Throughout this year, we will be highlighting individuals or groups that have impacted our work over the last 50 years.

Fabiola Montiel-Tellez

Former POV Staff Member

"I was a recent immigrant from Mexico City when I first learned about POV in 2009. As a counselor/advocate volunteer, I supported DV, SA, and stalking survivors. When POV offered me a spot in their Prevention Division, I was excited. I provided prevention education to students and monolingual Spanish-speaking parents on preventing Teen Dating Violence. Colleagues and community members helped me unlearn attitudes and behaviors that perpetuate violence against women+ and children. I learned about systems of oppression and how to build healthy relationships. I also reaffirmed my conviction that culture change goes hand in hand with policy change. I continue to use all that knowledge today in my professional and personal lives; it was a shift in perspective and how I relate to my family, friends, and colleagues. Thank you POV for making me a better human, parent, and professional."

Fabiola Montiel-Tellez is the inaugural Director of Racial & Gender Equity at YWCA Glendale and Pasadena. She oversees the creation and delivery of racial and gender equity programming in alignment with the YWCA mission of eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, and dignity for all, and YWCA’s public policy and advocacy agenda. Fabiola has over a decade of experience in multicultural communication and organizational leadership. She has worked on gender-based violence prevention, advocacy and policy change, early childhood systems change, and community transformation. Fabiola’s recent work experience was as Community Relations Manager at First 5 LA, an early childhood advocacy and systems change agency. She developed strategies to build collaborative projects with civic organizations to advocate for early childhood well-being across issues and industry sectors and served as spokesperson for educational and advocacy campaigns. Fabiola also served as Educator Coordinator at UCLA LOSH, a worker leader program to improve health and safety conditions for workers in Southern California, and as Communications Officer at First 5 LA. She was a violence prevention educator and counselor advocate at Peace Over Violence, a rape crisis and domestic violence support center. Fabiola started her social justice career as a Universities Campaign Coordinator for Partido Alternativa Socialdemócrata in Mexico City, a progressive political party.

Fabiola holds a master of arts in organizational leadership with a concentration in civic engagement from Claremont Lincoln University and a bachelor of arts in communication science from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education. She is a board member of Esperanza Community Housing, a community development social justice organization in South Central Los Angeles.