About Mayeno Consulting: Background

Prior to launching her consulting business in 1999, Laurin Mayeno worked for 20 years with a variety of public and non-profit organizations. Her employment experience is complemented by a history of social justice activism with reproductive rights, anti-racist, and immigrant rights groups and coalitions.

Through her experience—as an administrator, advocate, program manager and educator—she gained an insider’s view into the complex challenges of organizations and systems and the people within them. For example, as Executive Director of the Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (1987–1994), she educated policy-makers about the role of community health centers in providing services to underserved immigrant and Pacific Islander populations. She also worked with health advocates from different communities of color to establish the California Pan-Ethnic Network.

Laurin has also worked on the frontlines of service delivery and in partnership with community residents to improve neighborhood health and wellbeing. She had the opportunity to learn and apply the principles of community-based public health while working with the Fruitvale/Central East Oakland Community as a staff member of the Community Health Academy (1994–1997).

For more than a decade, Laurin has provided consulting services to numerous organizations, networks, and collaboratives. She is a co-founder of Somos Familia, an intergenerational community organization working to create safe spaces and communities for lesbian, gay, transgender, and questioning youth and their families.

Laurin works independently or in partnership with associates to provide the best mix of experience and skills for each client. Her associates have a wide range of expertise, including multicultural training, conflict resolution, community engagement, program evaluation, survey and data analysis, resource development and business development.

Education
Laurin received her Masters in public health, with a focus on community health education and multicultural health, from UC Berkeley in 1999. She received her Bachelors of Science in ethnic studies from UC Berkeley in 1977. She has participated in educational workshops that have had a major influence on her work, including TODOS Institute—Unlearning Oppression; Visions, Inc.—Changing Racism: A Personal Approach to Multiculturalism; People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond—Undoing Racism; Landmark Education—Curriculum for Living, Communication Courses and Team Management and Leadership Program.