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Today is my 36th bday. I've worked as a journalist for 15+ years. In those years, I've seen a lot of toxicity, dealt with endless gaslighting, abuse and exploitation. I'm far from the only one, as we've all come to see. I spoke on the record to @Jezebel about an incident. THREAD
Last year I was approached to possibly come on as the culture editor @REMEZCLA. That's when I met Andrew Herrera, a man Im not afraid to say has zero understanding on how to properly run a newsroom & lacks empathy for the talented writers running the site https://jezebel.com/he-broke-me-inside-the-toxic-workplace-at-groundbreaki-1844132918
It became clear their newsroom desperately needed an executive editor or EIC to shape the workflow, invest in their writers' growth & talent, and help lead this necessary space, one of the few Latinx-focused sites doing stellar work in telling our stories. We need Remezcla.
I told him as much, he heard me out, and eventually offered me the job of Executive Editor, saying it would lead to the EIC position if I did all the work of an EIC to prove myself. It was rescinded when I asked for $15k more than the $100k I was initially offered.
My experience dealing with Andrew was nothing short of unprofessional. Narcissism run wild. While I was happy to not have to deal with him again, it pained me knowing the women who make Remezcla as great as it is would suffer because I couldnt be there to be the mouthy bitch I am
To ensure they were protected, could thrive, and could do great work. Many of those women and other Latinx journos formed groups where we supported one another, shared our experiences. It was there that it became clear @REMEZCLA had been exploiting many of them, still to this day
Causing intense trauma and physical pain. But then, to add insult to injury, Remezcla eventually did hire an executive editor. The man who had put me up for the culture editor job, and who had at one point used support and mentorship as a guise to try and have sex with me.
I felt snaked and angry. I have spoken to him about this separately and hope that he takes this moment to reflect on his complicity and toxic behavior, and to seek help. Still, what I dealt with was nothing in comparison to the many writers, mostly women, who've been hurt.
I am thankful to @jawnita and @AlfordAlice for hearing us all, and giving us a meaningful space in @Jezebel to talk about our experiences openly, and to find some vindication. I feel 10x's lighter, even if our industry is still plagued by this sort of nasty abusive behavior.
One thing I want to reiterate is that the writers at Remezcla are doing the vital work we need to help the Latinx community address its racism, sexism and other evils, and celebrate its beauty and joys in very difficult conditions. They do stellar work in spite of Andrew et al
They are so talented and brilliant, and it would have been my honor to stand by them and impart whatever knowledge I've gained so they can succeed in a supportive environment. They deserve none of the blowback from all this.
As I said in the story, it's disappointing when your own let you down. It's a reminder that Black and brown women and NB people are not safe, and are subject to exploitation even by the very people supposedly championing them in pubic. Hypocrisy at its ugliest.
Now I'm going to spend the rest of my birthday holding space with those individuals, and will spend the rest of my days continuing to fight tirelessly to make our industry a better place for the marginalized who are often ignored, abused, and erased. Fuerza 
Also, and I say this loudly for all to hear including Andrew Herrera: never let any motherfucker ever tell you you’re not worth what you know you’re worth. Fuck that.
