Yesenia Molina

(pronouns: she/her/hers) 

Yesenia Molina is a passionate community leader and a dedicated advocate for the arts. As manager for the Watsonville Arts Program at Arts Council Santa Cruz County, she works to elevate local artists and foster a vibrant, inclusive cultural landscape. Yesenia focuses on creating opportunities for underserved communities, ensuring that everyone has access to the arts and a platform to share their voice. She believes in the power of art as a tool for personal and collective healing and transformation. Through her work with the Arts Council, she organizes programs and initiatives that engage people from all walks of life, empowering them to express their creativity and build meaningful connections.  

Yesenia’s commitment to her community is deeply rooted in her experiences growing up in Watsonville. While attending elementary school, she joined the fight to protect bilingual education. As a teenager, she joined the Watsonville Brown Berets and became more aware of the institutionalized systems of oppression in our society. Yesenia holds a BA in Latino/a Studies from San Francisco State University but says that her biggest academic accomplishment is being a student of life and her community. 

Yesenia is constantly reminded of the need for advocacy in the arts, especially as youth art programs are disappearing in favor of profit and efficiency over creativity and joy. Yesenia’s leadership continues to inspire positive change, shaping a more inclusive and dynamic cultural future for Santa Cruz County.