Bio

Dora is a nurse practitioner at White Memorial hospital. She is also an artist member of the La Piedra collective who has survived a myriad of catastrophes in her lifetime, from surviving the 1976 earthquake in Guatemala to torture during El Salvador’s civil war. She was born in Santa Ana, El Salvador and at age of 19 she is jailed and tortured for denouncing human rights abuses. Soon after her capture she decides to leave the country with her child. In the US, she is met with the challenges of U.S. immigration policies. Despite facing a slew of obstacles, Dora marries and has children. She enrolls in school and then college. While in nursing school, she loses a child to an illness but stays the course and graduates as planned. As a registered nurse, Dora is part of a team that helps Clinica Monseñor Oscar Romero become a federally qualified health center.

She was also one of the founders of El Centro Cultural Centroamericano in Los Angeles, a space nurturing Central American culture, creative production, and transnational solidarity. Her story doesn’t end there. She went on to graduate from UCLA as a nurse practitioner, and now works at White Memorial Community Health Center in East Los Angeles. Her book, "Album Para Amarte Patria II," was published in 2010, symbolizing a return to her life-long passion of writing poetry and painting. This La Piedra members' pursuits and triumphs prove valiant and inspirational.