Early Childhood Specialist

Born in the USA and raised in Mexico, Irene returned to Steamboat during middle school and graduated from Steamboat Springs High School in 2009. She attended Colorado Northwestern Community College and Colorado Mountain College to obtain her Early Childhood Education Director Qualifications.

Moving to a different country at the age of 12, she had to adapt to a new culture, systems and learn a new language. She and her family experienced first hand the barriers that the immigrant community faces when accessing medical, education, housing and every day resources.

Irene became a mom at a very young age, she was fortunate to have a very strong support system that guided her through the new role of being a mother. This empowered Irene to pursue her dream in Early Childhood Education to support families during the most important journey of their lives, especially after moving to a new country.  Irene worked at Young Tracks Preschool and Childcare Center for 6 years, starting as teacher aide and worked herself up to become a Teacher Lead and Infant Supervisor.

Irene began her career with Integrated Community in 2014 as a professional interpreter. She was hired in June 2017 as our Early Childhood Education Specialist, working closely with our Latino families by providing Bright By 3 (BB3), Parents as Teachers (Madres Enseñando), Raising a reader (Criando un Lector), Learning Box ( Cajita de Aprendizaje) and Ready for Kinder (Listo para Kinder). All her programs are very successful and she is known as the Latina leader to other immigrant mothers. Irene attended the Parents as Teachers training and plans on using this training and education to help her Latino community and families with young children. Irene is a strong advocate for Early Childhood Education in our community, she strongly believes that all children deserve equitable access to high quality early learning experiences.

She and her husband Adrian, have two beautiful daughters and are passionate about raising them to be bilingual and proud of their heritage. Irene sees her daughters as the next leaders in our community breaking barriers for future generations.  Irene and her family enjoy giving back to the community through volunteering and helping others.

Our Early Childhood Specialist serves on the 1st Impressions Executive Board as Co-Chair, The It’s All About Kids Statewide Network, Patient Advisory Group at Northwest Colorado Health, Chair of Latinx Alliance, attends to different community meetings/groups, and she also volunteers at the Parent Summit Event. She was also recently nominated to the “20 under 40” award for all the work she has done in our community. She also earned the Young Professional of the Year Navigator Award, which honors the accomplishments and contributions of outstanding Chamber members.