VINCENT PEREZ
Vincent is the son of Yolanda Ramirez-Lemarr and Rudy Perez. He is the husband of Kim Jansen and father to Tristan, Chase, and Devon. He is brother to Marla, Rudy, and Rebecca. Vincent’s vocation is dedicated to the art and skill of facilitation. Meaningful learning experiences and humanizing practices that honor the identity and dignity of participants are his top priority.
Vincent currently leads the Equity Institute, a national collective of equity consultants, empowered educators, liberated learners, racial healers, skillful experts, and many other individuals across a multitude of spectrums and different generations. He is a leader rooted in Trauma-Informed practices, focused on cultural responsive pedagogy, advocating for juvenile justice reform, implementation science, family engagement, near-peer mentorship, and Latinx bilingual leadership.
He frequently speaks at schools, facilitates student programs, and trains adult staff to better serve their students. Vincent earned an AAS in photographic communications at Northwest College, an undergraduate degree from the University of Idaho, and a Master of Public Administration at the Evergreen State College. As an educator, Vincent Perez aims to sustain the integrity, courage, and commitment of children, families, and communities.
Vincent currently leads Rethink Manhood, working with men and boys to deconstruct and counter cultural narratives regarding what it means to be a "real" man. In addition, he served as the Latinx outreach coordinator for the Association of Washington Student Leaders (AWSL) under the Association of Washington School Principals’ (AWSP) from 2012-2017. Previously, he worked for five years in the Louisiana juvenile court system coordinating mentoring and diversion programs with Volunteers for Youth Justice (VYJ) and managed the challenge course at the Cispus Learning Center from 2001-2006.
In 2004, Vincent founded La Cima (the Summit), a bilingual leadership camp. This later led to the middle school program ¡La Chispa! (the Spark!). In a partnership with OSPI’s Migrant Ed division, Vincent co-founded the credit-bearing Dare to Dream Academies serving high school migrant youth for a week-long experience in a university setting. Long-term collaborations include partnerships with XITO WA Winter Institute (Xicanx Institute for Teaching and Organizing) to inform WA’s conversation on ethnic studies, Lewis County Thrives collective impact efforts, and as Green Hill School’s (state juvenile rehabilitation facility) Latino culture group leader of Group Ollin. Grupo Ollin is exploring Indigenous knowledge and healing ceremonies (la cultura cura), examining the impact of toxic masculinity and violence in our lives, and developing a critical thinking approach to criminal justice reform. During his free time, Vincent enjoys running, playing guitar, and practicing yoga Nidra.
