Ama Agustin,
Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice

Ama Agustin (she/they) believes in the power of healing and transformation. She looks to the indigenous values, practices, and guidance of her Bisayan Waray lineage of the Philippines and mestiza & Paez lineage of Colombia. Ama understands their work as a resource mobilizer to be critical to divesting from systems of punishment and investing into community-based solutions. She is drawn to her work with CURYJ due to her familial history with incarceration/systems impact, her individual journey of harm and transformation, and her ancestrally guided healing practices. Ama is the first generation in her family to be born in the united states and the first generation to obtain a college degree. She sees her Bachelor’s in Sociology from the University of San Francisco as a privilege and a responsibility to her community. Ama first learned how to fundraise as an 8-year-old writing scholarship requests to attend performing arts camps in well-resourced areas. Ama credits her mom in teaching her many of the skills she now utilizes in development and fundraising, including how to take up space in even the most exclusive rooms.

Ama cherishes their queerness as a political identity and portal for expansive belonging. Ama is inspired by the creative resistance of their QTBIPOC (queer, trans, black, indigenous people of color) community, specifically in Oakland. Ama enjoys somatic movement, herbal medicine, nurturing intimacy with loved ones, and wielding words as a poet, creative, and grant writer. They are an eldest daughter and are committed to creating a liberated future for their younger siblings and children everywhere.