Meet our new board members

Verónica Bernal

Home City:  Asunción - Paraguay

Camp Affiliation:  Mitakuña Rock Camp Paraguay 

Bio: Hello, my name is Verónica, aka Amotas! I’m an Afroparaguayan from the diaspora. I’ve been working with Mitakuña Rock Camp since 2019. Organizing workshops, concerts, and fairs for our camp, also as a bass, and keyboard instructor.

Before MRC I was involved with Kuña Fest, a festival dedicated to emphasizing women's music in the music scene.

I’m passionate about photography, fanzines, and everything related to collective and community work, as well as documentaries linked to all music genres.

I love to DJ punk and cumbia music, so that people feel free to express themselves through dance.

Home City:  Lima, Peru

Home City:  Lima, Peru
Camp Affiliation:  Warmi Rock Camp

Bio:  My name is Andrea, a 25-year-old bisexual woman. I was born in Lima, Peru, but my parents come from the provinces, so I consider myself mestiza. I hold a Bachelor's degree in Political Science and Government with an interest in public management. The topics I aim to develop within my career are gender and education. I don't play any instruments, but I am passionate about music and what it conveys.

I am the first generation in my family to complete a university degree and one of the first to be able to engage in topics that I am passionate about, rather than just seeking to earn money—a privilege my parents did not have. I find this relevant because it fuels my interest in participating in initiatives like this, as well as being part of the Warmi Rock Camp.

Lavender Sedlock

Home City: Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Camp Affiliation:  Pittsburgh

Bio: Hi! My name is Lavender Sedlock (they/them) and I live in Pittsburgh, PA in the United States with my partner Audri and my 6 month old baby, Arjuna.

I have volunteered for Girls Rock Camp in Asheville and Pittsburgh, over the course of 6 or 7 years. I am a self taught musician and former music instructor. My favorite instruments to play are the drums, piano, ukulele, guitar, and vocals- but I also love eclectic, experimental, and culturally specific instruments. I have performed in the past as part of an all women and transgender band called Slagwomb in the Night. 

Currently, I work full time as the Trail Experience Coordinator for Friends of the Riverfront- a non-profit that builds, manages, and maintains the Three Rivers Heritage Trail in Pittsburgh. In my full time job, I organize arts, educational, and recreational events and programs, fundraise and write grants, as well as manage a group of volunteer Trail Ambassadors. 

I am passionate about the therapeutic impact that music and arts can have on a person’s life. I also love the ways music and art provides a space for self expression, organizing political action, connecting to community, and allowing one another to maintain an authentic voice in a world where there can be a lot of pressure to repress our authentic selves. 

As a part of the board, I would like to take my experiences volunteering in camp, as an aunt to a camper, as a teacher, as an organizer and educator- to work towards sharing best practices for camp design and music education. I would like to help inspire creative fundraising. I would like to help support camps in the work to build an inclusive and effective program structure that serves girls, trans and non-binary youth participants. I also hope to focus on the voices of campers past and present- to learn about the camper experience and use camper feedback to collaborate with camp volunteers and organizers to ensure camps are centering the experiences of the youth in the programs.

I am excited to build friendships and networks with an international community, in order to work together to elevate Girls Rock so that it meets the needs of a changing world. I hope to be able to learn from the stories and experiences of others and help to make a difference!