Quendia Martinez
Quendia is a Guatemalan immigrant who came to the US in 2004, alone, in search of a better economic future for herself and her family in Guatemala. Her first years in this country were difficult due to language barriers. She was unable to defend herself following workplace harassment at her first job. This motivated her to study English and understand her rights in this country. Quendia works as a Career Coach at MassHire Career Center, and is a member of the Lynn Latino Leadership Coalition.
She became a member of the New Lynn Coalition in 2011 because she believes in New Lynn’s mission of addressing and confronting all the negative factors affecting the more vulnerable population of our city.
The diversity of Lynn is amazing and a great place to have family where we all feel inclusive. However, we don't see our people of color reflected within employment throughout the city as well as local politics.
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Reflective Statement about her time at New Lynn:
It was an honor for me to be able to be a part of this vision that Jeff Crosby had of making a Lynn for everybody. Thank you to all who trusted me and elected me as president since 2011. Since that time, we have worked together for the residents of Lynn to form a common effort to fight for a decent quality of life for all.
We have fought on different goals from affordable housing for our low-income residents to the inclusiveness of people of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds in key positions who represent our community. We have accomplished some of our efforts, but much remains to be accomplished.
Whenever we fight, even though sometimes we seem to lose, we win because we learn more about our allies and our opponents
Thanks to Jeff Crosby for this coalition of many organizations working together for a better city for all.
Si queremos, podemos/ If we want we can!