Our 2024 Natural Helpers

Amevi’s introspective personality shone brightly throughout the fellowship. He brought the knowledge he gained during our sessions to his work as a Community Health Outreach Worker for the City of Portland, where he has served over 1900 clients in a 10 month period. He is quick to share his experiences at conferences, believing deeply in the power of education. He lives life to the fullest, as evident in the gleeful way he took to the immersive experience of skiing.

Always quick with a laugh and a smile, Belinda believes strongly in creating a space where everyone feels included. Graciously, she nudges all to address issues of racial equity in the workplace and to think critically about how the voices of those least heard can be amplified. She brings this awareness to her role as the Advocacy Coordinator for the Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center.

Doris is a grass roots community leader, bringing about change and benefiting lives through her church, neighborhood, and private cleaning business. With an attitude of grit and getting things done, Doris cares deeply about those in the Spanish-speaking community. Recently, her work shines bright in the creation of Spanish and English classes to foster cross-cultural experiences and to improve linguistic equity.

Guy is instrumental in supporting New Mainer’s in their first few days in Maine. Through his work supporting asylum seekers at the shelter at 166 Riverside. Guy’s focus on providing education around transportation issues in Portland led him to create the Bus Ambassador Program. Apart from this, Guy also works with Cultivating Community and Boys to Men, and understands fully the importance of cross collaboration among city resources.

Quina’s outgoing and friendly personality makes her easy to approach, allowing her to easily support not only the Angolan community of Maine but other community stakeholders. She has a passion to invest in others, helping them to not only meet their basic needs, but thrive as members of a new city. Her dream for the future? “Get the community more involved in social activities, as property owners, and as business owners.”

As the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Specialist for the city of Lewiston, Divine is quick to share her experience with the greater Maine community. Out of all of the Fellows, Divine spoke the most at conferences, such as a Workforce Development Dialogue focused on workplace support for BIPOC youth, being a panelist at the Maine Inclusion Conference discussing DEI initiatives in Lewiston, and speaking with youth at Next Step Lewiston about the experience growing up as a BIPOC community leader in Lewiston.

An advocate for the rising generation, Kasandra believes in an equitable future for Maine’s BIPOC youth. Her work centers around mental health awareness, equitable workplace pay, and cross-cultural exchange. The founder of the Portland Butterfly Project and an activist for Maine Youth Justice, Kasandra also just graduated cum laude with a B.A. in psychology from Clark University as a first- generation college graduate.

A powerhouse in workforce development, Cadeau brings a steady focus to providing economic relief to the immigrant community through his work as the Community Program Manager at Gateway Community Services. Understanding that barriers to economic success often involve access to healthcare and transportation, Cadeau is instrumental in connecting individuals with many resources. Cadeau also holds himself to networking as much as possible, attending events such as the Women Empowerment Summit in Augusta.

Twenty years ago, Sara arrived in Portland from Arequipa, Peru on a work visa. During that time, she mastered English, earned a degree from USM, and began a career as a legal assistant in a small law firm, all while raising two wonderful children as a single mother. Currently she works as a per diem CHOW for the City of Portland. She is also a Spanish interpreter for House of Languages and Language Partners. She is notable for providing both health equity to Spanish-speaking community members in the Greater Portland area, and for thinking critically about how legal policy affects life for Maine’s immigrants.

Victoria shines as a liaison for the Spanish-speaking community of Maine. With optimism and an engaging personality, Victoria is quick to connect others to pressing resources. Crucially, her work often centers around education around driving laws in the U.S., making sure that everyone has information relating to driver’s education and licensing. For her, one of the most important moments of the Natural Helpers fellowship was meeting with the USCIS representative, John McCarthy, and gaining a deeper understanding about the immigrant process and legal policies, which will help her further educate the Hispanic community.