Paula Silva (She/Her/Ella) is the Director of Professional Development for the Puente Project where she imagines, plans, and implements culturally responsive professional development for community college faculty with the intent of creating more humane and equitable educational spaces for underrepresented students. Prior to joining Puente, she taught English in California Community Colleges for 13 years, including serving as a Puente instructor and co-coordinator. Paula is a first-generation college student, queer Chicana who found her voice in a community college Puente classroom at City College of San Francisco where she earned her first college degree. She went on to earn a B.A. in American Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a Secondary teaching credential and Master’s degree in English from San Francisco State University.