[vc_row equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”middle” css=”.vc_custom_1561964015799{padding-bottom: 50px !important;}”][vc_column][ultimate_heading main_heading=”Who We Are” alignment=”left” margin_design_tab_text=””]Maria Perez (President)

Maria Esther Perez is a dedicated advocate with deep experience in non-profit health care and human services. She served for six years as Program Director of the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) at the Latino Commission on AIDS. She organized and implemented community mobilization projects and initiatives to assist HIV-positive people to access medical care, regardless of immigration status.

That led to her joining the team at NewYork-Presbyterian (NYP), one of the largest non-profit health care systems in the U.S., for the last ten years. At NYP, she represented the organization in a three-year national pilot study engaging and retaining out-of-care youth in medical treatment. Maria was Co-chair of Connect-to Protect (C2P) Bronx Coalition to engage and partner with NGOs and Government entities, like Rikers Island, to address social determinants of health by identifying systemic barriers to care, developing structural change objectives, and taking actions on behalf of HIV positive youth.

Currently, she is leading the Housing Instability Initiavite in the Social Determinant of Health Program at NYP. As the Lead in this intiative, she is working on a hospital-wide strategy to address housing instability, focusing on people who live in the streets and shelters and frequently visit NYP emergency departments.

A proud Dominicana, Maria is an active leader in her church and lives in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx.

 

Cedric McClester (Secretary)

Cedric McClester is the chairperson of the Forward South Bronx Coalition (FSBC), a diverse group of community partners working to prevent and reduce underage drinking and other substance use problems. Mr. McClester is an award-winning journalist and author, who has written for major national and international publications, including the New York Times and the New York Daily News. He is also a prolific lyricist/poet who has written two books: Kwanzaa, Everything You Always Wanted To Know, But Didn’t Know Where to Ask and the children’s book, The Legend of Nia Umoja, both on the Gumbs and Thomas imprint. Presently, he is a member of Bronx Community Board 2. He has a Master of Science in Education degree from Fordham University and resides in New York City.

 

Kristina Sperkova (Treasurer)

Kristina Sperkova serves as the Treasurer of the Board of Directors of Movendi NY. She is the International President of Movendi International, the first female to hold that position in the organizations 170-year history. Born in Sala, Slovak Republic, Kristina is a psychologist, alcohol and other drugs policy advocate, development aid specialist, feminist, civil society activist, human rights defender and humanist. Kristina leads with wit and compassion, heart-driven diligence and persistence and her work is guided by the Movendi International vision for a world where free and healthy citizens actively contribute in all levels of society.

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