Dr. Ana Jimenez is the Founder and Executive Director of the Orange County Children’s Therapeutic Arts Center, a community-based organization in Santa Ana dedicated to empowering at-risk youth and children with special needs through Arts, Literacy and Therapeutic programs. 

>>  How did Ana come to found this center, and what interesting stories does she have to share with us about the work of the Center?

Dr. Jimenez is also a part-time faculty at Chapman University in the School of Education.

>>  I’ll be discussing with Ana what she sees as her role in teaching about education.

Ana grew up in Puerto Rico (Rio Piedras), and came to the U.S. to pursue higher education.  She completed her undergraduate and master degrees in Psychology and Music Therapy from Florida State University in 1986; and received a Doctoral degree in Educational Psychology and Special Education from the University of Southern California in 1993.

>>  What brought Ana to this career path, and what does she see as her mission?

Dr. Ana Jimenez has been recognized continuously in the community for her contributions.  She is a recipient of the National Hispanic Business Women Association Award for Organizational Entrepreneurship (May 2007); a National Award by the Heartspring Foundation for Creativity in Special Education (July 2007), and a Faculty Award from Chapman University (June 2007). 

Previous awards include: a (2006) Community Building Award by the City of Santa Ana for her contribution to the Santa Ana community; a Human Relations Award from the Orange County Human Relations Commission (2004) for promoting Equality, Human Rights and Social Justice, and a Community Building Award in the fields of Arts & Culture by the National Organization of MANA (2003).  

>>  Ana has been recognized for a variety of her different contributions.  How does she balance all her work, and what have the awards meant to her?

Dr. Jimenez has also been awarded a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition and Outstanding Leadership; and nominated “Woman Who Make a Difference” in Orange County, as well as a “Professional Achievement” award by the Regional Center of Orange County.

Her passion is to bring the ARTS, Literacy and Education to underprivileged communities as a vehicle of empowerment for at-risk youth, and a therapeutic intervention for children with special needs. 

>>  We’ll be talking a lot about Ana’s work, her goals and her strategies.

Further, Dr. Jimenez continues to prioritize researching educational methods that will empower the Latino community and underprivileged families to succeed in the academic world and reach for higher educational goals!

Ana is married and has two children, a son and a daughter.

To learn more about the amazing work Ana is doing, check out the organization’s website at:  www.occtac.org

Join us for this inspiring, fun and informative interview!!!