Welcome, Maria!

Please join us in welcoming, Maria de Jesus Paniagua Albor, to the Mano en Mano team!

Maria joins our Access to Essential Services and Advocacy  team in the role of Community Health and Wellness Advocate.  In her role she will partner with community members  to develop wellness programming based in racial equity and provide individuals and families additional support in navigating healthcare  systems.

Community members have expressed a need for support when accessing healthcare services, especially services in their native language. In fact, the majority of the 4,911 requests for support our team received in 2020 were requests for assistance in accessing healthcare services.  

Alongside community members she will work to develop wellness programming based in racial equity that follows the vision and goals set by the communities Mano en Mano serves. We hope to build a framework to build a healthier Downeast Maine- one where community members can easily access health services and local leaders set the direction of linguistically and culturally relevant wellness initiatives.

Maria, who has been part of the Mano community for many years, has ample experience working to support others in overcoming challenges.

She shares:

“ As an immigrant myself  I know how hard it is when you have a language barrier and how difficult things can get because of that barrier. I look forward to working with my new coworkers and with community members so we can overcome some of those barriers together.”

If you would like to get in touch with Maria, you can call her at (207) 800 7605,

or send her an email: mpaniagua@manomaine.org.