Jacky Neri Arias is the Director of the Center for Cultural Liberation at Dominican University. Jacky is a proud social justice advocate who has dedicated her career to advocating and supporting students and families from marginalized backgrounds as they navigate inequitable educational systems. Currently, Jacky serves as the director of the Center for Cultural Liberation at Dominican University near Chicago. She has spent the majority of her career working in multicultural affairs, diversity and inclusion initiatives, and advising and retention of historically marginalized students. She is a formerly undocumented Mexican immigrant, a first-generation college graduate, a sister, a daughter, a wife, and a proud mother of a multiracial one-year old. Jacky grew up in the Chicagoland area in a largely Latinx neighborhood, she attended Kenyon College in Ohio where she earned a B.A. in Spanish Area Studies with a concentration in Latinx Studies, and she completed her M.Ed. from the University of Maryland College Park.