Calendar of Events

Presented by Maria Reyes and Chris Bell

YWCA Tulsa

Join us in June as Maria Reyes and Chris Bell from the YWCA Tulsa share information about immigration and immigration services in Tulsa.   Participants will learn about Tulsa's diverse immigrant and refugee populations and learn about resources for Immigrant/Refugee services.  They will also discuss basic immigration keys that will help attendees better understand how immigrants come to the U.S. and the challenges of navigating the complex US immigration system.  They will also present on implementing successful work place strategies that can help overcome language and cultural barriers in the work environment.

Maria Reyes is the director of the YWCA Tulsa Immigrant and Refugee Program and oversees services that assist Tulsa and Northeast Oklahoma's immigrant and refugee populations. Maria is a certified Oklahoma Alcohol and Drug Counselor. She worked in the mental health field and she initiated the first bilingual Spanish language case management and counseling services. Maria is dedicated to educating the Latino community about mental health and addiction issues.

She has served on the Coalition of Hispanic Organizations as vice president, the Mayor's Commission on the Status of Women, Co-Chair of the Tulsa Language Cultural Bank among others.  Maria has a Bachelor's degree in Spanish and Latin American studies from Plymouth State University, Plymouth New Hampshire. She did part of her language/cultural studies at the University of Valencia in Valencia Spain and Dartmouth College N.H. Her parents are from Havana Cuba and she was raised as a "Cuban Yankee" in Portsmouth New Hampshire.

Chris Bell is an attorney and has been the Immigration Program Manager for the YWCA Multicultural Center.  She has served as an advocate for the immigrant community for more than 25 years.  Chris has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Utah.  She worked as a registered nurse for Salt Lake County Aging Services prior to attending TU law school.

Chris has served on several boards including the University of Oklahoma Institutional Review Board, American Lung Association, the Coalition of Hispanic Organizations and the institutional review board for Cancer Treatment Centers of America.   She currently serves on the Tulsa City County Health Department board and the Coalition for the American Dream, a non-profit organization who advocates for the rights of disenfranchised immigrants and new Americans from all nations.