On this episode of SHECP Talks, Abby Gilbert, SHECP's Internship Director, is joined by Lorena Bonet Velazquez, a 2021 SHECP Summer Intern and a 2023 graduate of Centre College. Lorena reflected on how her SHECP internship with Asylee Women Enterprise (AWE) in Baltimore, MD and undergraduate experience as a health advocate in Central Kentucky shaped her career journey and led her to her current role as a Health Policy Advocate with the National Partnership for Women & Families.
During the Summer of 2021, Lorena spent eight weeks working at Asylee Women Enterprise (AWE), an agency that “supports asylum seekers, foreign-born trafficking survivors, and other forced migrants as they navigate the immigration legal process, heal from past trauma, and rebuild their lives in Maryland.” In addition to helping clients understand the processes of accessing healthcare, housing, food, and employment, AWE provides legal services and trainings to navigate the immigration system. During her Shepherd internship, Lorena supported social workers with case management and assisted the support groups and training programs. Her SHECP internship, in conjunction with her volunteer experience in Kentucky, highlighted public health issues that immigrants face, such as the lack of primary healthcare.
In her current role as Health Policy Advocate with the National Partnership for Women & Families, Lorena continues her work in the intersection of immigration rights and women’s health access. “I think seeing what I saw firsthand really propelled me to shift into a space where I am doing the research. I am doing the advocacy to address those issues.” Currently, she is part of a team championing the importance of data for telling stories and advocating for policy changes, especially concerning the future of women’s health for Black, Latina, and Native American women. The lessons Lorena learned – and the relationships she forged – as an intern continue to influence her work in data-driven advocacy for policy change.
Through her classwork, internships, and extracurricular activities, Lorena was able to identify, and then pursue, a career path that allows her to create change in spaces that feel deeply important to her. As current students consider how SHECP may play a role in their own career and personal journey, Lorena encourages them to ask questions, to keep learning new things and understanding their communities more deeply.
For more information about topics discussed in the podcast:
National Partnership for Women & Families (NPWF) “is a national nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works to make life better for women and families.”
The Reproductive Injustices Faced by Undocumented Latinas l #LatineHeritageMonth by Lorena Bonet Velazquez: Lorena’s blog post written for the NPWF about the additional health barriers undocumented Latine women face in rural Kentucky. (National Partnership for Women & Families, October 2024).
Menstrual equity: “equal and comprehensive access to menstrual hygiene products, and to education about reproductive health” (https://desj.santaclaracounty.gov/resources/menstrual-equity)
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