Another blogger introduction, Maria Elena Perez, Director of Community Mobilization at NLIRH.
What brings you to NLIRH?
I feel like being at NLIRH is a coming home of sorts for me. I was a sexual health educator in college and loved what I did. I particularly enjoyed working with the Latino students on campus on sexual and reproductive health issues. This experience led me to obtain my Master of Social Work. During grad school and after, I gravitated toward working with immigrant women survivors of violence. In sum, my commitment to Latinas, working against gender based violence, and sexual and reproductive health led me here. This position and organization is a perfect home for the issues I’m passionate about!
What is it about reproductive justice that gets you going?
It’s about how inclusive the framework is of other social justice movements. You cannot fight for reproductive justice without also addressing immigration, economic justice, violence against women and environmental justice, for example.
What are some issues you think you will blog about?
I’m committed to blogging about the intersection between violence against women and reproductive health, and the connections between our fight for reproductive justice here in the States to what’s occurring in Latin America. Another issue I’d like to blog about is transnationality and women’s reproductive health.
