Maria Lemus is the founding Executive Director of Visión y Compromiso and the Network of Promotoras and Community Health Workers. Under her guidance, Visión y Compromiso has become the lead organization in California providing support, capacity building, and leadership development for promotores, community health workers, and other community leaders. Since 2000, Lemus has provided the direction to grow this statewide organization into one that now represents over 4,000 community workers engaged in a diversity of community health programs in clinics, hospitals, public health and mental health departments, schools, and faith-based and community-based organizations in 15 regions of California and other states.

She represents the voice of promotores and community health workers on numerous state and national steering committees and coalitions such as the US Department of Health and Human Services Promotores Advisory Committee, Hispanic/Latino Workgroup of the National Diabetes Education Program, and the National Alliance for Latino Behavioral Health Workforce Development. The recipient of numerous awards including a California State Assembly Recognition Resolution, Lemus is a native Californian who makes her home in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Articles by Maria