Maria Trusa Honored with a Latin Business Spirit Award
Maria Trusa is a force of nature. A petite woman with a big, engaging smile, she has a will of iron when it comes to empowering other women and serving the needs of a disenfranchised Latino community.
Trusa came to the U.S. at 15 from the Dominican Republic. She did not speak a word of English and carried the scars of horrific sexual abuse when she was a child. After years of self-destructive relationships with men and herself, Trusa realized that she did not want to model weakness for her children nor perpetuate the toxic patterns of her family and her culture. She had had enough.
What followed was a journey of empowerment. Trusa became a successful businesswoman and a practitioner of “radical honesty.” She is a partner and CEO of Formé Medical Center and Urgent Care in White Plains, which provides medical services to an underserved community of poor, often undocumented Latinos in the Westchester County, NY, area. During the coronavirus pandemic, the center closed for a short time, then, once reopened, provided COVID-19 screening, as well as primary and urgent care services. Trusa secured PPE to ensure a safe environment for both her staff and patients.
Trusa is passionate about the work she does at Formé, but she is even more committed to eradicating the rape culture that is a silent pandemic in the Latino culture. She has launched the “Yo Digo No Mas!” (“I Say No More!”) movement that supports women and exhorts them to stand up against systemic abuse and embrace their own potential. As Trusa says, “You have to destroy the possible to create the impossible!”
This indefatigable entrepreneur, book author (I Say No More!), mother, wife, and fitness buff somehow finds time for mentoring young women, inviting groups to her home in Vermont to share their experiences and commit to their own empowerment. When asked how she does it all, Trusa smiles widely and says, “I don’t need much sleep!”
Latin Biz Today is honoring Maria Trusa with a Latin Business Spirit Award because she is a force of nature and a force for good. The Latin Business Spirit Awards are given in recognition of outstanding individuals. We look forward to watching Maria Truso continue to change the world with her intelligence, empathy, and unstoppable drive.
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