SAVE's Community Education Team is dedicated to empowering our communities to end the cycle of violence and build healthy relationships through comprehensive violence prevention and healthy relationship education. We take a trauma-informed, strengths-based, and community-centered approach in our work, striving to embed the frameworks of inclusion, intersectionality, social justice, and youth and community empowerment in all that we do.
We have served over 35 schools in the Bay Area, provided hundreds of school and community presentations, tabled at hundreds of community events, and served over thousands of community members! How can we best serve you?
Mia Balingit (they/she)
Community Education Manager
Mia is a proud queer Filipinx advocate dedicated to creating inclusive and empowering spaces. They began working at SAVE in 2022 as the Community Education Advocate, and as of July 2023 serves as SAVE's Community Education Manager.
Before their time at SAVE, Mia gained valuable experience in education as a Program Assistant for Boys and Girls Club of Hawai’i, as a K-5 educator, and as an Administrative Manager and Lead Art Teacher for a startup children’s learning center in O’ahu. Mia also has direct service experience as a former Family Support Worker for Catholic Charities Hawai’i, where they conducted home visiting services to support parents in creating and sustaining healthy parent-child bonds.
As a survivor of teen dating violence and sexual assault, Mia genuinely believes in the impact of prevention work and sharing healthy relationship education with folks from all walks of life. They believe that the power of education, art, and community are all incubators for meaningful connection, empowerment, and growth.
Outside of work, Mia loves journaling, art, tending to their plant babies, visiting local coffee shops, and spending time with their fur baby, Doja Dogg.
What's your favorite thing about prevention work?
- The opportunity to constantly learn from and connect with people! Prevention work is not a “one person” show – it takes a community of folx to come together to support each other in order to build sustainable and hopeful futures!
- Seeing how education and empowerment go hand in hand. Prevention is all about providing tools and confidence so that people can make the best choices for themselves and their future, and it’s amazing to support and witness that growth in others!
Skye Peredo (they/she)
Community Education Coordinator
Skye (they/she) joined SAVE as the Community Education Coordinator in November 2022. Born in Parañaque, Philippines, and raised in Sacramento, California, Skye has worked and volunteered in the fields of education, community organizing, criminal justice reform, child welfare and juvenile justice, homelessness and housing insecurity, and violence prevention. They are excited to work for an agency that believes the power young people have to create a consent-centered world and violence-free future. In her free time, Skye goes to the gym, reads tarot cards, creates digital art and fiction, and spends time with her furry and non-furry family members. They also like collaborating on projects with their fellow teammates at Recognize Violence, Change Culture (RVCC), a non-profit dedicated to supporting campus and community prevention programs with innovative tools.
What's your favorite thing about prevention work?
- Seeing the light bulbs go off! Conscious education plays a huge role in culture change, so I love seeing people’s eyes light up when they realize they deserve healthy and happy relationships and have the power to create them.
- Collective community action. I enjoy building partnerships and working alongside other people and organizations dedicated to making the world a better place.
- Joyful moments. Violence is a lived reality for many people, and prevention work is challenging and easily overwhelming. Despite all of this, I appreciate the moments where I can witness growth, empowerment, laughter, and change among individuals, groups, and communities.
Ethan Montilla (he/him)
Community Education Advocate
Ethan (he/him) joined SAVE as the Community Education Advocate in August 2023. Born and raised in San Jose, Ethan attended a university in Southern California where he worked, volunteered and gained experience in community health education, reproductive health, healthy intimate relationships and alcohol/substance use prevention. He is excited to be back in the Bay Area to help with prevention and education efforts in the community. In his free time, Ethan loves to dance, play instruments, cook and play video games!
What's your favorite thing about prevention work?
- Empowerment through Education: Prevention work empowers individuals by providing knowledge and resources, enabling them to make informed decisions and positive changes.
- Prevention efforts leave a lasting, positive impact by addressing root causes and fostering healthier behaviors.
- Prevention efforts create long-term, sustainable change, reducing negative outcomes and contributing to healthier, safer communities.