She completed her degree in Global Studies, focusing on Trans-Border Chicano Development and Health from Arizona State University. Initially, she was interested in working on policies that supported immigrants coming to the United States, and how the development and health systems are built up to guarantee their safety and rights. Her career path led her to work in health for Latinos, not only in the border towns of Arizona but also abroad, as she spent some time in Peru working on public health initiatives. After returning to the United States, she became an English teacher in Denver, working with bilingual kids whose English was not their first language. It was there that she noticed the environmental racism among the Latino communities in the area.

“There is an oil refinery nearby, and all of my students suffered from many health effects because of the contaminated water and air. That is when I decided to switch careers and started working with Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting, and the Outdoors (HECHO).”

Since then, Breanna has been working to protect water quality and access and to protect communities from drought through media campaigns and public policy.

“I've been very fortunate to work in this field and dive into our connection to nature, public lands, and the outdoors, and how the Latino culture is greatly integrated with it”.

As the Colorado Field Coordinator, she has focused primarily on two campaigns, one being the resiliency of the Colorado River and protecting it from potential mining and over-usage. She has also been working with tribal communities throughout the Southwest to protect sacred lands from mining.

Being an outdoors enthusiast, she recognizes the tremendous value organizations like Hispanic Access Foundation bring to the Latino community.

“Anytime I went hiking or climbing I felt like I wasn’t invited to these traditionally white spaces. So, when I was introduced to Latino Conservation Week through Hispanic Access Foundation it was the opposite feeling; everybody was out here celebrating their sense of belonging and connection to nature in a way that was authentically Latino, which was beautiful.”

Since experiencing the sense of belonging and community brought by Latino Conservation Week, she started to collaborate in events to get to know the extended network of the organization. This is what eventually motivated Breanna to become a Latino Conservation Week Ambassador.

“This is an intersection of all of the things that matter to me, which is my culture, and also the activities that I love to participate in. There's been a lot of education being done on behalf of the Hispanic Access Foundation to make sure that they have equal opportunities in nature. I wanted to take on a hands-on role and support the events not only here in Colorado, but in the American West.”

On this occasion, Breanna hosted an event through Escaladores Unidos, an organization that brings together Latino climbers, of which she is a lead volunteer. The event, celebrated on July 15th alongside Latino Outdoors, brought together volunteers on a trail stewardship day near Boulder.

“We cleaned up and started building a hiking trail to open up a new path for climbing access. Climbing has always been a very white sport, so for us to be able to work with the county of Boulder on a new climbing area is really special and I'm excited to be a part of that.”

Breanna is passionate about making equitable spaces for Latinos within the outdoors. She feels compelled to bridge her knowledge in education and community development with the necessity to empower the Latino community to proudly recreate outdoors, and promote legislation that keeps in mind conservation and Latinos.

“I think ultimately, leadership in conservation means listening to the stewards of the land, first and foremost. Conservation can be done anywhere on the planet but as leaders in the conservation area, we can’t just go into a community and say, ‘I know how to do this’. You need to talk to the people who are the original stewards of the land, especially the native and indigenous communities, who have been there for generations. It means taking a step back and listening to the elders and the stewards of the land, because that is how we are going to move forward in decolonizing the land, and also conserving it for the future.”