Juana Zapata

Juana Emilia Zapata Marcano was born in Bani, Peravia Province, in the southern region of the Dominican Republic. The eldest of nine sisters and four brothers, she is a dedicated mother of three children and a proud grandmother to eight grandchildren. Juana pursued her professional studies at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo, graduating in 2011 with a degree in Geographic Sciences, specializing in Natural Resources. In 2012, she moved to the USA and later returned to the Dominican Republic in 2015 to begin a master's degree in Land Management, though she eventually returned to the USA, settling in Lowell, MA. In 2015, Juana started working at a company known as Los Plásticos, where her keen observational skills and humanistic sensitivity inspired her to get involved with organizations dedicated to community improvement. Today, she continues to bring her passion for resource management and community development to her role as a founding member at the Latinx Community Center for Empowerment (LCCE).