Maria Flores
Maria Flores joined Homeboy Industries in 2007 as a Case Manager providing intensive case management for both gang involved adults and youth. In 2011, she was promoted to director of case management at Homeboy Industries. As the director she created referral systems to support interdepartmental communication to enhance wrap around services. Maria is committed to creating systems to engage and retain clients in the program. She also manages and supervises youth grants and projects to make sure the needs of who we serve are met. Due to Maria’s intensive work experience, commitment and passion to support underserving communities she was promoted to be the director of strategic initiatives in September 2018. In this capacity, she developed strategies and partnerships in the areas of housing, youth, women and resources to support clients’ needs. In addition, she worked with a team to uplift the work of the Youth Reentry Center to serve youth ages 14-18 years old. As part of Homeboy’s youth programing, she’s managed Homeboy’s Annual Youth Summer Program for six consecutive years. Maria also maintains and nurtures current partnerships such as our partner Charter School, Learning Works, and other partnerships related to direct donations or resources for youth and families. Maria is passionate about initiatives centered around women and youth at Homeboy Industries. Maria has also led healing circles and women’s retreats.
Prior to joining Homeboy Industries, Maria worked at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles and at Project Amiga in the Youth in re-entry and prevention. Furthermore, she’s also provided technical assistance to different organizations in the U.S including transnational work with organizations in El Salvador and Mexico. Maria holds a BS in Industrial Technology with an emphasis on Production Technology and a MA in Chicana/o Studies, both from California State University, Los Angeles. Maria’s goal in the next year is to enter a program in Social Work as a second master’s degree and continue to expand and enhance programing for youth and their families.
