Cynthia (Cindy) Rivera is originally from Arizona, where she grew up on a dirt road in the middle of the Sonoran Desert. Although she loves the area, she knew she wanted more than what her small town could offer. Cindy attended the University of Arizona for her bachelor and master’s programs in Mexican American Studies. She spent about a decade in Tucson, working for various nonprofits working in prevention, public health, and youth development. She’s always loved working in community — finding creative and meaningful ways to address challenges. Her life took a turn when she met her husband, an active-duty Army soldier. Since they’ve been together, they have lived in six states (and counting) and have five kids. Living in several states fostered a new perspective on the various challenges different communities face, how they address them, and how equity impacts different communities. Throughout their travels, Cindy continued to work in social services and earned a second master’s degree (social work). She has worked on projects ranging from community volunteerism to military family life. Cindy loves meeting new people and discovering new points of view, interests that lend themselves to her work at Change Matrix (CM).
What drew you to CM?
In the job announcement, CM clearly identified its values, which were highly aligned with my own. However, two specific values stood out: “family” and “justice and equity”. I wanted to work at a place that prioritized families, in its work and at home. I was not interested in working in a place that did not center equity and seeing that CM does just that, solidified my interest in being part of the team. I knew from the first time I read the job announcement, I had to become a part of the organization. The CM projects I saw on the website were highly aligned to my background in behavioral health and CM seemed eager to be innovative, which appealed to me. I listened to the podcasts on adaptive leadership and knew this was a place that I could grow professionally and share this knowledge to impact communities across the country.
What is your role at CM?
I am a Change Consultant specifically working in Training and Technical Assistance and Evaluation. I work across projects, including the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Technical Assistance Resource Center, National Training and Technical Assistance Center for Child, Youth and Family Mental Health (NTTAC), and 988 Crisis Response Systems Training & Technical Assistance Center (CRS-TTAC) to support TA centers as they bring vital behavioral health resources to communities.
Which project or assignment are you most excited about?
I am most excited about the 988 CRS-TTAC I will be supporting. It is a brand-new center, and being on the project from the inception is attractive to me. I am a part of the evaluation team and am particularly interested in infusing culturally responsive and equitable evaluation (CREE) into the project. 988 is poised to change our mental health system, and I’m thrilled to be a part of it.
Why did you choose equity work?
As a Latina who faced discrimination and racism in the education system and within the workplace, I feel it’s an obligation to work toward equity for as long as it takes. Equity work is the right thing to do, for our clients and our communities. Equity work is transformative when it is done well and destructive when it is done poorly. I am committed to reflecting, growing, and sharing in this space until I get it right (for myself) and will support others in doing the same.
