Norma Malkiel arrived in Boston from Belo Horizonte four and a half years ago to marry her sweetheart, Charles Malkiel, whom she first met in Brazil. Not long after arriving, she started to work as an outreach health educator for MAPS – Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers - with women at risk of being infected with HIV or STD.

Norma was soon promoted to Supervisor of Greater Boston Disease Prevention and Education Programs. “I love what I do with the Portuguese speaking community”, she says, “Mainly because I love to working with the Brazilians. I think they are lost, they work too hard and rarely have time to get informed.”

Norma, who represents MAPS at the “September 7th Organizing Committee, believes educational programs are crucial to strengthening communities.