Maria S. Gomez RN, MPH is President and CEO of Mary’s Center for Maternal and Child Care. She founded the organization to build better futures through health care, education, and social services that embrace our culturally diverse community. Established in 1988 as a clinic to provide prenatal and postpartum care primarily for the Latino women of Ward One, Mary’s Center has grown from having an initial budget of $250,000 to an annual budget of $14 million. Mary’s Center serves individuals and families from across the D.C. metropolitan area, establishing a full complement of programs that focus on holistic family needs.

Mary’s Center remains undeterred in its efforts to advocate for the area’s most resilient, yet vulnerable, families. The Center, under Maria’s leadership, continues to expand its efforts by listening to the voices of the community and building services to support our families and their needs.  Many of our families are moving to new areas and as a result, additional sites continue to open in areas such as Ward 4 and, most recently, in Montgomery County, Maryland.