Elidet Reyes [Bordon]

I was born and raised in Ventura County, CA, known as the 805. I am very active in my community, and strive to put people first in all I do. I enjoy telling stories that uplift the marginalized, who advocate for those who can't, and center children's safety first and foremost. I highlight the small actions that have huge impacts on society that are sometimes forgotten or overlooked.

My work consists of storytelling, marketing and brand strategies. 

In the days of short attention spans and social media sound bites, I focus on print and long-form storytelling.  I help build narratives that help brands and organizations show up clearly and consistently. I’m currently Senior Editor at Yoli Magazine, a new publication focused on cultural storytelling and am currently launching another publication focused on independent music artists.

I also serve as CFO of Chicano Elegance, where I help guide financial operational direction for our non-profit, which invests back into our community. We offer MBA-led business classes for our community with our partners.  We launched a photography book called Chicano Elegance, that documents past Chicano Elegance Galas. It helps fund our non-profit work. I designed the layouts and graphic design and am very proud of the work I did.

To understand me, you need to understand why I love sharing homemade meals.

Cooking is an act of love. That love didn't start in the kitchen, or even the grocery store. 

It started in the fields, where our farmworkers take weeks and months to cultivate and grow the fruits and vegetables that end up on our tables. Through rain, heat and fires, they are making sure the food grown is picked by their calloused hands, their strawberry stained fingers. The produce is then packed and delivered to stores.

I used to work at Food 4 Less, including the produce department, on my overnight shift. I washed the bins in the produce section to get them  ready for my co-workers for the morning shift, who would display produce so beautifully, ready for people to come and choose the perfect onion or tomato to take home.

The tomato and onions that were picked by farmworkers, packed and delivered, displayed by grocery workers, made it to your home, where you made a meal and shared it with the people you love.

Everytime I hold an onion, I'm holding the love & risks of the journey it took for that onion to get to me. 

That these farmworkers continue to feed us in a time of unrest at a risk to their lives is honorable and appreciated.

To honor the fruit and vegetables in our homes is to honor their sacrifice. I advocate for them often, from mutual aid to the voting polls to legal resources.

I thank the hands that feed me.

I look at life very much the same, appreciating not just the destination, but the journey, and the people in it.