Joy Murrieta is an award-winning nonprofit Co-founder and Executive Director, a relentless agent of change, and fierce advocate for positive youth development. She is passionate about strategic planning, developing partnerships, and facilitating data-driven action, and is seasoned in collaborating with community stakeholders to educate, engage, and catalyze to create positive, lasting change. Prior to joining Kids in Common, Joy served as the Co-Founder and Executive Director of a nonprofit youth enrichment organization in Massachusetts that focused on youth empowerment through the arts with an emphasis on social-emotional wellbeing and positive youth development. In recognition for her work in the community, Joy received the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network's 2020 Young Professional Excellence Award, the City of Worcester’s 2021 Youth Champion Award, the Worcester Business Journal’s 2022 Nonprofit Leader of the Year Award, and a Key to the City of Worcester in 2022. After spending several years working in the nonprofit sector in Massachusetts, Joy and her spouse moved to California in early 2024 to live closer to her extended family and seek out further professional opportunities to make a positive community impact on the west coast. Joy is currently an active member of the Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley and Junior League of San Jose; beyond her nonprofit work, she enjoys dancing, drawing, longboarding, traveling, baking, gaming, singing, and playing guitar.