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My name is Marco Meneses, completed a BSc in Nutrition and MS in Public Health at Universidad de Antioquia in Medellin, Colombia. Completed a MS in Training and Development (adult education and business) at St Francis University in Joliet, Illinois.

I has been working and training community health workers in Colombia, Honduras, USA and volunteer with different churches and non-profit agencies. I work with and have knowledge of Migrant and Seasonal Farm Workers

With Kane County and Cook County (Illinois) I worked for several years with projects that addressed determinants of health. Worked at grassroots level and later in programmatic activities to increase availability of and access to culturally sensitive health care providers for families from Mexico and other Central American countries, Honduras and El Salvador, including Mayan – native- populations from El Petén (Guatemala).

The last 10 years I worked in Florida with Broward County Health Department in chronic disease prevention, with Minority Development and Empowerment, as Program Manager for the “Healthy Choices, Healthy Living”.

Selected for the Community-Based Participatory Research Fellows Mentoring Program to Promote Minority Health, which is sponsored by and occurred at the People’s Scientific Conference and 7th Annual Florida CHW Coalition Summit on September 22 and 23, 2017. University of Florida Health Disparities Research and Intervention Program - Gainesville, Florida.

MY PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY: • I like to participate /serve on community boards and to promote public health initiatives in the community. I am an AMBASSADOR that foster good patient and public relations. • Advocating on behalf of vulnerable and underserved populations. • Health Equity: We all have a right to health. “Health equity means that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be healthier. This requires removing obstacles to health such as poverty, discrimination, and their consequences, including powerlessness and lack of access to good jobs with fair pay, quality education and housing, safe environments, and health care” (What is Health Equity? RWJF, May 2017).

The ability to understand health information is the number one indicator of positive health outcomes because so much of health care is about what we read and understand. If patients understand what their health issues are, what their medications are and how to take them, there are better outcomes and fewer unscheduled visits to the physician’s office, fewer hospitalizations and emergency rooms visits. Teaching healthy living, healthy eating and healthy lifestyles has a huge impact on quality of care, patient satisfaction and reducing health care costs.

Selected by the American Public Health Association, CHW Section, as the 2017 Outstanding Community Health Worker of the Year Award.

Selected to review abstracts for the Community Health Workers Program -American Public Health Association – 2019 Annual Meeting and Expo (Nov. 2 - Nov. 6).

Certified Community Health Worker by the State of Florida