Maria Lemus is the founding Executive Director of Visión y Compromiso and the Network of Promotoras and Community Health Workers (Network). Under her guidance, Visión y Compromiso has become the lead organization in California providing support, capacity building and leadership development for promotores, community health workers and other community leaders. Since 2000, Ms. Lemus has provided the direction to grow this statewide organization into one that now represents over 4,000 community workers engaged in a diversity of community health programs in clinics, hospitals, public health and mental health departments, schools, faith-based and community-based organizations in 15 rural and urban regions of California and a growing number of states. Ms. Lemus represents the voice of promotores and community leaders/health workers on numerous state and national steering committees and coalitions. Ms. Lemus is a native Californian who makes her home in the San Francisco Bay Area.