Zaeda Blotner serves as Program Administrator for the El Encuentro team. She collaborates with faculty members and community partners on various projects supporting the wellbeing of immigrant youth and families through interdisciplinary collaboration, impact measurement, trauma-informed care, and centering community voice.
Zaeda is dedicated to immigration justice and community empowerment. Prior to this role, she was a paralegal specializing in complex removal defense. She also trained as a labor organizer, supporting immigrant low-wage workers to win back stolen wages. She has over 5 years of extensive volunteer experience supporting asylum seekers in ICE detention and at the US-Mexico border, as well as with local mutual aid.