Julia Arroyo is the Executive Director of Young Women’s Freedom Center (YWFC) and a tireless advocate for marginalized communities, with over two decades of experience in community health, reproductive justice, rape crisis intervention, and supporting sexually exploited youth. Since joining YWFC in 2014, she has led the organization’s expansion across California, including in Santa Clara County, Oakland, Los Angeles, and Contra Costa County, while ensuring that healing and leadership development remain central to its mission.
Nationally, Julia provides technical support to initiatives with global impact, including collaborations with the United Nations and statewide programs in Nebraska, Oregon, New Mexico, Washington D.C., Hawaii, and California. A significant part of her policy work focuses on ending the incarceration of women, girls, and trans youth of all genders in California, transforming systems of oppression, and advocating for reproductive justice.
Julia’s reproductive justice efforts are grounded in her belief that all individuals, particularly women, girls, and trans youth, deserve autonomy over their bodies, access to healthcare, and the freedom to make decisions about their futures. She works at the intersection of reform, abolition, and reproductive justice, addressing the unique reproductive health needs of incarcerated women and youth while advocating for policies that protect their rights and end their imprisonment.
As a second-generation Xicana of Mexican and Filipino descent, Julia brings a deeply personal connection to her work. Having experienced the foster care system, underground street economy, and incarceration herself, she is dedicated to transforming systems that harm marginalized girls and helping them escape both systemic and interpersonal violence. Julia is a healer in the Mexica tradition and a student of Pedagogy of the Oppressed and is pursuing a degree in Women’s Studies at San Francisco City College while leading efforts to empower the next generation.
