Montserrat Ayala Garcia

Montserrat was born and raised in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. She moved to California in 2010 after obtaining a degree in Psychology in Mexico City.

During college, she had the opportunity to participate in internships at institutions such as the National Institute of Perinatology, where with other students, were in charge of the Intake Interview of pregnant adolescents, the ABC Hospital, the National System for Family Development (DIF), Sin Fronteras IAP, among others.

When she moved to California, she began her journey as a group facilitator, leading skills training with domestic violence victims and perpetrators under a psycho-educational model.

For a short, but meaningful time, she worked as the CARE Program Manager with Catholic Charities, San Mateo, where co-created a program to support unaccompanied immigrant-minors (under the age of 21) that arrived to the United States without any adult to care for them.

She has also been part of the Parent Institute for Quality Education since 2012, which supports first-generation and immigrant parents in navigating the educational system in the United States. She has held various roles, including Associate Director and parent group facilitator for different programs.

Furthermore, she co-founded with her husband Vitamina Juices and Blends in 2013, a juice bar that operated in San Jose until 2020.

This 2022, Montserrat will conclude a Master's degree in Contextual Therapies and is very excited to be part of the Parent Wellness Coach's team at The Primary School. She believes deeply in the importance of considering the whole person's environment and context to better understand their belief systems, choices, available resources, etc. and accompany families while they walk and live a purposeful life.