Maddy Samayoa (they/she) is an LA native with a Guatemalan background. They were born and raised in Historic Filipinotown and moved to the San Fernando Valley when they were accepted to Cal State Northridge in 2015. Maddy received her undergraduate bachelor’s degree at Cal State Northridge in Criminology and Criminal Justice and minored in Gender and Women's Studies, graduating in 2019. They are currently an MSW student at Cal State Northridge and will be graduating in May of this year. Maddy is excited to be joining Tia Chucha’s as part of their internship for the year. Their interests within social work are restorative justice, social justice, queer liberation, prison abolition, intersectionality, anti-racist practices, trauma and healing practices, and decolonial perspectives. Maddy currently works at StrengthUnited, a non-profit that focuses on working with survivors of abuse and trauma within the San Fernando Valley. Their role is being an advocate for survivors and a PREA (Prison Rape Elimination Act) advocate where they take hotline calls, facilitate trainings for volunteers, and write letters to incarcerated individuals. On their free time, Maddy enjoys reading, watching scary movies, hiking, dancing, being out in nature, and spending time with friends and family.