Marleine Bastien: Brings 40 years of non-profit work to county commission
Marleine Bastien has worked for over 40 years to help refugees and others in the Miami-Dade County community stand on their feet by being part of numerous non-profits and service centers and founding the Haitian Women of Miami in Little Haiti in 1991, which later was renamed to Family Action Network Movement. Her mission has been to provide all-encompassing services to immigrants and residents in need.
Thirty years later, her foundation has been recognized with awards for its efforts to tackle healthcare disparities for low-income residents, lack of affordable housing, job creation and career development, and immigration reform advocacy.
In 2005, Ms. Bastien was named “One of the 35 Most Remarkable Women in the World” by Essence Magazine, and in the 2022 local elections, she overwhelmingly won the commission seat representing District 2 in the county, which covers Biscayne Gardens, Liberty City, North Central Dade, and portions of North Miami and Opa-locka.
A champion of many causes and campaigns, including the Haitian Immigration Refugee Fairness Act of 1998, Temporary Protected Status protections, the Dream Act, the Living Wage and Human Rights Ordinance and the Children’s Trust campaign with Congresswoman Carrie Meek, Ms. Bastien said, “our diversity is our strength, and that’s the lure of Miami.”
Ms. Bastien spoke with Miami Today reporter Monica Correa.
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Represent Everyone
December 19, 2022 at 5:07 pm
Ms Bastien has a long history of helping Haitians, many of whom are in the United States illegally. Now that she won an election we hope she represents African-Americans, Latinos and whites, as required by her position. We look forward to see who she hires for her staff.