At the Wednesday, February 25th East Los Angeles-Montebello Business and Professional Women (BPW) dinner meeting, Marta Escañuelas, Executive Director of MERCI, will speak about MERCI and its building program. The dinner meeting will be at the DoubleTree Hotel Restaurant, 888 Montebello Blvd., Rosemead. Networking is at 4:30 P.M. with the dinner and meeting starting at 5:00 P.M. The meeting is open to the public. Reservations can be made by calling (626) 307-5650 or E-mailing lindalwilson@juno.com.

Escañuelas is a graduate of Chino High School, has a B.A. from California State University, Northridge and an M.B.A. in Business Administration with an emphasis in Nonprofit Management from the American Jewish University. She has more than 30 years experience in Human Services and has been affiliated with MERCI for more than twenty years – 1991-2000 and 2005-present. She also has been a teacher in Special Education for San Gabriel. Escañuelas is past President of Monterey Park Rotary and current President of the East Los Angeles-Montebello BPW. Escañuelas served on the Mt. Baldy Community Association as well as the Pomona Community Health Center, has written grants for thousands of dollars to benefit the community and foster parents abandoned dogs.

Escañuelas has been the Executive Director of MERCI since 2005. MERCI provides people with severe to profound developmental disabilities an education in life skills and an opportunity to maximize their independence. Presently, Escañuelas is in the midst of a campaign to raise $300,000 to finish construction on a classroom building and an office building at MERCI’s 525 N. Chandler site in Monterey Park on which construction stopped in 2013 due to lack of donations to complete the project. Escañuelas will discuss the John and Mary Duce Group Home, which was completed in May 2013 and which now is open to six clients, and on MERCI’s other programs.

For more information about BPW or this program, call Linda Wilson at (626) 307-5650.