Staff: Gabby Gonzalez (She/Her)

Gabby Gonzalez has been an educator, childcare provider, researcher, and youth community health worker for nearly 8 years. She has worked in a school district, afterschool programs, and provided direct childcare, from national organizations to smaller community-based organizations to families, from New York State to LA. Gabby was previously a Master’s degree student at UCLA and has since honed in on her passion for youth work and is currently completing a Master’s degree program in education with a specialization in Trauma Studies in Pasadena, CA.

Having worked in the classroom, Gabby knows the real difference a long-term connection can make, versus being in and out of a young person’s life. And as an older sister having had to raise her younger brother and sister, Gabby knows it really does take a village. She joins Friends LA in a continuing effort to be part of “the village” for others, be a source of trust, and build over the years with youth and their families, helping keep families together and reach their goals. Gabby is an avid baker, amateur watercolor painter, and lifetime Pokémon geek.