Although I am new to the Storytelling Coordinator role, I am not new to CDF. I first shared my story when I applied for the Beat the Odds (BTO) Scholarship back in 2018 when I was scrambling to figure out how I was going to pay for my undergraduate education. I can tell you exactly where I was at and what I was doing when I received the call that I was selected to be a BTO Scholar. It literally changed my life and I give all the credit to the entire BTO team for helping me succeed academically and personally. During my college journey, I continued to share my story and became the first Youth Programs Intern at CDF-TX where I collaborated with our Health Policy team and Youth Civic Education and Engagement team on various projects to engage Texans in advocacy. Through this internship, I also had the opportunity to mentor our 2020 and 2021 BTO cohorts. Now that I have graduated from the University of Houston, I am happy to be back and continue this necessary work with the CDF-TX Health Policy team.
Amber Ayala
Storytelling Coordinator - Healthcare Campaigns
