teresa is currently completing an accounting degree at Central Washington University. The daughter of Mexican immigrants, Teresa’s parents instilled in her the importance of civic engagement and public service, and she’s served in a variety of leadership roles at organizations in her community, including the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, the Community for the Advancement of Family Education (CAFÉ), the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation, and the Trust for Public Land. Teresa is the recipient of several honors and awards, including Our Valley, Our Future’s “One Community Award” in recognition of her role in co-founding Parque Padrinos, advancing a community vision for a neighborhood park renovation in her neighborhood, and collaborating with others to break down jurisdictional and cultural barriers in Wenatchee. Teresa is passionate about leveraging diversity, placemaking, and civic engagement activities to address bigger issues that her community faces.

Taylor Toynes is the co-founder and executive director of For Oak Cliff, which he started with students as a first-year teacher. Challenged by the disparities and inequities his students experienced, and noting that nothing had changed since his childhood, Taylor was compelled to organize the inaugural FOC Back to School Festival for his students and community. The festival drew attention to the needs of the community and led to collaborations with system leaders such as United Way of Metropolitan Dallas. Taylor is committed to the Oak Cliff community and lives in the neighborhood with his family. Since the inaugural year of the back to school festival For Oak Cliff has become the backbone non profit entity supporting the South Oak Cliff community through its four pillars of work: education, advocacy, community building, and the arts. Taylor also serves on the Parkboard for the City of Dallas and is committed to creating equitable park spaces for his community. For his leadership, Taylor has received awards from the United Nations, the NAACP, and Southern Methodist University (SMU), to name a few. Taylor and the FOC team won Teach For America’s Social Innovation Award and have been recognized by national news outlets. Taylor is a graduate of University of North Texas and has a master’s degree from SMU.