Ester Herrera is originally from Manila, Philippines. She completed her B.A. at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, majoring in Sociology because she has always wanted to understand how global economic systems perpetuate poverty in developing nations, such as the Philippines. Her eventual migration to the US brought her to San Diego where she began her career in the nonprofit sector, starting out as a case manager in a Child Abuse Prevention and Intervention program serving newly arrived immigrants in the Asian and Pacific Islander communities. She then worked at Catholic Charities of San Diego for more than a decade, initially as an employment case manager for the CalWORKs Welfare-to-Work program, then eventually assumed various leadership roles: Quality Assurance Supervisor, Program Manager, Director of Employment Services, and Operations Manager of Refugee Services. She worked towards her master’s degree in Sociology at San Diego State University while keeping a fulltime job, an experience she found equal parts challenging and exhilarating. She also briefly taught a Human Diversity course at the Azusa Pacific University. Her interest in socio-economic justice led her to the East Coast where she lived in Hyde Park, New York for six years to work in a social enterprise that is part of a project called Economy of Communion. For Ester one of the amazing things about working at Mid-City CAN is seeing how institutional and systemic change is made possible when a community rises up as one and realizes its power. Another is the opportunity to work with a team of passionate and committed people who also are fun and funny! In her free time, Ester likes to spend time with family and friends, travel, and read.

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