Our Projects Director

As Projects Director, Rachel Villarreal oversees the cycle of all VOICES projects. Since she began in 2005, she helped VOICES’ staff and volunteers mentor hundreds of low-income youth to tell their personal and community stories through the documentary and media arts. These projects include: the 110º After School Magazine Project, our innovative, award-winning out-of-school program; the Looking Forward/Looking Back Digital Storytelling Project on the San Xavier Reservation with Tohono O’odham youth; the World War 2 Stories Project an oral history project with City High School students and teachers (www.ww2stories.org); the South Park Generaciones Unidas Project, pairing youth and elders together to photograph their neighborhood; the Living Stories Project, a series of intergenerational open community workshops; and the upcoming Voices Freelance Program (VFP) that trains youth in our best practices to become freelance journalists.

Villarreal is also a Ph.D. in History, a degree she earned from the University of Arizona. As a Fulbright Scholar, she conducted research for her dissertation entitled, “Gladiolas for the Children of Sanchez: Uruchurtu’s Mexico City, 1950-1968.” Her research focuses on urban society and culture and analyzes competing discourses about poverty and the impact of urbanization and modernization on the family. Her dedication to history reflects her love of storytelling. Villarreal also earned an interdisciplinary Master of Arts degree from the University of Arizona in Latin American Studies. She has six years of teaching experience in history, research, and writing- a perfect blend for VOICES!