Marigrace Buendia

Gear Distribution Coordinator

Marigrace is a climber from Orlando, Florida who became passionate about climbing’s power to connect people to themselves, the outdoors, and others during her time completing a Fulbright Fellowship in the Philippines. There, she performed mixed-methods research on the mental health knowledge of community healthcare workers and found an unexpected home in the local climbing community. She is currently based in Los Angeles where she works at the USC Center for Homelessness, Housing, and Health Equity. As a research administration assistant, she is deeply involved with the organization and execution of many of the Center's projects. As part of her role, she helps manage the donations of socks, dental kits, and other comfort items that are shared with our unhoused neighbors. Marigrace has a master’s degree in Global Medicine under the Management track from the University of Southern California and is an organizer for the SoCal chapter of FilipinUp, a climbing club dedicated to fostering Filipinx camaraderie and culture. She is excited to apply her analytical and logistical skills to her role as Gear Distribution Coordinator for GCI.