Ivette studied journalism at the University of El Salvador and then worked in public relations and in local government. She arrived in East Palo Alto in 1995 where she participated in Families in Transition and became president of the group Mujeres en Progreso. There she learned of WAGES. Soon after, she helped co-found Fantastic Fiesta, a retail party supply store started with WAGES' assistance, and worked as its Director of Finances and Marketing. Ivette joined WAGES in February l998 as an intern, developing and implementing curriculum for business planning. In 2009, she celebrates ten years as a Co-op Development Trainer on WAGES’ permanent staff. Ivette provides workshops to foster skills among new and existing co-op members and conducts outreach to recruit new co-op members and community partners.