Meet Melisa! She’s been with The Max Foundation since 2015, working as a Program Officer in our Latin America region. Learn more about why she started with the organization, what her work week looks like, and a special memory she had with a patient.
What drew you to join The Max Foundation, and why does our mission resonate with you?
I was drawn to The Max Foundation because of its strong commitment to supporting patients and ensuring access to treatment. The mission deeply resonates with me, as it combines compassion, teamwork, and a real impact on people’s lives.
What is a special memory you have with patients?
One of my most meaningful memories is seeing the relief and gratitude of patients when they receive confirmation that they are approved in the program. Also being part of their process, getting to know their stories and accompanying them along the way.
Describe a typical work week.
My typical work week includes following up on import processes, reviewing patient cases, coordinating documentation, and handling tasks related to other programs. I also maintain ongoing communication with different stakeholders to ensure timely delivery of medications.
If you could describe The Max Foundation in three words, what would they be?
Support – Unity – Collaboration
If you could instantly master any skill, what would it be?
I would love to instantly master project management skills to better organize processes and timelines.
What languages do you speak?
Spanish and English
What do you love most about where you live?
The warmth of the people and the sense of tranquility.
When you’re not working, what do you like to do for fun?
I love spending time with my family and enjoying outdoor activities.
What’s your favorite food?
Milanesas (breaded meat cutlet) and pasta.
What is your favorite holiday and how do you celebrate it?
Definitely my kids’ birthdays. I love preparing the food, the decorations, and the presents, and surprising them when they wake up.
The Max Foundation is a leading global health nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating health equity. For 28 years, Max has pioneered practical, scalable, high-quality solutions to bring life-extending treatments and patient-centered health care to more than 100,000 people living with cancer and critical illness in low- and middle-income countries. Max believes in a world where all people can access high-impact medicines, where geography is not destiny, and where everyone can strive for health with dignity and with hope.
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In Latin America, the Maximize Life Campaign has become something like a tradition – a time when each patient organization creates an event or activity of their choice and powers it up for a campaign that takes on a life of its own!
13 patient groups from 11 Latin American countries joined this year’s movement, bringing together patients and caregivers with the purpose of telling the community that cancer is an issue, that ignoring it is not going to make it go away, and that the best approach is to learn about it in order to know what to do about it. From governments to the general public, everybody can get involved in figuring out how to treat cancer patients as members of society and not as a burden.
This year, like past years, 16 patient support groups in Africa and Middle East have joined the Maximize Life Campaign with enthusiasm and excitement. All the groups in Africa welcome back our friends from Sierra Leone who inspired us all with their resilience in the face of the Ebola epidemic that touched their country.
