“Parker provided me with the opportunity and the freedom to explore the unexpected path,” says Yolanda Selene Walther-Meade ’86, mother to alumni Carlos Ezquerro ’16 and Andie Ezquerro ’17. Yolanda’s varied and influential career path shows that there truly is no limit to what Parker Alumni can dream, do, or try.

Yolanda describes herself as a “Calibaja region-builder, a changemaker, and a binational influencer who grew up on both sides of the US-Mexico border.” Neil Morgan, the former editor of The San Diego Union-Tribune nicknamed her the “Voice of the Border” for her work as media liaison and interpreter for four Mexican presidents, Pulitzer Prize winners, Nobel Laureates, and others as they worked through issues within the US-Mexico/Calibaja bilateral agenda.

“If I can effect change and channel our collective efforts into innovative cross-border projects in civic engagement and philanthropy, especially at such critical moments, I must rise to the occasion,” explains Yolanda about what inspires her.

Proof of her dedication can be found throughout her career—Yolanda was a founding member of the Club de Niños y Niñas de Tijuana and the Fundación Internacional de la Comunidad, and the San Diego Foundation. She is also a long-time host of the San Diego Latino Film Festival and has helped raise millions of dollars for regional organizations like San Ysidro Health and Fundación Fimbres.

Now, Yolanda runs This is About Humanity (TIAH), a humanitarian organization that supports vulnerable communities on either side of the border through initiatives like launching learning spaces in Tijuana shelters, supporting mental health for children and adolescents through grants, and running a food-relief kitchen that serves over 3,000 meals every day.

Even though she has already helped countless individuals on both sides of the border, she is motivated to do even more: “We have a duty and responsibility as individuals and as a society to give back—to our family, to our community, to the most vulnerable—and ensure a sustainable and flourishing Calibaja.”