Irma and her husband are picking oranges in Wimauma, Florida. Picture was taken in 2011, while Irma is six months pregnant with her son Eduardo. Farmworker, Irma Mendoza, is an important leader at East Coast Migrant Head Start Project.  She serves as the President of our Policy Council and as a member of our Board of Directors.  We recently had the opportunity to learn more about her journey to the United States, her experience as a farmworker, and her hopes for the future. C

Belinda Verdin has been working with East Coast Migrant Head Start Project since 2006.  Her story is unique, as she works with three of her siblings at the ECMHSP Chandler Mountain Center in Alabama.  The family is very passionate about supporting the ECMHSP mission.  Please keep reading to learn more about my interview with Belinda. Left to right: Belinda and Maria. Can you tell me about your background? In 1992, my family and I moved to the United States from Tula, Tamaulip

Angel Casiano, ECMHSP’s Director of Programs Operations – Florida, shares his experience working with the migrant community during the last 20 years.  I invite you to learn more about his story in the following interview. What is your family’s background? I am from Puerto Rico.  My mom is from Puerto Rico and my dad from Dominican Republican.  I have 11 siblings and most of them work in the health industry.  We have four doctors, three nurses, and one dentist. I left Puerto R

Laura Bush’s visit to one of our Head Start centers in the early 2000s. Pictured from left to right: Christine Alvarado, former Board Chair Kathy Freudenberg, former First Lady Laura Bush, former ECMHSP CEO Rafael Guerra, and former Senator Elizabeth Dole. In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, we wanted to learn more about the organization’s Latino leaders.  Christine Alvarado, ECMHSP’s Chief Innovation Officer, shares insights about the farmworker community we’ve bee

As a child, Nohemi Montalvo attended one of our Head Start programs in Virginia’s Eastern Shore.  Before going off to college, she worked at our ECMHSP Cheriton Center as a Bilingual Caregiver for about six weeks.  I invite you to learn more about her story. What is your family’s background? Thank you for giving me this wonderful opportunity to introduce myself.  I have seven family members in my family including me.  My parents worked in the tomato fields for three years in

We have many employees who dedicate their lives to serve our farmworker families.  Mireya Garcia has been with ECMHSP since 1999.  Please keep reading to learn more about her story at our ECMHSP Fountain Center, located in North Carolina. Could you please tell me about your background? My name is Mireya Garcia.  I was born in Mexico City, Mexico.  I came to the United States of America at the age of 16.  I am a U.S. Citizen. Mireya, her husband and son are pictured having fun

Antonia Rios was an ECMHSP parent a few years ago.  However, she’s still involved with our Head Start program. Keep reading to learn more about her story. Could you please tell me about your background? I’m from Oaxaca, Mexico.  Back home I lived in a very dangerous area with gang violence.  I lost many family members, including one of my siblings.  My parents went through financial hardship and it was hard to put food on the table.  After my mom passed away, my father had to

I recently had the opportunity to conduct a phone interview with Iralda Badillo, one of our team members at the ECMHSP Bowling Green Center, located in Florida West.  Keep reading to learn more about her professional growth since joining East Coast Migrant Head Start Project. Can you please tell me about your background? I was born in Mexico and came to the United States when I was eight-years old. We arrived in Jacksonville, Georgia during the tomato season.  My parents work

I recently had the opportunity to conduct a phone interview with Rosa Cendejas, one of our team members at the ECMHSP Fort Pierce Center in Florida.  Keep reading to learn more about her professional growth since joining East Coast Migrant Head Start Project in 1997. Could you tell me more about your background? I migrated from Mexico to the United States in February of 1986 and worked picking oranges in Fort Pierce, Florida for six years.  In 1997, I first heard of East Coas

Marimar Ramirez is the eldest of three children in a farmworker family.  Her parents have been working in the fields for more than 20 years, and Marimar began to follow in their footsteps until one day, while working in the fields, a coworker told her about East Migrant Head Start Project.  This conversation changed the direction of her life.  Keep reading to learn more about Marimar’s story from my phone interview with her. Marimar and her daughter Natalia (7). Tell me a lit

When Idalia has flashbacks of her childhood, many of those memories take place in the fields.  Some seasons she lived in Ohio, Michigan, and Texas.  She is currently the Health Disabilities Services Coordinator at the ECMHSP Palmetto Center in Florida.  I recently had the opportunity to learn more about her and the work she does for East Coast Migrant Head Start Project. Can you tell me a little bit about your background? My parents are both from Mexico and have been farmwork

Maria Rodriguez is from Reynosa, a border city in the northern part of Tamaulipas, Mexico.  She loves the work that she does as the Governance Assistant at East Coast Migrant Head Start Project in the Florida Direct Services – West Region Administrative Offices in Bartow, FL – and it shows! But Maria hasn’t had an easy life.  Prior to working for ECMHSP, she was a migrant farmworker for nine years.  Between March and September, she harvested tomatoes, watermelon, pumpkins, an

Ramona De Loera never had an easy life.  She is one of ten children and from the age of eight, her parents brought her to the fields where she helped with the work however she could. As she grew older, balancing her school work with farm work became more and more difficult.  Ramona failed the ninth grade because her parents pulled her from school for weeks at a time to help the family in the fields.  By the time she reached senior year of high school, she knew she wouldn’t be

Celia Rodriguez was born in Mexico and came to the U.S. when she was two years of age.  Her parents were farmworkers for more than 30 years, so she knows firsthand how much migrant farmworker families struggle.  Celia recalls being a migrant farmworker child between the ages of 10 and 14 years.  The hardest thing about being a migrant farmworker child was adjusting to a new school and making friends.  Celia couldn’t make close friendships because she moved every three months.

The National Migrant & Seasonal Head Start Association (NMSHSA) held its Annual National Conference in Costa Mesa, CA, from March 5 through March 9. A number of our dedicated employees travelled to the conference to learn about the changes to the Head Start Performance Standards, which were rolled out last summer. It was a great opportunity to hear about implementation strategies and the importance of being outcomes-driven in our execution. Parents from Migrant and Seasonal H

Dr. David Conde is the President for North America of the Chamber of the Americas.  He currently serves as the President of the ECMHSP Board of Directors and is a contributing writer for La Voz Bilingüe.  This is his latest article. Dr. David Conde has seen the contributions of the immigrant community from his years of service on the ECMSHP Board of Directors and his personal experience. You may have been watching a replay of Roots, the Alex Haley classic that traces American

Parents in Indiantown leave their children at the ECMHSP center to learn and play while they work in zucchini fields. On January 20, the Board of Directors of East Coast Migrant Head Start Project had the opportunity to visit children and staff at our wonderful center in Indiantown, Florida. The day began as days begin for many of our children – with a bus ride. And like the preschool children who ride our school buses, the ride to Indiantown was a learning experience for eve

Maria was one of the first farmworkers to apply for DACA, which would allow her to travel outside of the U.S. with Advance Parole. Twenty-three-year-old Maria Sanchez Martinez is the former Vice President of East Coast Migrant Head Start Project’s Policy Council. In August of 2012, she was one of the first farmworkers to submit an application for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which has allowed her to lawfully work in the U.S. and consequently, has improved th