Lucia Zegarra

Lucía Zegarra is a Peruvian native living in Washington, DC. She is a biologist from the University of Maryland Baltimore County.

Since she was nine-years-old, she has been involved in social and ecological activism. In Peru, she visited children’s hospitals on weekends to engage abandoned children. Later she became the coordinator of a social help project for a school confirmation program tutoring children who lived in extreme poverty.

In 2002, Lucía moved to the United States and started her volunteer work in the States at Tahoe Women’s Services and Hospice. After obtaining certification in domestic violence crisis intervention, she worked to help other women as well as children who witnessed and survived violence.

Her passion to help people led to a position as a rehabilitation counselor with Catholic Charities at a multicultural day program for individuals who suffer from homelessness and mental illness. She led bilingual psychotherapy groups to help them succeed through peer support and art.

In October 2008, she was given the Hispanic Heritage Award “Leader on the Rise” sponsored by Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley’s Commission on Hispanic Affairs for her volunteerism and commitment to bettering society. In December, she was elected by the Peruvian community in DC, MD, VA, WV, DE & KY to become a member of the Consulate Advisory Council in Washington, DC.

Now, as a mother, she still wants to reach out to help the community and served as the president of a local parenting non-profit group. Currently, she is a certified breastfeeding counselor and teaching assistant.