Corina Gutierrez, who has been working long distance from New Mexico on her own time with Maui Independent Living Center, received her certificate and MEO kukui nut lei as Volunteer of The Year nominee for Community Services last week.
MILC Coordinator Nani Watanabe congratulated Corina and gave her a brief history of the kukui nut lei.
Corina thanked MEO for the honor.
Corina is Director of Community Advocacy in the State of New Mexico, Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons. After learning about services for persons with disabilities through the MILC program, she wanted to connect with active MILC deaf clients.
She created a specialized curriculum, which included topics such as self-esteem, self-determination and ethics of working with interpreters; preparing for self-advocacy; effective resource tapping; and more. The four-hour sessions, which were interactive and encouraged input, began last year with completion of the curriculum this year.
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