ABOUT US
We are a Queer, BIWOC-led 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to co-creating more equitable, anti-racist, feminist, and trauma-responsive structures. We invest in healing and liberation at personal, interpersonal, and systemic levels. Our name represents our core mission: to center communities overlooked or marginalized by systems of oppression, including low-income, BIPOC, LGBTQIA2+, (im)migrant communities, and individuals with disabilities.
ORIGIN STORY
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On the Margins, Inc. (OTM) is anchored in a singular, ancestral truth: Our healing is inextricably bound up in one another’s liberation.
Rooted in the fertile soil of liberation psychology and abolitionist praxis, OTM honors the ancestral technologies of freedom fighters and the resilient wisdom of those at the margins. Founder Dr. Daniela Dominguez (Danny)—a Queer Latina and licensed psychologist from Mexico—brought this vision to life by weaving together liberatory practices from radical feminism, antiracism, and trauma responsiveness.
THE CATALYST
Through her work on the frontlines of healthcare, Dr. Dominguez witnessed the devastation of systemic inequities on Queer, Trans, and BIPOC communities. She saw clearly that the medical-industrial complex often pathologizes our survival strategies, erases indigenous wisdom, and ignores the root causes of suffering.
In 2023, Danny launched OTM as a direct challenge to these systems. She understood that we cannot simply treat the wounds of oppression; we must transform the conditions that created them and co-create sustainable structures of care.
A REGENERATIVE ECOSYSTEM
To sustain this work without replicating the burnout of the non-profit industrial complex, OTM brings together a diverse collective of healers, facilitators, cultural workers, artists, community health workers, and researchers. We forged a symbiotic collaboration with On the Margins Family Therapy & Psychological Services, Inc. (OTMFTPS) to bridge the strengths of the non-profit and professional sectors. This collaboration allows us to practice community care alongside clinical excellence, fostering a sustainable path toward collective liberation.
This is not merely service delivery; it is a political imperative. By increasing access to culturally responsive, joy-centered care, we disrupt the cycles of harm that keep our communities fragmented. Today, OTM stands at the intersection of liberation and healing justice. We operate on the conviction that healing happens through connection, and that relationship is where liberation takes root.
In times like these, we must turn toward each other rather than away. Every program we offer is guided by that singular, ancestral promise: 'Til We're All Free.
TEAM
We are a collective of health professionals, artists, researchers, and consultants operating at the intersection of feminism, anti-racism, and trauma-responsiveness. Inspired by BIPOC scholars, feminists, freedom fighters, community organizers, and abolitionists, we collaborate to dismantle white-supremacist, heteropatriarchal, cisnormative, mono-normative, and colonial practices within educational, healthcare, research, and community settings. Our aim is to support transformative and healing justice efforts grounded in their wisdom.
LEADERSHIP & BOARD
Our board membership comes from a variety of fields of practice and expertise, and is drawn from a spectrum of constituencies (e.g., nonprofit, academia, corporate, and community). Our board is invested in learning about the organization and has an outstanding commitment to the organization's success, mission and vision. They provide strong direction, support, and accountability and are engaged as a strategic resource.
OUR PARTNERS
We collaborate closely with social change leaders, community organizers, individuals, families, foundations, and socially responsible corporations to maximize social justice impact where health and liberation intersect. By uniting the collective power and passion of our partners with community members, we forge a more feminist, anti-racist, affirming, and trauma-responsive community.