DIRECTORS

Pearlette J. Ramos, Ph.D., J.D. is a civil rights lawyer, social justice advocate, entrepreneur and filmmaker. She facilitates empowerment workshops, provides resilience coaching and consulting, and leads travel adventures around the world.   Born in Youngstown, Ohio and raised in the Brier Hill housing projects, Pearlette’s childhood home was poverty-stricken and riddled with substance abuse, domestic abuse and untreated mental illness. Due to the trauma, she fled her parents’ home when she was 15 years old. Within twelve months she was pregnant, married and a high school dropout. During her 20s, she struggled as a single mom who worked three jobs at a time just to make ends meet. These challenges prompted her to attend college, then law school, where she dreamt of changing the laws and systems that disproportionately impacted women and children.    Pearlette holds a Juris Doctor from Case Western Reserve University School of Law and a PhD in Psychology from Saybrook University. Committed to economic justice, she serves on the board of OneAZ Credit Union and as the president of the Arizona Black Bar. Additionally, she tithes her time to various community organizations including the Arizona Lawyers for Equal Justice, Phoenix Rotary 100, Avondale Neighborhood and Family Services Commission, the Arizona State Bar Council on Minorities and Women in the Law, Arizona Center for Civil Leadership, and Sisters Talk About Race (STAR).