In the new year, Victoria Paulino and Nelida Garcia will take the lead at EdNavigator as Executive Director and Director of Partnerships and Operations, respectively. Together, they’ve seen the organization through numerous evolutions and have been collaborators and thought partners throughout. Here’s a little bit more about their plans and aspirations for the future of the organization.
Tell us a bit about how you've seen EdNavigator’s work evolve since you’ve been with the organization.
Victoria Paulino: I started with EdNavigator in 2018, so I've gotten to see the work transform in a lot of wonderful ways. At the core, what hasn’t changed is our dedication to supporting and working with families with the highest need. So, with that in mind, we've changed our approach over time to reach those families. We’ve reached a point now, working in collaboration with pediatric healthcare providers, that allows us to meet families even before they get introduced to the school system.
Nelida Garcia: The principle of centering families has guided our evolution over time so well. The primary decision making is always related to families. Are we reaching the families most in need? Are we reaching them where they're already at? Are we communicating with them in a way that makes sense? Are we creating resources that resonate with them? Because families are at the core of everything we do, we've been able to adjust whenever we need to. That’s also why we're evolving in yet another way now, because we want this work to continue. We know there's demand for it, healthcare providers are invested in it, and so we’ve had to pivot again to figure out the funding piece to allow us to continue even in this particularly challenging time for non-profits.
Like you say, it’s a challenging time, especially for the families we serve. What do you think families need most from our services right now?
VP: At the heart of Navigation is the relationship. We aren't a 1-800 number that people call. We're somebody that the family is working with one-on-one, and for most families, in their primary language. I think there's something incredibly powerful about that. If their primary language isn't English, they spend so much time trying to navigate the education system and just be understood, and then there are all these other complex layers to get their child enrolled in school or get their child the services that they need. I think families really appreciate that relationship, someone who is hearing them, someone who is invested in helping them find a solution. I’ll hear from someone I supported in 2021, like, "I have this question, can you help me with this?" There are times when I can help directly, and times when I can’t—but I believe that reflects what families truly value: having someone who listens, is genuinely invested, and stays engaged in making sure their child gets the support they need.
NG: A lot of systems are built on certain assumptions about what families can do, how much time, how many resources they have available to them that can help them navigate those systems on their own. And we also understand that both the education and healthcare systems are themselves overwhelmed, and practitioners are not always able to offer this one-on-one personalized support because that requires capacity, that requires expertise and knowledge, that requires being able to speak a language that families understand. Our team has those things. So if we have those things, then why not use them? Why not reach families in the way that they deserve to be reached? Families are entitled to this support because without it, they can't access these systems in the ways that others with more resources are able to access them.
For the first time ever, EdNavigator is about to become a fully bilingual organization. How does that make you feel?
NG: I often think about my parents and how there are walls that come down when they're able to communicate with someone in the language that they feel most comfortable in. There's a sense of relief visibly in their faces when they talk to someone and they're like, "Do you speak Spanish? You do? Oh, okay. Good. Here’s what I’m struggling with.” And for us to be able to be an organization that offers that, that doesn't say, "Press two for this, or go talk to somebody else," is so powerful. In so many places, families aren't met with that.
VP: It’s something that I love about our work. Even in the way we collaborate internally, we’re always mindful of language. Because our team is bilingual, we're always thinking about how a certain resource, approach, or process is going to be supportive to our families whose primary or preferred language is Spanish.
Victoria, tell us about a family or a child who stands out in your mind when you think about what matters about our work.
VP: It doesn’t take me long to figure out who this family is. This student was 14 years old when he was referred to us. The family had recently immigrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic, where the student never went to school because there was no school available to them that could accommodate his needs. When I connected with this family, the student was already in school here with an IEP, but the IEP only provided consultation services. He wasn't getting any direct services. This is despite significant needs with communication, fine motor, and gross motor development. His mom was also really concerned because he was coming home unclean because he wasn't receiving support with using the bathroom appropriately. She was feeling very overwhelmed. She was like, "I know my child isn't getting the services he needs, but I don't know where to begin.”
We were able to work together to meet with his IEP team, ensure that his IEP reflected his true needs, and then ultimately changed his school, because it turned out that his school placement just wasn't appropriate. I bring this case up because this was one where the child had a clear medical need. He was already in school and already had an IEP. But somehow, this child just got lost in the shuffle. This was an example of what is possible with that collaboration and connection, with the parent sharing their concern with the pediatrician and the pediatrician making the referral to us.
Sometimes due to resources, capacity and other factors, students are getting lost in the shuffle despite good intentions on both sides. Our role is to try to understand what is happening, identify all the ways the parent has already been advocating for their child , and then support them to ensure their voice is heard within the school setting so that things can move forward for the student.
Nelida, you actually interviewed this mom.
NG: Oh yes, I’m glad you shared this story. There was just this shift you could hear in her voice when she told me about how she got a call from someone named Victoria who said she was going to help. It was like a weight had been lifted – and that is how it should be. Families are already doing so much. So for her it was like, "Wow. Someone came to me and I was finally heard."
Nelida, is there a partnership that especially captures the essence of why we’re doing what we do?
NG: When we first approached Children’s National in D.C., there was such a strong desire from the providers there to make the partnership happen. But there were also a lot of administrative hurdles to cross at the beginning. Once the partnership was approved, it was like waves and waves of referrals came in. And part of me thought, "Is this just a backlog? Is this because families haven't had the support, and maybe the numbers will kind of dwindle down over time?" But no, we're a year and a half into this partnership and we're still seeing new families getting sent our way. The need continues.
But also, we now know how to reach those families who could benefit most from our support. Even compared to the overall population the clinic serves, we are receiving referrals from a disproportionate share of families on public insurance or who are uninsured. CNH shared that about 95% of families they refer to us are on Medicaid or are uninsured. For the clinic as a whole, the percentage is closer to 80. We’re not telling providers only to send Medicaid patients. They're just sending the ones with the highest needs. So for me, that shows why healthcare providers are such a good conduit to reach the families who most need support. They have those relationships with families. They’re working with families before the kids are even in school. It means we have trusted experts to connect us to the families that need us, and that’s really powerful.
Where do you see EdNavigator in another 10 years?
NG: One of the challenges we face in terms of sustaining our work is who is responsible for this? Is it a healthcare thing? Is it an education thing? In 10 years, I would love for that to not be the question we’re asking anymore. Instead, I hope the success of work like this will spur more creativity and collaboration across systems, agencies, and institutions. Families are not single issue like that. I hope that in 10 years we're at a place where working across systems is an expectation, instead of an innovation.
VP: I deeply believe in the impact of this work. While this transition presents its challenges, we are moving forward with purpose because the work is truly transformative and delivering meaningful results for families. Looking ahead over the next five to 10 years, my vision is to see this model expand even further. I believe Navigation is a service every pediatric healthcare clinic should offer. It has the power to fundamentally change how we support children and families—meeting them where they are and guiding them toward better outcomes.
