Episode 164: Indigenous Wisdom Conversations: Embracing Pura Vida with Lily Espinoza
Apr 15, 2026What does it mean to honor where you come from while walking between two worlds? In this conversation, Julia Carmen sits down with Lily Espinoza—educator, author, and advocate for Latinx students in higher education—to explore identity, legacy, and what it takes to stay centered when the world asks you to choose.
With over twenty years of experience at universities including Stanford, Harvard, Columbia, and UC Berkeley, Lily brings a wealth of knowledge about educational pathways and systemic change. But more importantly, she brings the lived experience of a daughter honoring her mother's legacy, a single parent navigating multiple identities, and a woman who refused to give up.
This is a conversation about breathing through difficulty, feeding the fire of curiosity in our young people, demanding better from our education systems, and understanding that the word pura vida—simple life, pure life—is an anchor for the soul.
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