Partnerships for Positive Change
Carolina Ibarra-Mendoza is an impassioned advocate for social impact, actively contributing her expertise and dedication to several nonprofit boards and community initiatives. Serving as Board Secretary for the Feminist Center for Creative Work, she is committed to cultivating feminist creativity and intersectional artistic expression, fostering a vibrant environment that challenges norms. As Creative Director of LA Freewaves, Carolina drives dialogue on art, race, and gender, harnessing the power of design annd visual identities to connect and inspire. Her role on the Board of Directors and as Creative Director at the Montebello Historical Society amplifies underrepresented voices and preserves local heritage, emphasizing historical contributions from marginalized communities. Having collaborated with the Mayor's Creative Advisory Board Optimize LA, Carolina helped guide pandemic recovery strategies for small businesses, igniting positive change in her community. Photography Mentor for Las Fotos Project, she empowers young girls through self-expression and creativity. Carolina's extensive involvement in nonprofit boards and volunteer work underscores her commitment to social justice and community-driven transformation, making her an indispensable force in the realm of feminist design and activism.
non profit board service
Feminist Center
for Creative Work
Feminist Center for Creative Work cultivates L.A.’s feminist creative communities and practices. A place that affirms that art, creativity, and imagination have intellectual, personal, and political value. No art is neutral, it is either transforming or upholding the status quo. Explicitly intersectional & working towards a feminism prioritizing women of color, queer, trans, and nonbinary folx, and other marginalized communities. We have a zero tolerance policy for transphobia, racism, anti-Blackness, homophobia, classism, ableism, & body shaming. Learn more about our core values here.
I’m the Board Secretary of the FCCW!
LA Freewaves
LA Freewaves is a non-profit pushing dialogue on art, race, and gender to keep you connected so we collectively keep moving ahead—since 1989! We provide free online access to one of the largest digital archives of contemporary media art videos: Archive.freewaves.org.
I’m the Creative Director of LA Freewaves (charged on a sliding scale for non-profits).
Montebello Historical Society
The Montebello Historical Society is a non-profit that manages the Juan Matias Sanchez Adobe Museum & Historic Site located on the site of the oldest residence in Montebello, California. The Montebello Historical Society strives to promote and encourage programs which will be educational to our youth and elders, to have community events which foster an awareness of our rich history.
I’m on the Board of Directors and the (probono) Creative Director of the MHS.
As a Montebello native, I’m personally interested in highlighting the historical contributions made by women, POC, and the first peoples of Southern California (i.e., Tongva tribe/ Gabrieleño people).
Past Involvement
Optimize LA
Mayor's Creative Advisory Board
I collaborated with the Mayor's Creative Advisory Board Optimize LA, working alongside esteemed Los Angeles Creative Leaders to support local small businesses' pandemic recovery. Our focus was on expanding e-commerce capabilities and enhancing their online presence. Additionally, I was vital in strategizing creative solutions for businesses impacted by COVID-19 and reviewing applicants for the Los Angeles City Creative Taskforce. Together, we empowered our community and drove positive change.
Las Fotos Project
Photography Mentor
Las Fotos Project is a community-based nonprofit organization that inspires teenage girls through photography, mentorship, and self-expression. Offering year-round programming, we provide girls with access to professional cameras, quality instruction and workshops that encourage them to explore their identity, learn about new cultures, build leadership and advocacy skills, and strengthen their social and emotional well-being. Every year we mentor hundreds of girls from communities across Los Angeles.
Photography Mentor (volunteer) from 2016-2019.
Activism & pro-bono work is part of my feminist design practice.
