Ariel Bustamante
Capacity Building Manager
Ariel Bustamante (she/her/hers) is a former Liberty Hill Leader to Watch and American Bar Association Panelist with more than a decade of experience working with social justice non-profits including GSA Network, Liberty Hill Foundation, the ACLU of Southern California, and now the RISE Program/Children, Youth, & Family Services at the Los Angeles LGBT Center. She attended Green Mountain College, an environmental liberal arts college in the small, rural village of Poultney, Vermont and self-designed her area of study: inequality and oppression studies. As a certified HIV testing and prevention counselor, she worked to increase awareness and access to resources in the small town. For more than six years, using an intersectional model, she worked to support the leadership development of youth activists and community organizers. As an equity and compliance expert, she has trained thousands of adults in the education sector, service providers, and others across the country at conferences, on panels, and through on-site consultation.
Eden Sarkisian
Training and Development Instructor
Eden Sarkisian first joined the Los Angeles LGBT Center as a Youth Center residential assistant before transitioning into their current position with RISE, drawing on their background in social justice education and intergroup dialogue as well as academic research skills. Starting in 2015, Eden served on the Gender Spectrum Youth Advisory Council, helping edit and present multiple online and in-person workshops for youth on LGBTQ+ identity topics and intersections. While obtaining a baccalaureate’s degree from Knox College in Galesburg, IL, Eden participated in the Social Justice Dialogues program, first learning core social justice education facilitation skills and then implementing them in 10-week peer-taught courses. Eden also co-curated and executed a consent workshop series in collaboration with Greek Life and the Title IX Office. Throughout the years Eden has used their expertise to collaborate with many justice and education-oriented causes and organizations.
Khrysta Robinson
Training and Development Instructor
Khrysta Robinson is a creator, an educator, and a healing facilitator. In her work, she embraces poli-spiritual practices to contribute to the liberation of vulnerable groups, particularly but not limited to Black and queer folx. In her previous role as a high school history teacher, Khrysta used a culturally responsive lens to develop critical thinking skills among her students. In her spare time, she created Brave Spaces for the small population of Black female students through mentorship programs and events. Khrysta has since stepped away from the classroom and is now a Training & Development Instructor at the Center.