Michael Diaz-Rivera is a youth organizer for RISE. After 3 years of being a classroom teacher, he is committed to supporting students in the creation of the schools we want and deserve! “From the struggle” born and raised in Colorado Springs, Michael saw Metropolitan State University of Denver as a way out. Now a youth community organizer he aims to educate, engage, and empower youth towards educational equity. He plans to motivate the youth as they overcome oppression and continually uplift each other. Currently strategizing on ways to challenge systems of oppression like capitalism, sexism, homophobia, patriarchy and other harmful systems in all walks of life, he will study the history of these systems and examine how they show up in our lives. He is committed to courageous conversations in an attempt to learn how to break these harmful structures in our life piece by piece.