Jazmin is the Advocacy and Partnership Manager at EdTrust-Tennessee. In this role, she supports our coalition-building and alliance-management through maintaining, expanding, and cultivating relationships with key external partners in Tennessee. She will also help build and oversee a statewide youth advocacy network.
Previously, Jazmin was the Community Engagement and Rapid Response Organizer with the TN Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition, where she oversaw the immigration legal department, ICE enforcement activity, and community education. She also helped sustain their youth-organizing work across the state with EL students, DACA recipients, and undocumented students. Additionally, Jazmin worked with Metro Parks for six years helping lead after-school programming through NAZA for middle school students in South Nashville.
Born in Zacatecas, Mexico, Jazmin migrated to the United States at the age of 7 and has called Nashville home since 2006. Jazmin holds a bachelor’s degree in social justice from Trevecca Nazarene University.
What’s your favorite thing to do outside of work?
I love to go hiking.
What is your proudest moment?
My proudest moment was helping lead the fight for in-state tuition for undocumented students in Tennessee since 2012.
What drew you to education?
Two main things drew me to education: first, my own experience navigating higher education as an undocumented student and seeing all the barriers a student must go through. The second thing was working with students in my after-school program and seeing firsthand that regardless of your race or background, if you came from a low-income community, there were bigger gaps and disadvantages in your education. Both of these motivated me to want to create change — whether it is at the school, district, local, or state level for all students to have access to a quality education, regardless of your race, immigration status, or socioeconomic status.
