Identifying the Problem:

A lack of diversity education materials designed specifically for students of color.

During her time working with students at risk of dropout in LAUSD, Dr. Ribera met with countless parents from Mexico and Central America who experienced severe intercultural estrangement from their children. A common refrain heard from parents was: “If only they could see where I was from, they would understand how lucky they are to be able to attend school here.” She also met with students who could barely travel beyond the block their homes were located on due to the risk of crossing into rival gang territory. Others simply had no desire or method to see the world outside of their neighborhood. Beyond the Block was inspired by these students and their parents.

Dr. Ribera began to brainstorm how she could create a virtual travel experience for students that would introduce them to new and different cultures that they might otherwise not have the opportunity to know. Her hope was the same as their parents: that as the students were introduced to the world that lay beyond their neighborhoods, they would be able to recognize the relative privilege they possess compared to the majority of children in the world by virtue of simply residing in the United States. As Dr. Ribera pursued this idea, she saw a gap in diversity education learning materials specifically designed for students of color.

Diversity education, a common curricular requirement in majority-white private K-12 schools and public and private universities, has well-established cognitive and social benefits (Alger, 1998; Gurin et al., 2002, 2004; Nelson Laird, 2005; D. Smith & B. Smith, 2009). However the involvement of students of color with diversity is typically reduced to their usefulness to majority-white institutions in adding population variance. Consequently, little to no emphasis is put on understanding the importance of curricular and social diversity to students of color in either teacher preparation programs or in the classroom itself (Worley, 2011). Students of color, especially those in majority-minority, underfunded urban schools, are then deprived of the immense benefits a diversity education could have in such a high-need setting.

Addressing the Need:

We create diversity education materials specifically designed for urban students of color who are at risk of school dropout.

After extensively reviewing the research on diversity education supplemented with her own experience working with students at risk of school dropout, Dr. Ribera developed the mission of Beyond the Block: to improve global awareness, increase intellectual curiosity, develop critical-thinking skills, and encourage completion of high school and post-secondary education in at-risk youth through the production of educational travel documentary videos, an accompanying curriculum, and other educational opportunities and materials.

Beyond the Block’s team includes professionals in education, business, and media, but most importantly it includes people who are passionate about helping kids and understanding the world!

Meet Our Founder

Debbie Ribera, Ph.D.
Founder and CEO

Debbie's Bio

Dr. Deborah Ribera

As founder and CEO of Beyond the Block, I have written, produced, and directed three educational travel documentaries. I have developed a curriculum to accompany the videos based on critical, anti-racist pedagogy and cultural theory. Using the documentaries and curriculum, I travel to schools, making interactive presentations about global awareness. I also work with the Board of Directors on fundraising, marketing, program development, and everything else. I am proud to say that we have reached well over 3,000 students through Beyond the Block.

I earned my doctorate in American Culture Studies at the School of Cultural and Critical Studies at Bowling Green State University (BGSU). My dissertation, titled (Re)Presentation: An Affective Exploration of Ethnographic Documentary Film Production, explored the intersections of affect theory, documentary media studies, feminist ethics, and critical ethnography. Through BGSU, I taught undergraduate classes on Cultural Pluralism and Ethnic Studies. I also developed a course cross-listed in American Culture Studies and Ethnic Studies called Interpretations of Urban Gang Culture.

I earned my M.S. in School-based Family Counseling from California State University at Los Angeles. I hold a Pupil Personnel Services Credential in School Counseling with advanced authorization in Child Welfare and Attendance and am a registered Marriage and Family Therapist (License #79648).

Over the past 14 years, I have worked in various capacities with juvenile offenders, newly immigrated families, children of incarcerated parents, and students at risk of school dropout. I was a dropout prevention counselor for Los Angeles Unified School District and a school counselor and Marriage and Family Therapist Intern for schools in East Palo Alto and Oakland, CA. My students in LA inspired me to come up with the idea of Beyond the Block and my students in Northern California kept me inspired to pursue the goal of making Beyond the Block a reality. The children and adults I encounter through my travels continue to inspire me to grow and become a better person. It is a privilege to be able to share that potential for growth through Beyond the Block!

To contact Debbie, you can send her an e-mail at:  debbie@beyondtheblock.org

Meet Our Board of Directors

Angela Rivieccio
Board Treasurer

Angela's Bio

Angela Rivieccio

Angela is the Senior Director of Inventory Management at Old Navy.

Starlit Hill, Ph.D.
Board Secretary

Starlit's Bio

Starlit Hill, Ph.D.

Starlit Hill has a Ph. D. in American Culture Studies from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, OH, where she previously taught introductory women’s studies and cultural pluralism courses. Her research focused on the gendered authority experiences of juvenile corrections officers.

Originally from Vado, NM, Starlit earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Criminal Justice from New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, NM. Her experience with juvenile justice system work included positions as a youth care specialist at a boys’ facility and a community educator for a first-offender diversion program. Her passion for improving the lives of at-risk youth also informed and was informed by her work at a girls’ group home and at a juvenile assessment and reporting center.

Starlit is currently enjoying taking care of her three-year old and serves as Membership Officer for her local mom’s group. As a Beyond the Block board member, Starlit hopes to help secure grant funding and share her knowledge and experiences.  She is enthusiastic about serving on the board because Beyond the Block resonates with her passion for community service and non-profit work, particularly that related to at-risk youth, and merges with her other academic work towards diversity education.

Tony Ribera, Ph.D.
Board Member

Tony's Bio

Dr. Tony Ribera

Tony Ribera is the Director of Educational Assessment at Marian University, Indianapolis. He has a Ph.D. in Higher Education and Student Affairs from Indiana University in Bloomington, IN.

Originally from San Francisco, Tony earned a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Higher Education from the University of Redlands in Redlands, CA. There, Tony also worked in community service learning where he served as director of a child mentoring program geared toward promoting the social and academic success of at-risk youth.

Tony formerly served as Director of Assessment at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and as a Project Associate in the Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research and as the Director of Program Evaluation at the Indiana University School of Medicine. He is interested in applying his knowledge of qualitative and quantitative research to help Beyond the Block better understand the program’s impact on student learning outcomes.

Tony has always been artistically inclined as well. He is the creator of Beyond the Block’s logo!

Katie Moody, M.S.
Board Member

Katie's Bio

Katie Moody, M.S.

Katie Moody graduated with her Masters in Regulatory Economics in 2003. Straight after graduation she moved to Los Angeles, California where she began work at Southern California Edison, a large electricity company in the Los Angeles area. At SCE she worked in various areas including energy efficiency and renewable energy. She started at SCE as an intern and within five years was a senior project manager working on policy for the company and is currently the Director of eMobility and Building Electrification.

While in Los Angeles, Katie became very involved in her community of Pasadena. She volunteered for the Junior Chamber of Commerce and YWCA and held numerous board positions, including president of the Junior Chamber. Katie's civic work culminated by being nominated to serve on Pasadena's Commission for the Status of Women as a Commissioner to work on issues important to the women of Pasadena. In 2009, Katie was named "40 under 40" young people to watch in Pasadena and a Women of the Year by the San Gabriel Valley YWCA for both her work at SCE and philanthropic activities.

In 2010, Katie decided to take some time off of work and volunteering to travel the world. She travelled for 10 months to over 20 countries in Asia, Africa, and South America. She is so excited to be a part of Beyond the Block because she truly believes that people can open their lives, ideas, and hearts when they learn how other people live. Through exploring new frontiers we learn more about what makes others tick, how to be more accepting, and finally more about ourselves and how to become better people.

As a Board Member, Katie is excited to share her business, finance, and project management expertise with Beyond the Block, as well as her extensive knowledge on world travel.

Rory Olsen, MIPH
Board Member

Rory's Bio

Rory Olsen, MIPH

Rory Olsen enjoys working from the grassroots level upward. After graduating from University of San Diego in 2001 with a B.A. in International Relations, he moved to Botswana working on HIV/AIDS education and testing. Later, he moved to neighboring South Africa to continue HIV/AIDS awareness but focusing on orphaned and vulnerable children. This eventually led him to the Dominican Republic where he focused on environmental health and prenatal care.

In 2006 Rory graduated from the University of Sydney with a Masters in International Public Health. After graduation he moved to the Northern Territory of Australia to work with Aboriginal Australians on the systemic issues associated with diabetes and heart disease. He has also spent time working on primary health care projects in rural India.

Since 2009 Rory has resided in Los Angeles working in textile recycling. He was the Operations Manager for Eco Life—a green, environmentally friendly, eco-conscious, recycle/reuse organization focusing on eliminating textiles from the waste stream that ultimately ends up in our landfills. Currently, Rory is returning to his focus on public health and studying to become a nurse.

Leonel Jaimez
Board Member

Leonel's Bio

Leonel Jaimez

Leo graduated from the University of Redlands with a major in Economic and minor in Business Administration. His senior thesis focused on researching the current economic development proposals in his hometown of East Palo Alto. Leo’s passion, experience, and commitment to supporting low-income urban communities informs his contributions to the BTB Board of Directors.

We are excited to provide free online global awareness courses for students. Through these courses they will be able to view our educational travel documentaries and complete accompanying activities. Our CEO is currently providing personalized feedback to EVERY student who is enrolled in the course. Please visit us at BTB Academy to learn more and enroll!

In addition to our free classes for students, we provide in-person presentations, curriculum implementation, consultation, and coaching on a fee basis. Our global awareness curriculum is our main product, but we also provide professional developments for staff in diversity education, trauma-sensitive practices, and other related topics. We will offer online classes specifically geared towards educators soon! Please contact us to discuss your school’s needs!

Lastly, we are looking for a place to film our next documentary! We will produce a free promotional video for your organization or school in exchange for your help in allowing us to get to know and understand your community. Contact us if you are interested!