Julissa was born in Guatemala and raised in the small town of Amesbury, Massachusetts where she dedicated her time to adaptive programs for blind and disabled children. She then earned her BA in Sociology from the University of Vermont in December of 2019. During her time as an undergraduate student, she pursued research with the Vermont Council on Domestic Violence and interned with the Huertas Program, which enables Latino/a migrant farmworkers to access culturally familiar and local foods through cultivating kitchen gardens.  Upon graduation, Julissa continued her work with migrant farmworkers in the UVM Extension Program, Bridges to Health. She serves as the Statewide Community Care Coordinator, where she connects migrant farmworkers and their families to health services through breaking down barriers in health care. She will continue working with Bridges to Health during her graduate studies. Julissa is committed to creating and providing opportunities of independence and access with all people she encounters. Her interests include migrant rights, equal access to health care, eliminating barriers in education with regards to race and citizenship, and rural sociology.