Julissa Arce

Vincent Remini

Ms. Arce is appearing courtesy of the Pima County Public Library

Julissa Arce was named one of People en Español’s 25 Most Powerful Woman of 2017. She is a leading voice in the fight for social justice, immigrant rights, and education equality. Julissa is a contributor to Crooked Media, CNBC, and one of the hosts of Crooked Conversations. Her book, "My Underground American Dream" is currently being developed as a television series at Twentieth Century Fox Television.

She is a sought-after speaker and political commentator, she gives talks events such as Tedx, the White House Latino Policy Summit, the Democratic National Convention, Politicon and the Forbes Reinventing America Summit. Her writing has been published on Crooked Media, Huffington Post, Fusion, CNN, CNN en Español, The Hill and Univision. She serves on the board of directors of the National Immigration Law Center and CollegeSpring. She has received the Los Angeles Times Latinos de Hoy Emerging Leader Award, the NAHREP's Vanguard Award, the Hispanic Heritage Foundation Inspira Award, among other recognitions.

Books:

Someone Like Me: How One Undocumented Girl Fought for Her American Dream

Nuestras Raices
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
September 2018
ISBN 9780316481748
320 pages
$16.99, INSTOCK

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A remarkable true story from social justice advocate and national bestselling author Julissa Arce about her journey to belong in America while growing up undocumented in Texas. Born in the picturesque town of Taxco, Mexico, Julissa Arce was left behind for months at a time with her two sisters, a nanny, and her grandma while her parents worked tirelessly in America in hopes of building a home and providing a better life for their children. That is, until her parents brought Julissa to Texas to live with them. From then on, Julissa secretly lived as an undocumented immigrant, went on to become a scholarship winner and an honors college graduate, and climbed the ladder to become a vice president at Goldman Sachs. This moving, at times heartbreaking, but always inspiring story will show young readers that anything is possible. Julissa's story provides a deep look into the little-understood world of a new generation of undocumented immigrants in the United States today--kids who live next door, sit next to you in class, or may even be one of your best friends. More/less