Maria Plata is a natural-born storyteller who uses her gift to uplift stories of her community’s diversity through her blog, Roots of Immokalee. After graduating from Florida Gulf Coast University, Maria began her teaching career abroad in Thailand, the Dominican Republic, and the United Arab Emirates before returning to Southwest Florida. She has continued to work in education through roles in the nonprofit and healthcare sector, transitioning into healthcare in 2020 by providing COVID-19 education as a Community Health Worker with Doctors without Borders and Health Care Network. Currently, Maria is the Project Manager for Partners in Health-US in her hometown of Immokalee, Florida, where she supports the skill-building of community health workers and empowering of local partners to strengthen the local health systems for migrant farmworkers and mixed-status families.