EDITH FLORES
Coordinator, Advocacy & Client Services
(207) 598-8923 | eflores@manomaine.org
Edith was one of the founding members of Mano en Mano and in July 2009 became our first outreach worker. Her family immigrated to the United States from Mexico when she was a child and followed the migrant farmworker stream before settling in Milbridge. Edith graduated from Narraguagus High School in Harrington and received her CNA certificate and worked as a nurse assistant in a local elder care facility before starting work with Mano en Mano. She also works for the Maine Migrant Health Program as a medical assistant and outreach worker for Washington County.
MARIA KENNEDY
Operations Coordinator
(207) 558-1917 | mkennedy@manomaine.org
Maria grew up in Boise, Idaho before moving to Brunswick, Maine for college. She graduated from Bowdoin College with a double major in English and Spanish literature. While at Bowdoin, Maria completed an analysis on the role of land and place in the medieval poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight for her honors thesis. She was also a leader of Bowdoin Advocates for Human Rights and worked to raise awareness and take action on campus on issues ranging from the Bhopal chemical spill to the dangers of solitary confinement. In her final year of college, she led an awareness campaign and corporate boycott of Bowdoin’s major banana providers because of their long and current history of human rights violations and environmental degradation across the supply chain. She has also worked at Learning Lab, an adult education non-profit in Idaho, and volunteered at the Volunteer Lawyers Project in Portland, Maine. Maria is passionate about worker rights, legal advocacy, climate justice, and fair food. After working at the Blueberry Harvest School for two seasons, Maria is excited for her new role as Mano en Mano’s Operations Coordinator. She enjoys traveling and spent a semester studying in Salamanca, Spain. In her spare time Maria also enjoys reading, writing, and being outside. She speaks French and Spanish.
CHRISTINA OCAMPO
Coordinator, Advocacy & Client Services
(207) 370-1733 | cocampo@manomaine.org
Christina’s story begins with her family in Colombia and later takes place in New Jersey. Her immigrant story, culture, and family (including her two dogs!) are at her core. Christina graduated from Drew University with a double major in Environmental Studies & Sustainability and Anthropology with a minor in Italian. As an undergrad, Christina collaborated with CATA | The Farmworker Support Committee to lead a community-based research project that exposed food and environmental injustices faced by Latinx immigrant farmworkers. As a steering committee member and later a grassroots organizer for the Real Food Challenge, she fostered leadership and empowered youth to hold their university institutions accountable to investing in a food system that protects human rights. After working with the Blueberry Harvest School for three seasons, she is excited to continue to work on issues that deeply motivate her – farmwork, labor, immigration, justice and systemic change. In her spare time, she enjoys eating abuela’s home cooked meals with family, adventuring with friends, and traveling (and living) out of her backpack.
MOLLY RALPH
Student & Family Advocate, Migrant Education Program
mralph@manomaine.org
Molly is originally from Maryland, where she attended Salisbury University and double majored in Spanish and International Studies with a minor in European Studies. During that time, she took her studies abroad to Malaga, Spain and Buenos Aires, Argentina where she further developed her passion for culture and travel. Molly also worked with the Haitian community during an internship with a local school in which she assisted the youth in achieving their educational needs and offering support to the students and educational community. During and after college she worked on an organic farm where she discovered her love for fresh, sustainable, seasonal food and the rhythm of the growing seasons. Molly moved to Calais, Maine to pursue a greener lifestyle and goal of creating a sustainable homestead. She now looks forward to pursuing her passion to serve the community with the Maine Migrant Education Program and Mano en Mano.
ELI REDFERN
AmeriCorps VISTA
(207) 598-8925 | eredfern@manomaine.org
Originally from Ohio, in 2016 Eli graduated from Kenyon College where he studied Economics and Spanish Literature. Growing up in Appalachian Ohio, he became interested in sustainable agriculture, food justice, and the local food movement. In college, he was one of the first members to live and work at the Kenyon Farm, a student-run 13 acre ecologically oriented farm. Key to his worldview is food, how it brings people together and how those who produce and harvest it should be treated fairly. With his background in Spanish language literature, Eli is passionate about poetry and translation, as a means to make sense of the world and of each other, building empathy across different places, languages, and cultures. In his free time he enjoys hiking, reading, cooking, and playing music with friends.
JUANA RODRIGUEZ-VAZQUEZ
Student & Family Advocate, Migrant Education Program
(207) 598-7149 | jrodriguez@manomaine.org
Juana first came to Milbridge 15 years ago to participate in Maine’s wild blueberry harvest. In 2013, she became involved with Comienza en Casa / It Starts at Home (link) to prepare her to be her son’s first teacher and prepare him for success in elementary school. Her active participation over the years and her commitment to sharing her knowledge and experience with other parents in the program led her to become a part-time AmeriCorps with Mano en Mano in 2014. Through this position, Juana was involved in a range of activities such as creating short non-fiction informational videos for other parents, helping to coordinate bi-lingual learning activities for families, and co-presenting about her experiences at national and regional events. Juana is pursuing her degree in education at the University of Maine at Machias.
JAY SKRILETZ
Student & Family Advocate, Migrant Education Program
(207) 598-8927 | jskriletz@manomaine.org
Jay grew up in Los Angeles, California and moved to Washington County in 1975. He earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Theatre Arts at the University of Maine (’84, ’03) and found his way into education and community service by growing theaters in Machias (The Friends and Neighbors Theatre, 1980-84), Eastport (Stage East 1990-95), and Calais (The New Calais Theartre, 2006-present). Along the way, he cobbled together a Downeast living digging clams, raking berries, tipping, and salmon farming. In recent years, Jay has coordinated Service Learning and prevention programs, advised the Teen Advocacy Group and directed the Drama Club at Calais High School. Jay and his family are running a salt-water farm in Perry that produces honey, clams, forest products, and vegetables. At Mano en Mano, Jay coordinates the Maine Migrant Education Program in eastern Washington County. He arranges tutoring services for qualified students and also helps high school students explore college and career opportunities.
IAN YAFFE
Executive Director
(207) 619-2822 | iy@manomaine.org
Ian graduated from Bowdoin College in 2009 with a degree in Latin American Studies and Education. During that time, he spent a semester at the University of Havana studying Cuban history and philosophy. At Bowdoin, he founded Food Forward, a student organization that recycles food and educates the community about fighting hunger and its causes. He was also Executive Chef of Taste for Change, a non-profit restaurant that is part of Food Forward and that offers advanced volunteer opportunities in the culinary arts, educational events, and financial support for its partners. For his work with Food Forward and other community organizations, Ian was awarded Campus Compact’s National Student Humanitarian Award and Bowdoin’s senior award for leadership and character: the Captain Andrew Haldane Cup. He was also selected to speak at Bowdoin’s 2009 commencement ceremony. Outside of Mano en Mano, Ian is a Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve and was selected as the 2013 Reserve Enlisted Person of the Year for Coast Guard Sector Northern New England. Ian also serves on the Board of Directors of CEI.