Romina Pacheco is the Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging at the Windward School. She was born and raised in Venezuela. Romina’s relationship with the United States began in 1994 after her high school graduation when she took a gap year to be an exchange student in the State of Maine. During her undergraduate college years in Venezuela, Romina became a teacher of English as a Foreign Language and developed a passion for teaching. After completing her degree, she decided to return to Maine to work as a teaching assistant in the Spanish Department at Bates College. It was during this time that Romina became conscious of the importance for educators to contribute to the transformation of our society to be more equitable and inclusive. Thus, in 2004 she joined the Social Justice Education Masters Program at UMass-Amherst where she trained to support groups on how to have difficult conversations and started facilitating race and ethnicity intergroup dialogues. After completing her M.Ed., Romina ventured to New Mexico to complete a Ph.D. from New Mexico State University where she studied Curriculum and Instruction and Gender and Sexuality Studies. She has extensive experience supporting institutions in their equity journey, both in K-12 and postsecondary education. Her approach to DEIB work centers on relationships, empathy, and understanding. When she is not envisioning schools as joyful spaces for everyone, you can find her learning about the latest trends from Asha, her 12-year old daughter, or running after Pierre Aristides, her 3-year old son.