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The Team
Who We Are
Melissa Arechiga
Founder & CEO
Melissa Arechiga is a proud Los Angeles native, born into the resilient Arechiga family — whose legacy is rooted in the historic neighborhoods of Palo Verde, La Loma, and Bishop. These vibrant Mexican, Indigenous, and Native communities were violently destroyed through the collaboration of the City of Los Angeles and the Dodgers Corporation. In Chicana/o Studies, her family’s story stands as a testament to these neighborhoods’ resistance, survival, and the ongoing fight for justice.
The forced erasure and displacement of Palo Verde, La Loma, and Bishop is not just history for Melissa — it is lived memory, inherited resistance, and generational trauma that demands action and repair. Her work is a commitment to correct this history, protect her family’s story, and help the community heal and reclaim what was taken.
Melissa is the embodiment of that resistance. Her journey from the streets of Los Angeles, through prison — a system meant to break her — to the halls of academia is a radical reclamation of identity, dignity, and purpose. She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with double majors and a fierce commitment to justice. She is a community organizer, activist, truth-teller, and cultural memory keeper who has transformed personal adversity into collective empowerment — including receiving a full Governor’s pardon that recognizes her growth, resilience, and unwavering dedication to her community.
Driven by a deep desire to empower, advocate, and uplift, Melissa draws strength from the strong women who raised her — women from her own family and the communities of Palo Verde, La Loma, and Bishop. She has dedicated her life to honoring their legacy by fighting for dignity, reparations, and truth for what was taken from them through violent displacement. Her work focuses on growing collective power by connecting and cultivating leadership — especially among Indigenous and Native women, while standing in solidarity with all women of color — and by demanding real accountability for the erasure and broken promises that displaced generations.
Strong-willed and visionary, Melissa is committed to preserving and expanding the powerful brown native history of Los Angeles — and to ensuring the story of Los Arechigas is never forgotten.
Ida Arechiga Angustain
Palo Verde Descendant
Ida Arechiga Angustain is the granddaughter of Abrana and Manuel Arechiga, one of the last families forcibly evicted from the Palo Verde neighborhood in Los Angeles to make way for Dodger Stadium. She was seven years old when she witnessed the bulldozers destroy her childhood home on Malvina Avenue on May 8, 1959 — an experience that shaped her lifelong commitment to defending truth, memory, and community.
During that fight, her family’s struggle received the support of Councilman Edward Roybal, one of the first Mexican American leaders to stand publicly with displaced families.
Ida grew up in Los Angeles, attended Solano Elementary, and graduated from Garfield High School. She worked for the City of Los Angeles and later served her local school district, where she was President of CSEA Chapter #108 before retiring.
Today, Ida works alongside Buried Under the Blue to honor her family’s legacy and ensure that the real story of the Arechiga family — and the many other families displaced for Dodger Stadium — is told accurately and with dignity.
Jeannie Arechiga
Palo Verde Descendant
Jeannie Arechiga was born in 1955 to Juan and Nellie Arechiga and raised in Palo Verde, Los Angeles — the granddaughter of Manuel and Abrana Arechiga. On May 9, 1959, at just four years old, Jeannie’s family home at 1771 Malvina Avenue was violently demolished, and the Arechiga family was forcibly removed to make way for the Dodgers and the City’s broken promises. She was one of the few children photographed during the eviction, alongside her cousin Ida — images that still bear witness to the generational trauma her family carries.
Jeannie attended Elysian Heights Elementary, Belmont High, and Pasadena City College, with dreams of UC Berkeley before dedicating her life to raising her family and serving her community as an RTD, Metro, and LAUSD driver. She later retired to care for her father, Juan Arechiga, until his passing.
Today, Jeannie works closely with her eldest daughter, Melissa, and her cousin Ida to safeguard their family’s true story and correct the false narratives about Palo Verde, La Loma, and Bishop. She remains a living source of firsthand truth — committed to seeking justice and accountability for the land, wealth, and history stolen from the Arechiga family and their neighbors.