Yajaira believes that everything in life happens for a reason. A year ago, Yajaira was not aware of the legalization and challenges of medical aid in dying in the United States. It wasn’t until Yajaira met Faith Sommerfield and saw her passion and determination for a patient’s end-of-life care that Yajaira learned the importance of medical aid in dying. Fast forward to over a year later, Yajaira is now a fierce proponent for end of life care as the Director of Operations at the Completed Life Initiative, the organization Faith Sommerfield founded.
Yajaira has over 10 years of experience in operations management. Yajaira’s focus lies in analyzing and optimizing processes and systems to enhance organizational efficiency and reduce costs. She is a strategic thinker who is adept at identifying inefficiencies and implementing process improvements that drive productivity. With just under two years at Smith Legacy Law, Yajaira developed and implemented organizational workflows that improved the firm’s overall administrative and HR procedures. Most importantly, these changes increased efficiencies in client services which subsequently increased firm profitability. Yajaira’s track record of success speaks for itself, having implemented process improvements for the YWCA Greenwich that led to an increase in services for the underserved community.
After graduating from John Jay College of Criminal Justice with a BA in International Criminal Justice and a minor in Counseling, Yajaira became the Community Educator and Bilingual Advocate for the Domestic Abuse Services at the YWCA Greenwich. In this role she focused on prevention services by working closely with local schools and community organizations to raise awareness about domestic violence. She co-developed and facilitated an educational curriculum to teach middle school and high school students how to identify and prevent teen dating violence. For three years, Yajaira co-led the Girl’s Circle Summer Camp program which educated and empowered young girls to be their authentic self. The summer camp program received ongoing interest from local service providers and newspapers for its unique approach in championing young girls. In addition to prevention services, Yajaira provided counseling services to victims of domestic violence and she served as the liaison between the Spanish-speaking community and service providers.
Yajaira brings a unique cultural perspective as a Salvadorian-American, fluent in Spanish. When Yajaira is not working, she loves to explore the great outdoors and spending quality time with her family. Yajaira is an avid hiker and environmentalist; she is a volunteer and supporter of her local environmental science group which educates the youth about the importance of protecting the Long Island sound.
