Kimberly Vasquez

About the guest

Kimberly Vasquez (ella/she/her), a daughter of Guatemalan immigrants, was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. She attended Armistead Gardens Elementary/Middle and Baltimore City College. Since her freshman year, Kimberly has been a powerful leader within SOMOS (Students Organizing a Multicultural and Open Society), a student-led advocacy organization that tackles injustice in schools, Baltimore, and across the nation. During her 4-year tenure at SOMOS, Kimberly successfully championed fights for fair academic opportunities for ESOL students, a safe reopening of schools, a moratorium on standardized testing, and more.

Throughout the pandemic, Kimberly worked relentlessly to close the digital divide. In Baltimore, one out of every two Black and Latinx households lacks basic high speed internet access and poses a barrier to children’s’ education.

In April 2020, Kimberly gave public testimony that resulted in 3 million dollars being transferred to Baltimore Schools for devices and internet access. That May, she began a campaign of demands for Comcast, a monopolistic internet provider in Baltimore, to provide adequate internet service for families. Kimberly worked with organizations, City Councilmembers, and School Board members from across the country, as well as FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel, and more. In March 2021, her efforts successfully pressured Comcast to double their Internet Essentials speeds for low income subscribers, impacting over 1 million people nationwide.

Kimberly’s work during this unprecedented crisis has been nationally recognized in the New York Times, Buzzfeed, Reuters, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, and beyond.

The Truth In This Art
The Truth In This Art is a podcast interview series supporting vibrancy and development of Baltimore & beyond’s arts and culture.

Mentioned in this episode:

SOMOS 

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