Raphael (they/he) was born in Chicago, Illinois, splitting their time growing up between the Philippines, Chicago, and Inglewood, California before moving to San Diego in 2014 to attend UC San Diego (UCSD). Initially accepted as a Physics major, Raphael would transfer into Environmental Science after developing a passion for uplifting the issues of environmental racism and its intersectionality with public health, and they ultimately graduated with a B.S. in Environmental Systems with a specialization in Earth Science.

After completing their senior capstone project interning with The Global Action Research Center (ARC), Raphael was hired by The Global ARC and would work there from 2019 to 2023. In that time, Raphael served a variety of roles from assisting with administrative tasks and accompanying capacity-building trainings for community-based organizations to working with youth and helping at the Ocean View Growing Grounds. Raphael also worked a joint position with the Urban Studies & Planning Department at UCSD to help coordinate the Community Engagement and Research Translation Cores of the Superfund Research Center and later assist in the convening of COVID-19 Community Advisory Boards. Eventually, Raphael was made a Program Director for the Young Environmental Justice Advocates Academy at the Global ARC, where Raphael dedicated himself to educating City Heights and San Ysidro students on local environmental health issues and uplifting their perspectives through creative arts.

Raphael joined Mid-City CAN as a Community Health Worker in October 2023, reuniting with the many friendly faces that he had already met during his time at the Global ARC and exploring a stronger focus on public health in his career. In addition to his duties as a Community Health Worker, Raphael also appreciates the freedom to support other projects around Mid-City CAN and to continue working with City Heights youth, further building on the community and relationships he had been fostering. In their free time, Raphael never unlearned the curiosity at the world that first called them to study Physics, and they continue to bring that curiosity into dance, cooking, guitar, singing, and whatever other new interests they find themselves enchanted by.