Hannia was born in Santa Maria de Dota in San Jose, Costa Rica.

She has lived in Bloomington since July 1998.

She co-founded Mujeres en Conexión (MEC) who provides support for Spanish speaking women who work, live, or study in the Bloomington area.

Community needs

“As a person that has been a tourist in this country, that has been a temporary resident, and as a person that is an immigrant, which I am now, I know first-hand the psychological implications which occur when going from one culture to another, I know the loss that one feels for the support from their family and for familiar places, I know what is feels like when someone is 100% functional in one culture and in the other is 0% functional, so in light of these personal experiences and my professional career, this (Mujeres en Conexión) is a concrete necessity that the community needs, to give them (women) these services and not only from an intellectual or personal perspective but also from a very basic and concrete or real point of view, people come here to look for that support…”

Women in Connection

“The connection is the fundamental ingredient to create this support, to create a plan, to feel better, to feel that you are worthy, that you have many important qualities and although they (women) are in a culture where they can’t operate fluidly/freely, all of those qualities are there and the potential to learn and do something good is also there.”