Stephanie Parra with ALL in Education and Gaby Cardenas with Colibri Collective
ALL in Education exists to ensure that individuals from the communities most impacted by education inequities are the ones making decisions for all students.
ALL in Education is building an Arizona WHERE ALL COMMUNITIES HAVE ACCESS TO OPPORTUNITY AND JUSTICE.
ALL in Education’s key strategic Pillars are: EQUITY, LEADERSHIP, POWER, INFLUENCE, & POLICY.
Stephanie Parra is the Executive Director of ALL In Education, a non-profit organization that aims to ensure that the communities most impacted by education inequities are the ones making decisions for ALL students.
Established to close the gap and achieve better representation on the state’s education policy-making bodies, ALL In Education aims to increase the number of Latino members on education boards that directly impact policy.
Stephanie is a first-generation American originally from Yuma, Arizona. As one of the first in her family to attend college, Parra saw first-hand the importance of education and the wonders it can do to develop a child’s life and future. She holds a Bachelor’s in Justice Studies and Psychology, and a Master’s in Higher and Postsecondary Education.
Her passion for education led her to past roles at Teach For America, Arizona State University, T.W. Lewis Foundation, and the Arizona Education Association. Parra currently serves on the Governing Board of the Phoenix Union High School District, representing Ward 3.
She is passionate about ensuring every student in Arizona receives an excellent education and is adequately prepared to succeed in college, career, and life.
Connect with Stephanie on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.
The Colibri Collective is an award-winning full-service marketing agency providing a collective of talent with experience and expertise in all things marketing. Serving a wide range of clients varying from the political, non-profit and education sectors, our focus is to deliver elevated strategies that ignite emotion and most importantly results.
They bring visions to life by providing the passion necessary to ensure your campaigns are driven by three key metrics: data, skill, and emotion. Their partnerships are the cornerstone of our success, we seamlessly integrate their team with your business.
Gaby Cardenas is an award-winning marketer and entrepreneur with more than 22 years of experience in marketing, advertising, and strategic communications. She was raised in a family of entrepreneurs, honing her business acumen at a young age as she helped with the family’s small business.
After rising through the ranks of corporate America, in 2017 Gaby founded The Colibri Collective: the first Latina-owned digital marketing firm in Phoenix, Arizona. Since then, she has taken her agency to new heights, winning campaigns that mobilize and engage diverse audiences with data, skill, and emotion across a national footprint.
In 2022, after 5+ years of remarkable growth, The Colibri Collective opened a new division based in Los Angeles to expand the company’s footprint. This new division of The Colibri Collective focuses on political and advocacy client work and has already yielded exciting new partnerships.
Gaby prides herself in delivering each project for her clients with a high level of quality and aesthetic. Driving campaigns from the ground up, Gaby leads with a precise understanding of what mobilizes and engages audiences to bring campaigns to life. In her role as The Colibri Collective’s CEO, she partners with clients that align with her values to create meaningful change.
Both Gaby and The Colibri Collective have received multiple national awards and repeated recognition for excellence in marketing and digital strategy. Gaby has been awarded by Independent Voting and named a Women Achiever of Arizona by the Arizona Capitol Times. She was also recognized with the coveted 40 Under 40 Hispanic Leaders award and is an Athena Award nominee.
Her work for The Colibri Collective has also been nationally recognized with the 2021 USPS Best of Best for Direct Mail, a 2021 CampaignTech Award for Innovation in Voter Contact, and has received multiple Reed and AAPC Pollie Awards for innovative work. The agency has also been recognized as the best in the industry for several years in a row for Spanish language websites.
In addition to her entrepreneurship, she has demonstrated a deep commitment to volunteering and mentorship to uplift the local community. She is a board member of both the International Women’s Forum Arizona, Arizona Donors Alliance and ALL in Education.
Steve Zylstra serves as president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council, a role he assumed in 2007. He is responsible for strategy, operations, finance and policy development. Zylstra is a vocal spokesman for the value technology can provide in raising social and economic standards in Arizona.
Karen Nowicki is a successful author, speaker and the creator of Deep Impact Leadership™ and SoulMarks Coaching™. She is a two-time recipient of the prestigious national Choice Award® for her book and personal development retreat. Karen was crowned the first-ever “Mompreneur of the Year” Award in 2010 for the southwestern states. She was recognized for her leadership, business acumen, and work-life balance.
Born in Phoenix, Arizona, Bianca Buliga is a trilingual first-generation American of Romanian ethnicity. A marketing professional with experience in both the nonprofit and for-profit sectors, Bianca currently works as Director, Marketing & Communications for the Arizona Technology Council.
