Maria Brown-Spence is the Founder & Executive Director of Hearts2Heal, a local nonprofit dedicated to designing and implementing culturally-responsive mental health & wellness strategies for underserved communities, including military service members, veterans & their families. Maria is excited to join the 2020 Community Health Champions to connect with other individuals working to transform public health in Austin. As an Afrolatina who lives at the thresholds of some of Austin’s most oppressed communities, she hopes to create dialogue & opportunities that perpetuate health equity and resources that effectively treat mental health challenges in communities of color and within military culture.
Lemlem has worked as a registered pharmacist for a long time. She is very passionate to help empower people with information on health care and other basic human needs.
Gio is the Clinic Administrator of Austin’s Kind Clinics (Central and North). Gio’s passion is serving the community and providing health care access for everyone. She has a particular interest in assisting the Hispanic/Latino and Deaf communities. Gio is very excited to join the 2020 Community Health Champions because she wants to grow as a health care leader and learn from her peers.
As a Pilates instructor, and as someone who spent the better part of 2018 and 2019 disabled, Alia is passionate about bringing attention to the need for greater accessibility and improved mobility for every body, everywhere! She is also keen on supporting and elevating all things LGBTQIA+ related, especially physical and mental health initiatives that support the sovereignty and sobriety of minorities and QPOC.