Media Contact: Isidro Fagundes, Communications Director | ifagundes@maps-inc.org |
Marilia Alves, Communications Assistant, | malves@maps-inc.org
What?
Organization: MAPS is a private, nonprofit organization providing health and human services to Portuguese speakers in eastern Massachusetts since 1970.
Current programs include Immigrant Integration Services; Citizenship Assistance; Elder Services; Family Support Services; Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services; Intimate Partner Abuse Educational Program; HIV/STI Prevention & Screening; Medical Case Management; Driver Alcohol Education; Short-Term Mental Health Support; Notary Public and Translation Services, and more.
Who?
MAPS Board of Directors:
- Antonio Massa Viana, Esq, President
- Patricia De Oliveira, Vice-President
- Susan Pacheco, Treasurer
- Elizabeth Chaves, Secretary
- Ana Cristina Lindsay, DrPh
- Adriana Bento
- Edna Monteiro Leith
- Filipe Zamborlini
- Jennifer K. Santos, Esq.
- Maria Dickinson
- Mary Ann Lomba, MBA
- Paula Coutinho, LICSW
- Raymond Estrella, MBA
- Stephen Pereira, M.Ed.
MAPS Management/ Administrative Team:
- Paulo Pinto, MPA – Chief Executive Officer (Bio)
- Alirio Mendes Pereira, MA – Chief Program Officer
- Lois Josimovich – Director of Development
- Peter Finucane – Development Assistant
- Lucinda Morais – Director of Human Resources and Administration
- Lynda Paris, JD, MSA – Chief Financial Officer
- Maria Cerqueira – Finance Manager
- Beatriz Maimone, LICSW – Director of Clinical & Family Support Services
- Dulce Almeida Ferreira, MA – Director of Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Services
- Alessandra Fisher, MA – Director of Immigrant Integration and Elder Services
- Carlos Mattos – HIV/STI Services Program Manager
- Isidro Fagundes – Director of Communications
- Marilia Alves – Communications and Executive Assistant
Where?
Cambridge Office |
Somerville Office
TBD |
Brighton Office 697 Cambridge St., Ste. 203 Brighton, MA 02135 (617) 787-0557 Fax (617) 779-9586 |
Dorchester Office One Stoughton St. Dorchester, MA 02125 (617) 825-5897 Fax (617) 825-4167 |
Lowell Office 490 Central Street, Lowell, MA 01852 (978) 970-1250 Fax (978) 970-0843 |
Framingham Office 24 Union Ave., Suites 8 & 10 Framingham, MA 01702 (508) 259-9889 Fax (508) 872-2652 |
When?
MAPS in its present form was created in 1993 by the merger of two other agencies. The agencies, the former Somerville Portuguese American League (SPAL) and Cambridge Organization of Portuguese Americans (COPA), had served area Portuguese speakers separately for more than 20 years. They merged to improve service provision and further unify the Portuguese-speaking community, including immigrants from eight countries around the world.
The agency opened its first Boston office in Allston in 1995 to serve the large growing Brazilian population in that neighborhood. The agency expanded its service area northward in 1997, opening its new Lowell office at the urgent request of the city’s Portuguese-speaking community. A second Boston office opened in Upham’s Corner, Dorchester in 2001 to serve the surrounding Cabo Verdean community. In 2006, MAPS opened a part-time office in Framingham to provide services to the large Brazilian community of the MetroWest area. The MAPS Allston Office moved to Brighton in 2012.
Need more information? Click here for a detailed chronology of MAPS’ main achievements.
Why?
Mission: To improve the lives of Portuguese-speaking individuals and families from Massachusetts and help them become contributing, active participants in American society while maintaining strong ethnic identity and a sense of community. MAPS works with and for the Brazilian, Cabo Verdean, Portuguese and other Portuguese-speaking communities to increase access and remove barriers to health, education and social services through direct services, advocacy, leadership and community development.