Maria E. deMelo

FRDC Program Director
508-994-4521 ext. 104

Maria has worked for United Way since 2017. She completed the nine-week Parent Consultant Training Institute course from the Federation of Children with Special Needs, which empowered her to support families with children with disabilities or an individualized education plan. She also is trained as a facilitator in the Nurturing Father’s Program and Active Parenting of Teens Program. She is a member of the New Bedford Public Schools Equity Committee.

She graduated from UMass Amherst with a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Children’s Learning & Development. She volunteers at New Life South Coast Church working with fourth- and fifth-graders and is bilingual - speaking both Spanish and English.

She enjoys the cultural and linguistic diversity of Greater New Bedford, and admires the UWGNB for aiding and supporting families in a positive way.She is a published poet with interest in music and reading.

Favorite quote:
“And Still I Rise” — Maya Angelou