Naima Sullivan - Counselor
nsullivan@animo.org

I am a proud Afro-Latina educator who is driven by a passion to help create positive changes and opportunities in the lives of teenagers who seek a path of success through knowledge.  I was raised in East Los Angeles and graduated from Garfield High School.  Immediately following my high school graduation I moved to San Diego, CA where I attended San Diego State University.  At SDSU I double majored in Spanish and Speech Pathology (Communicative Disorders).  In addition, I studied for a year at La Complutense university in Madrid, Spain.  I spent a year and a half in Europe and found it to be one of the most enriching learning experiences of my life.  I feel that life has come full circle for me and I now find my self in a neighborhood much like the one I grew up in.  However, this time, I am here to give back and give my students the tools I have picked up along the way and teach them how to use these tools to create monumental futures for themselves.  I am a sixth year teacher and a fourth year teacher with Green Dot. Being a part of the Ánimo family is among my greatest accomplishments, because I know I am in a place where I can make a meaningful impact on the lives of young people that I share so much in common with.  Ánimo has allowed me to help create and provide options in my community so that my kid’s success is not stifled by their surroundings, but rather is a motivating factor that drives them to reach out in search for more. My heart truly believes that each and every student should be provided with all of the opportunities that are available to make college not only accessible, but an attainable reality for them.