Empowerment

Guest Speakers 

Daisy A Maldonado EC Director

Daisy A Maldonado is the Director of the Empowerment Congress of Doña Ana County.  She is from the desert southwest of El Paso, Texas, and identifies.  Maldonado earned a Bachelor’s degree in both Communication Studies and Government followed by a Master’s Degree in Economics with a minor in Applied Statistics from New Mexico State University.  She is an experienced educator, advocate, facilitator, administrative and organizational development professional.

During her 19 years living in Southern New Mexico, she has been an advocate for community programs and organizations that put people at their center and shift power to those most impacted by unjust systems. Her efforts with non-profits initially began with a focus on gender justice, working as a sexual assault victim/survivor advocate, and shifted to economic justice for Colonia communities by supporting the investment in and development of their infrastructure and educational systems.

Maldonado joined the Empowerment Congress in 2018 as its Coordinator, where she developed its community leadership program, Cultivating Leadership for Social Justice, and led the community organizing campaign, Somos Anapra, the City of Sunland Park, NM.  Now, as the Director, Maldonado is further expanding the work of Empowerment Congress to reach more families and youth within Doña Ana County Colonies with the goal of supporting community leaders exercising their agency, taking ownership of their neighborhoods, and leading decision making processes.

Rosalba Ruiz-Holguin, MD 

Rosalba has more than 19-year experience working in Public Health with a focus on Border Issues. She is a Medical Doctor and has a Masters degree in Public Health from the Universidad Autonoma de Ciudad Juarez. She worked for 12 years for the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in the epidemiology department and later as the Binational Coordinator of the Binational Diabetes Prevention and Control Project. Rosalba is a strong advocate of the promotora model and is certified as a Community Health Worker trainer for the State of Texas. Alliance of Border Collaboratives (ABC) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that delivers integral, inclusive, and sustainable interventions to achieve sustainable social transformation by using the following strategies: public health, community advocacy, education, civic society Initiatives, equity and environmental justice, health literacy, poverty mitigation, affordable housing and applied research. ABC Brings together organizations and individuals to advance the practice of public health and promote social equity, affordable housing and community development.