Staff: Veronica Reyes-Leal

Veronica is a first generation native Austinite. She was born here, but her strongest cultural ties are to Mexico. This allows her to relate to her cohort as a Professional Mentor with Friends of the Children Austin. As a first generation Mexican-American, she has experienced first-hand the many hurdles the Latinx population has to overcome in and out of the education world. Due to this, Veronica has placed an enormous value on education, especially bilingual literacy. First, she was an Enrollment Broker with the state of Texas aiding the public in understanding, utilizing, and maximizing the use of their state benefits. Next, she entered the exciting world of elementary education as a 3rd grade bilingual teacher. As an educator, it became incredibly evident that to succeed, children need more than a solid education in academics, they need social emotional learning, stable positive relationships, and above all to see someone like them believe in them and help them navigate the hurdles life will throw at them.

With a degree in Psychology and as a certified Bilingual Educator she loves that she gets to do what she does best to serve the Latinx community through Friends of the Children Austin.