LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Omar Mercado was nominated by his colleague, Becky Bravo-Hernandez.

Mr. Mercado works directly with at-risk youth at Southwest High School. In addition, he works on repairing relationships between teachers and students so that there is always a positive learning space for everyone. He holds restorative conferences with parents, teachers , students and administrators as an alterative to traditional suspension. He meets with teachers regularly to help transition to a more restorative approach. Mr. Mercado is committed to working on and ensuring all students are restored to eradicate the schools-to-prision pipeline. He has established a talking circle with young men on campus who have taken numerous leadership roles.