Grants

Maria Arettines (New York, NY) is an activist and artist majoring in Political Science and Women and Gender Studies at Hunter College. Among many projects, she was an organizer for the City University of New York (CUNY) Social Forum and a coordinator of the We Got Issues Leadership Institute.  She currently works for the Women and Gender Studies Program at Hunter College. Integrating her art and activist work, Maria co-founded the Jasmine Seeds Collective, a writing collective of women, as well as a performance dance collective at Hunter College. In addition to activism and academics, Maria hopes to complete training to become a certified doula (a professional who provides physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and after birth.)  Maria used the scholarship for a travel abroad program she designed, including an internship with Astraea grantee-partner Casa del Encuentro as they work to end violence against women in Argentina. $1,000