Jimena Quiroga Hopkins

Founder and Principal

Jimena leads Thrive Paradigm, formerly Development Without Limits West, a national education consulting firm where she is in charge of the overall development and management of the organization. She supports clients by providing technical assistance, training, strategic advising and a variety of other services to schools, afterschool programs, and organizations in the education sector. She has almost 20 years of experience in the youth development field in efforts to build staff capacity and improve program quality as a field researcher, technical assistance provider, and curriculum developer.  She brings special content expertise in supporting organizations that serve low-income youth, immigrant populations, English Learners, as well as working with individuals and organizations to deepen their equity, diversity, and inclusion work.   

As a field researcher, she has provided her expertise to a number of national research projects on topics such as: preparing staff to work with immigrant youth and equity and diversity in after school. As a technical assistance provider and trainer, she has trained countless individuals, and her capacity building efforts have ranged from facilitating youth development leadership programs to providing professional development to teachers and after school professionals, as well as organizational leaders. She has developed and facilitated multiple Trainer of Trainer institutes (TOTs) and Learning Communities to support organizations. As a systems thinker, she has helped to elevate equity at various levels, including serving as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion content expert for various national projects and initiatives including the National Center on Afterschool and Summer Enrichment and the California Afterschool Network, among others. 

Through her work over the years, she has developed a deep understanding and analysis of the youth development field’s needs and context.  She approaches her work by utilizing inclusive processes, activities that elicit personal reflection, and experiential exercises to create transformative learning experiences. Raised in the D.C area, in 2000 Jimena made the long trip to California where she began her career in the after school field coordinating America Reads after school programs in eight elementary schools in Oakland, CA. Having migrated from Bolivia to the United States as a child, Jimena also brings her very personal immigrant experience as well as bilingual skills to her work. She understands first hand the complexities of being an English Learner and a bicultural person and has a personal mission to expose inequities and work toward healing their impact.