I love it [being a Promotora] because I talk with many different people and I learn from each one of them.  Just when you think you know it all, you hear someone and realize, “I didn’t think or know that,” so it’s a great satisfaction.  It’s something  that is born in you, a spirit of service to the community, to the people who need it." 

With a brilliant smile and a compassionate demeanor, Maria Treviño, “Cleo” to those who know her best, is fulfilling her childhood dream of helping people in need.  The only difference is that back then, in her home in Nuevo Leon, Mexico, Cleo thought the only path to helping people was by being a nurse or doctor.  The world of Community Health Workers was unknown to her and would not become her calling until later.

First she would get married and have four children and 11 grandchildren, and spend 22 years working as a migrant farmworker with her husband.  In Wisconsin they would pick cucumbers, potatoes, and chili peppers.  In Washington it was asparagus, then cucumbers again in Michigan. Back and forth they would travel between those states and their home state of Texas until one day their high school aged children had moved enough and asked their parents to stay put.  Although this was a clear decision for their children, for Cleo it took a lot of thought.  When she began to work as a migrant farmworker, she would tell her friends she was “…going on vacation up north.”  Those friends had other jobs and professions and did not necessarily appreciate the work of the farmworker.  Over time, Cleo came to value the people and herself.  The work she did helped people have food to eat, and she found beauty and great pride in that.

Once established in Texas, Cleo committed herself fully to the work of a Promotora de Salud. Her first exposure to the role had come a few years earlier when she participated in a Camp Health Aide Program in Wisconsin.  This led to a seasonal Promotora position with Migrant Health Promotion in Texas and then eventually to a full-time position.  Over the years, Cleo has worked in several programs addressing different needs - women and children’s nutrition, community organizing, women’s health, diabetes, and prenatal care.  According to Cleo, all of these programs have been of great benefit to the community, but the one that gave her the most satisfaction and feeling of success was La Voz Latina.  In this program, Cleo organized women in the colonias to promote awareness about reproductive health and to advocate for the elimination of barriers to health care, some as basic as transportation.

"I was able to help women get out of their homes and use their rights as women and to be respected without regards to class status and gender….women thought their only role was to serve husbands and children and care for their home and not their own health!"

Through her work on La Voz Latina, Cleo had the opportunity to travel to New York City and share the program coordinator’s recognition at the Ms. Foundation’s annual award ceremony.  There, she had the honor of meeting Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farmworkers Union, and Gloria Steinem.

Cleo has always had a spirit of service, but through her experiences as a Promotora she has been able to complement that spirit with skills and knowledge; a formidable combination that empowers those in need in South Texas.

"To talk about Maria Trevino is to talk about one of the most audacious and visionary women I know!  Maria doesn’t fear anything, she likes to experiment and confront challenges.  She is a women with purpose!...Working in the community is her greatest satisfaction….Maria has a great spirit of service and humility that few people have.  Her charisma and goodness define her, and her incredible work is incomparable!" -- Lucy C. Felix, former La Voz Latina Program Coordinator