Yamilex Peña is a creative and operations strategist committed to building systems that center equity, healing, and collective care. She currently serves as the Interim Associate Director of Operations & Project Management at the Center for Excellence in Nonprofits (CEN), where she leads digital strategy, cross-functional project management, and organizational development initiatives that support nonprofit leaders of color. With a background in program design, visual storytelling, and grassroots organizing, Yamilex brings a holistic and trauma-informed lens to her work. She previously coordinated racial equity programming at California Life Sciences (CLS) and led mental health-focused public defense outreach with AmeriCorps at the Lubbock Private Defender’s Office. Yamilex earned her BA in Global Studies with a concentration in Conflict, Justice, and Human Rights from Loyola University Maryland, where she founded Mosaic: A Women of Color Initiative, the university’s first organization supporting gender-expansive people of color.

A certified trauma-informed yoga instructor and mediator, Yamilex integrates embodied practices into professional spaces to foster wellness and sustainability. She is passionate about designing people-centered policies and creative ecosystems that uplift historically excluded communities—particularly in the nonprofit and life sciences sectors.

Outside of work, Yamilex is a joyful collector of hobbies. She loves dancing in community, romanticizing language learning, and going down YouTube rabbit holes that spark curiosity and creativity. Whether she's exploring a new craft or revisiting an old passion, she approaches leisure with the same intentionality and wonder she brings to her professional life.