Why should we care?
SCS’s ability to provide a quality, equitable education is being undercut by high teacher turnover and year-long teaching vacancies, as well as significant maintenance deficiencies within the schools, all of which leads to higher financial, educational, and health costs. A lack of access to wraparound services provided by qualified social workers, psychologists, and nurses inhibits the successful treatment of trauma or Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE). Abuse, neglect, and trauma significantly increase the likelihood of suspensions, juvenile criminal behavior, and incarceration. With a median age four years below the national average, Memphis’s population can support economic development, but only if we provide children in our community access to opportunities and support.
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Equipping people of faith and goodwill to organize communities for systemic change through collective action.
Gisela Guerrero
Lead Organizer
Gisela Guerrero is MICAH’s Lead Organizer. Gisela originally joined MICAH as a delegate for Church Health, and transitioned to an organizer role in 2021.Â
Gisela was born in Mexico City and has lived in Memphis since she was 5 years old. She went on to earn her B.A. from Brown University and her Master of Public Health from University of Memphis. She worked as a Bilingual Wellness Education Coordinator at Church Health, and helped coordinate Socios Comunitarios En Respuesta a la Pandemia del COVID-19, a grassroots Latinx response network, during the pandemic. Her academic interests include racial health disparities, community-based research, and immigrant and Latinx health.Â
Gisela currently lives in Memphis, TN with her husband and continues to be involved in the community advocacy and public health advocacy communities.
