Celida Soto
Celida "Celi" Soto, formerly Celida Soto Garcia, (born June 24, 1980 in North Bergen, New Jersey) is the Hunger Advocacy Coordinator for Alabama Arise, serves as the board president for SWEET Alabama, and serves on the Board of Directors for the Dynamite Hill-Smithfield Community Land Trust.
Soto earned a dual bachelor's degree in sociology and criminal justice administration from Rutgers University in 2002.
She began her career as an Academic Advisor at the Harlem Center for Education in 2002. Next she served as a child protective service investigator with Division of Youth and Family Services and the Department of Human Resources, and worked for the Social Security Administration.
Soto founded Puente Inc. in 2009, before starting an assignment with the U.S. Census Bureau of the U.S. Department of Commerce. After moving to Birmingham, Alabama in 2014 she became an educational liaison for the UAB Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Center (MHRC), where she supported the development of the Bessemer Coalition, and organized with community residents, community based non-profits, and the Fountain Heights Neighborhood Association to form the Fountain Heights Coalition. In 2018 she served on the social justice committee for Mayor Randall Woodfin's transition team.
After the 2018 Thanksgiving night shooting, where a Hoover Police officer killed EJ Bradford at the Riverchase Galleria, Soto worked with the Bradford family to support their calls for justice. In 2019 she joined the board of directors for SWEET Alabama, where she serves as board president, and began working as a Hunger Advocacy Coordinator for Alabama Arise.
During the summer of 2020, as a result of the global economic and health crisis that arose during the pandemic, and the national discussions around public safety in the wake of George Floyd, Soto's leadership was thrust into the spotlight. She emerged as a leading figure in Birmingham, as she worked on policy reforms to prevent residents from losing access to electricity and water during the pandemic, for a participatory budgeting model in the City of Birmingham, protecting librarians and city employees, and advocating for investments in alternative public safety models. In 2021, as board chair of SWEET Alabama, she worked with a number of community organizations to support organizers working to secure union representation for workers at the Bessemer Amazon Fulfillment Center. In March 2021 she joined the board of directors for the Dynamite Hill-Smithfield Community Land Trust.
On April 12, 2021 Soto announced her candidacy to run for the Birmingham City Council, District 8 seat, in the 2021 Birmingham municipal election.
Soto has two sons and lives in Birmingham's Bush Hills neighborhood.
References
- Webb-Hehn, Katherine (August 31, 2020) "Birmingham increases police budget by $11.2M despite demands to defund: 'People literally cannot breathe, and it's not because of George Floyd'" scalawagmagazine
- Gasque, Conan (September 24, 2020) "Birmingham librarians concerned about effects of library closures on the community" CBS42
External Links
- Alabama Arise website, Staff page
- SWEET Alabama website, Who We Are page
- Celi 4 Change campaign website