We are thrilled to introduce another of Heart-Links’ dedicated board members. Elisa Alvarez, whose family roots are in El Salvador, brings stellar Spanish skills and an educational background in equity, diversity, and social justice to our team.

Elisa also brings a personal commitment to connecting local and global. Her cultural values and her knowledge of Latin America enrich our local community and strengthen Heart-Links’ work.

Headshot of Elisa Alvarez.

“I’ve seen the poverty in El Salvador,” she says. “We’re privileged in Canada to be able to help organizations in another country. It’s that local-to-global factor of asking what we can we do to help people in a situation different from our own.”

As a new board members and a welcome addition to our community engagement committee, Elisa is excited to be working among like-minded people who are passionate about what they do. She can already see that passionate people in the community are what makes Heart-Links thrive.

“We are a small non-profit that is doing really significant and quality work in Peru by giving the local organizations the voice and narrative,” she says. “They understand their communities, so we are supporting them to do what they know how to do best.”

One goal Elisa has as a board member is to see Heart-Links making an even greater impact and writing even more stories of success.

Woman in profile with beach, hotels and palm trees in background.

Though she loves her job in access services for Western University, Elisa believes Heart-Links will give her new foundations, presenting new challenges and new ways of reaching a goal. “Skills of volunteerism and empathy are so important,” she says. “I’m really excited to see that energy of awareness and selflessness spread, especially with the uncertainty that we are facing globally . . . What better opportunity for us to learn to understand and to support one another?”

Ever the optimist and always willing to help out, Elisa makes a great addition to our team.