Felicidades, Zelica!
SOMOS Mayfair deputy Director Zelica Rodriguez-Deams Transitions to County’s Office of Immigrant Relations
Congratulations to our very own Zelica Rodriguez-Deams! We are excited for this new opportunity, and are thankful for the years she has spent making invaluable contributions to our movement in Mayfair. As of this month, she will lead the Santa Clara County Office of Immigrant Relations as the new Manager.
Zelica joined SOMOS 8 years ago, in a crucial season of rebuilding. Programmatically, we had an idea and a vision, but we lacked a specific roadmap and key activities of what we’d deliver to (and with) the community. She brought an unwavering focus of taking SOMOS to the next level— not to build a bigger institution, but to advance the meaningful work that Mayfair families deserved.
With Zelica’s leadership, first as the Director of Programs, then as the Associate Director, and most recently as Deputy Director of Community Impact, she and the program team advanced the In Our Hands Campaign; opened the Chavez FRC; developed SOMOS Fuertes; supported the members of META and De Colores cooperatives; and started a new body of work in the Valley Palms neighborhood. She was also instrumental in helping organize and launch the Si Se Puede Colletive. Through this work, thousands of children and families have been supported and engaged; hundreds of parent and resident leaders have wielded their personal and collective power; and meaningful policies have been won.
Zelica has nearly 20 years of experience in the non-profit field as a community organizer, advocate and community builder. Her prowess is in research and analysis, strategy development and program impact. She is both an internal and external thought partner, helping craft organizational vision and policies, facilitating strategic partnerships, and serving as a media spokesperson for immigration rights and policies.
Before joining SOMOS, Zelica served as the Director of Policy & Organizing for SIREN where she developed and won advocacy campaigns to increase equity, access, resources and rights for immigrant families. She also led SIREN’s robust civic engagement strategy that resulted in a multi-language civic campaign to increase awareness of voter rights and responsibilities amongst the immigrant community.
“We are at a crossroads in our society, where we must lead with our values for a more just and humane world that recognizes the contributions of our immigrant brothers and sisters,” said Rodriguez-Deams. “I am honored to serve Santa Clara County’s immigrant community by joining the Office of Immigrant Relations team. I hope to use my skills and experiences to execute on a robust plan that not only supports immigrant inclusion and integration but that also creates more opportunities for our immigrant communities to thrive.”
Zelica earned her Master’s in Political Science from San Francisco State University in 2007. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Latin American and Latino studies from University of California, Santa Cruz. She is married to Dewayne Deams, proud BART Train operator, and has two girls, Mikaela (3) and Lina (6 months).
We will miss you Zelica, and are sending you off with all our love!