Between 1996 and 1997, I worked with Ceci for one year in Guatemala. First, providing accompaniment to a community of returned refugees affected by the civil war. And then elaborating an evaluation on international accompaniment to the refugee population and uprooted by political violence. The collaboration with her, which included being 24 hours a day together and sharing risk situations, has been an extremely pleasant experience. His treatment of people affected by the massacres during the civil war has always been of great empathy and respect. Cecilia stands out for its human courage and warmth, its high capacity to listen, understand and understand other people, to support and strengthen them.

It has been a pleasure to collaborate with Cecilia both for her professionalism and knowledge of the work of psychosocial intervention, as for her personal treatment and her always positive energy even in times and in crisis environments

As Head of the psychosocial support unit, Cecilia has shown to be a key player in such complex moments as, for example, the support to our teams in Haiti just after the earthquake and during the first months of the emergency. During all this time, Cecilia has proven to be a competent person in her field, with a high capacity for work, decisive capacity and a sense of responsibility.

Cecilia is a committed and serious professional. While covering the post as head of the psychological support unit, she has always showed very high competencies. Her support has been highly valued by the professionals on the filed who benefitted of her support. I would recommend her and I would work with her in the future.

I have come to know Cecilia as a professional with great talents in the field of psychology and mindfullness. Cecilia has remarkable experience working with displaced populations and individuals who have experienced traumatic situations. From August, 2017 through May, 2017 Cecilia facilitated weekly workshops and support groups for families we serve, including refugees and asylum seekers. Her ability to connect with families was extraordinary. Thanks to work, families felt less lonely, isolated or judged. Families also gained a sense of empowerment and control, improved their coping skills and sense of adjustment. I recommend Cecilia heartily.

Cecilia has been collaborating with LAFLA since 2015. In this time, she’s been an instrumental volunteer consultant on topics of staff wellness and self-care and in this capacity she conducted a presentation to members of our Asylum Collaborative network, which included public interest attorneys, social workers and case managers from over fourteen organizations in the Greater Los Angeles area. In 2016 and 2017, she assisted us in the development of the curriculum for our new “Know Your Rights” presentation called “Orientation for Young Asylees”, which is conducted in Spanish and presented to new asylees and recently arrived refugees from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Cecilia’s strategic and analytical view was key to the success of this team effort with our partners in this project (Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project, Kids in Need of Defense, Los Angeles Unified School District and International Rescue Committee) by providing insight on the curriculum development and management. In our last workshop in March 2017, she taught mindfulness to over 85 participants, to made the audience more at ease and gave them tools to center themselves in situations of high stress. While we look for additional funding to sustain these activities, I have recommended Cecilia to other organizations that have been able to hire her to conduct psycho-educational groups in an ongoing basis.

I had the opportunity to work with Cecilia during my experiences with Intermon Oxfam in Chad and in Haiti. Even when the psychological support unit wasn’t in place yet, Cecilia offered her expertise and skills in psychological support, beyond her other responsibilities. As head of the psychological support unit, she visited the mission in Haiti, providing high support to the team and to the senior managers in the mission, dealing in unstable environment because of the emergencies. Her work results were highly valuable, sharing tools and methodology to face issues. It was a great experience to work with her and I am highly recommending her because of her high sense of responsibility and high competencies. I wish I could work again with her.