Kaiser Permanente to host 16th Annual Mother and Daughter Learning Together Conference

Araceli Mata was 11 years old when she teamed up with her mother to pursue a higher education and a career in law enforcement. Araceli and her mother enrolled in the Kaiser Permanente Mother and Daughter Program, which was established in 1993 to encourage Latinas to focus on the rewards of attending college and establishing a professional career. Sixteen years later, Araceli, one of the first graduates of the program, earned a Bachelor’s degree from California State Polytechnical University, is a police officer with the San Bernardino Police Department, and has been a Mother and Daughter Program volunteer for the past six years.

Araceli’s story is one of more than six hundred mother and daughter team success stories. In celebration of the program’s many successes and to continue Kaiser Permanente’s commitment to helping the community thrive beyond its doors, Kaiser Permanente is hosting the 16^th Annual Mother and Daughter Learning Together Conference at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel, 14635 Baldwin Park Towne Center in Baldwin Park on October 10, 2009, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. “Rather than focusing solely on the dangers of dropping out of high school, the program teaches mothers to work as a team with their daughters, using their positive influence and become their daughter’s primary educational advocates and supporters,” said Diana Rivera-Beltran, MSW, Program Manager, Educational Outreach Program. “The mother and daughter teams meet once a week for 3 ½ hours on Saturday mornings for seven weeks.”

The conference keynote speaker is Carmen Muñoz Silva, J.D. Director of Compliance, Organizational Training and Development and Risk Programs at the California State Polytechnical University, Pomona. Silva will address the audience in Spanish and speak about her professional experiences in a variety of leadership roles with federal government programs, as well as large health and corporate entities.

Another component of the conference includes presentations by professional Latinas from the community, including Kaiser Permanente’s employees who share their experiences about their professions. The conference reunites all program participants in an effort to continue and support the alumnus’ commitment to their educational and career development.

Source: Kaiser Permanente