The Maria Paradox

Dr. Rosa Maria Gil is the founder, president, and CEO of Comunilife, Inc., a health and human services agency founded in 1989 to create a healthier tomorrow for children, adolescents, adults, seniors, and families living with mental illness, HIV, or AIDS in New York City's diverse underserved communities. Comunilife helps them achieve self-sufficiency and a better quality of life in the community through safe and affordable housing, behavioral health care, and social services. Comunilife has been recognized for developing community-defined best practices for Latinos.Dr. Gil served as health policy advisor to the mayor and health administrator of New York City and is a former chairperson of the New York City Health and Hospital Corporation. Dr. Gil is the former university dean for health sciences at the City University of New York.Dr. Gil has published numerous articles on mental health, ethnicity, child welfare, and gender issues. She is the coauthor of The Maria Paradox, the first authoritative book on self-esteem and Hispanic women.Dr. Carmen Inoa Vazquez is a noted authority on Latin American mental health and bicultural lifestyles. She is the author of three books: Parenting with Pride Latino Style, The Maria Paradox (with Dr. Rosa Maria Gil), and Grief Therapy with Latinos (with Dr. Dinelia Rosa). Vazquez has also published numerous chapters and articles in professional journals focusing on gender issues and mental health, and she lectures internationally in the areas of training, supervision, assessments, neuropsychology, health psychology, developmental psychology, and cross-cultural psychology. She has been featured in the New York Times, the Miami Herald, the Los Angeles Times, El Diario La Prensa, the New York Post, the Daily News, and other major publications throughout the United States. She has also been featured in Si, People en Español, Latina, and Moderna magazines, and has been a guest on major television and radio programs across the country. Dr. Vazquez is a clinical professor in psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine. She has a private practice in New York City. She is married and the mother of two sons, a financial analyst and a computer specialist. When she manages to take a break from her busy work schedule, she enjoys traveling, Pilates, playing tennis, gardening, swimming, and relaxing at the beach.