Karla Acevedowas born in the Dominican Republic and immigrated to Boston, Massachusetts at the age of 4. Being involved in the community from an early age and having mentors to guide her have heavily influenced her passion for social justice and working with youth. Growing up, Karla was involved in a local non-profit organization called MissionSAFE, which uses a relational/trauma-sensitive

As a teen, Derrick was a mentee of then, City Councilman now County Commissioner, Lawrence Weekly in North Las Vegas.  He also had the opportunity to be educated for eight months in Adwa, Ethiopia, which helped form, his desire to obtain a leadership position in education reform.

After attending Texas Southern University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in History, Derrick