Siomara Bridges-Mata
Director, Community Initiatives & Advocacy
Education:
Bachelor of Arts, Dance Education; City University of New York Hunter College
Relevant Work Experience:
Siomara brings 15+ years of progressive experience working with leading non-profit youth-serving organizations to her role as Director of Community Initiatives & Advocacy at Frameworks of Tampa Bay. Her experiences include managing in-school and after-school programs for New York City Public Schools, providing programmatic and pedagogical support through developing curriculum, facilitating professional development workshops, and faculty advising/coaching.
Before joining Frameworks, Siomara established a track record of impeccable community impact bringing her skills to reputable nonprofits such as Big Thought in Dallas, TX, the NYC-based Ballet Hispanico, David A Straz Center for Performing Arts, the YMCA at Sulphur Springs, Metropolitan Ministries, and the Boys and Girls Club in Tampa, Florida. Passionate about empowerment through movement, Siomara also founded MOVE Bridges Dance Project, an independent project that unifies her passion for teaching, facilitating, and cultural exchange. Siomara produces workshops throughout Latin America, Texas, Florida, and New York, transforming countless lives with her unique methodology of creating movement experiences that yield powerful lessons applicable to life.
Siomara has been recognized for her community impact with features on FOX 13, Bay News 9, and the Tampa Bay Times’ Everyday Tampa Bay series.
Why You Work at Frameworks:
Social and Emotional Learning has always been at the heart of my work. In my lessons as an arts educator, I prioritize making strong connections to skills that will help students be successful in all aspects of their lives. I realized my passion for this work when I deepened my understanding and practice in Social Emotional Learning as an Instructional Coach at Big Thought (a youth development non-profit in Dallas that is committed to closing the opportunity gap by unleashing creativity and strengthening the social-emotional well-being of young people), where I closely followed CASEL’s core competencies, to coach and support novice educators. Frameworks is the leading organization in Tampa doing this work, and upon my arrival to Florida, it became my goal to be a part of the organization’s magic! I am honored to be a part of a well-respected organization that is truly making an impact on the community. In today’s world, it couldn’t be more important that we take the time to pause and reflect, connect more strongly with one another, and challenge ourselves to reach our fullest potential. I am truly passionate about this work and am excited to join the Frameworks team and carry forward the mission to develop healthy individuals, schools, and communities.