On the recent Women”™s Equality Day, New York state Senator Shelley B. Mayer presented Community Resource Center (CRC) Executive Director Jirandy Martinez, a lifelong advocate for social justice and immigrant rights, with the 2022 New York State Senate Women of Distinction Award.
Mayer said, “”¦Jirandy has been an indispensable force for structural social, political and economic change in the lives of immigrants in Westchester and across New York. Most recently, in the wake of Hurricane Ida last September, which devastated Mamaroneck and destroyed the Community Resource Center”™s building, Jirandy and her team assisted over 300 community members whose lives were upended by the storm….”
A Mamaroneck native and daughter of Colombian immigrants, Martinez started her work with CRC in 2008 as an ESL (English as a second language) teacher. Since becoming executive director in 2016, she and her team have dedicated themselves to empowering immigrant and low-income families by providing the resources and advocacy to help them become self-reliant and thriving members of the community. Currently, CRC serves more than 3,800 individuals in Westchester County through grassroots direct-service and partnerships with dozens of community organizations.
