“When a complex system is far from equilibrium, small islands of coherence in a sea of chaos have the capacity to shift the entire system to a higher order.
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BIOGRAPHY
FIDEL T. RODRIGUEZ
For over 30 years, Fidel Rodriguez has worked as a producer, educator, mentor, and community organizer. Fidel produced several number-one-rated Hip-Hop radio shows for 92.3 The Beat and Pacifica radio and has planned educational conferences, Hip-Hop concerts, and cultural wellness trainings for numerous government and nonprofit entities. Fidel has spoken internationally on topics such as, but not limited to, critical thinking, Native American and African cultures, colonialism, capitalism, and decolonizing the mind.
For more than 15 years, Fidel has worked for the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission as a Senior Human Relations Specialist. He develops art intervention projects to fight against hate, for a county wide initative entitled LAvsHate, facilitates adult leadership training, and leads youth development programs for those impacted by childhood trauma. Much of Fidel's professional advocacy and activism has been informed by his own journey to healing childhood trauma and the systemic trauma induced by his experiences in the juvenile and criminal justice systems.
Fidel's commitment to raising the consciousness of youth and young adults, has been profoundly inspired by his mother, mentors, love for education, and most significantly, his inititiations into Mexican, Native American, and African traditional medicines and religions. These experiences have equipped him with the spiritual tools and historical context to better understand some of the complexities of our society, and have also developing his capacity for equanimity, empathy, and compassion.
Fidel is a critical thinker, innovator, and visionary. Fidel graduated from the University of Southern California as a McNair Scholar with degrees in Chicano/Latino and African American studies. He is a certified trainer for Franklin Covey, and is an initiated Ọmọ Awo: one who is learning to specialize in the esoteric knowledge and wisdom in the ancient African tradition known as Ifá. He was born and raised in Santa Barbara, California, and is of Indigenous, Mexican, and African descent.
