ANARELI BEDOLLA

HYPE Center manager

Anareli started her community work at a young age. It all stemmed from her love for dance at East Bay Center for the Performing Arts. She was a Diploma Program student that quickly transitioned to staff as a Hip- Hop and Ballet TA, serving the Iron Triangle youth. She stepped into her first advocacy role in 2017 when she spoke up for immigrant students protection at the three Contra Costa sister colleges. After presenting at multiple board meetings, the Contra Costa  college board made ‘sanctuary’ status official.

Her community work reached organizations like Bay Area Legal Aid, Catholic Charities Legal department and MLP.  Prior to joining Freedom Forward, she served as Program manager at Mindful Life Project, a Bay Area nonprofit that offers mindfulness for youth. While she managed eight WCCUSD School sites and a team of seven mindfulness instructors, she got the opportunity to share mindful moments with Richmond and Oakland youth. Anareli participated on the Fam youth board from 2018 to 2022 before joining the Hype team.

Performing arts have been a strong pillar of healing for Anarel because healing take’s place where there’s fun. She is currently part of the most respected residential dance company of EBCPA, The West African Music and Dance Assemble.