PEABODY — Citizens Inn Executive Director Carolina Trujillo has been named to the Governor’s Advisory Council on Latino Empowerment.
“It’s an honor to be part of the Latino leadership identified in the state of Massachusetts,” said Trujillo, a Lynn resident and consultant to La Voz. “I think that there’s a lot of great things that will come as a result of that.”
The proclamation to create the council was signed by Gov. Maura Healey on April 5.
Trujillo mentioned that the Latinx community is facing significant disparities in education, home ownership, and food insecurity, and said that her role in the council will be to help take actions that will have a lasting and real effect.
“We really are tasked with finding solutions that are tangible solutions that can be implemented,” she said. “So it’s a very action-driven team, and this is something the governor was pretty adamant about.”
She said that she is excited to work with communities across the North Shore, especially those like Lynn that have a minority-majority.
“I think that it’s critical that we have representation and a voice at the table where we can really look into solutions and implementation. And also, we can gather the communities and their voices when we propose these solutions,” she said.
Trujillo said gathering community input is important in order to keep the reality of the circumstances close to the strategies used to solve issues.
The council’s first meeting was held Wednesday, and committees will be formed within the council in order for members to take on specific tasks based on the diversity of skill sets and geographical locations of members.
When those committees are formed, Trujillo said it’s crucial to have a strong, detailed plan before going into communities. She added that members are coming in with the experience needed to create a positive influence.
“The majority of the people in this council already have a lot of community penetration history and skills. So I think it’s a matter of really prioritizing an agenda, and then going out to communities. That is something we agreed on as a team yesterday, and that is the approach we’re going to follow,” she said.
When asked what her immediate goals were as a part of the council, Trujillo said that while she aims to get to work immediately, combating the large amount of systemic issues that Latinx people face is something that will take time. Once different committees are established, she will be able to begin tackling specific issues.
“There are a lot of critical pieces that we all have to tackle,” she said. “Once we’re a part of a committee, then we’re going to narrow down the work and then we’re going to come up with probable solutions to probable issues.”
