Julissa Arce

julissa arce is a writer, speaker, and social justice advocate and author of the forthcoming book, my (undergound) american dream (hachette book group, september 2016). she made national and international headlines when she revealed that she had achieved the american dream of wealth and status while undocumented. she is the co-founder and chairman of the ascend educational fund, a scholarship fund for immigrant students regardless of their immigration status. she is also on the board of directors of the national immigration law center and the national board of directors of collegespring. prior to becoming an advocate she built a successful career on wall street as a vice president at goldman sachs and a director at merrill lynch. julissa now uses her inspirational story to change the conversation around immigration.