Maria Nieves Edmonds was Founding Member of Women on the Way

7/2/2017

In 1976, Maria began her 28-year career at what was then St. Petersburg Junior College as a psychology instructor at the Clearwater Campus.

She served the college in many leadership roles before retiring from SPC in 2004 as Associate Provost of the Tarpon Springs Campus. She was instrumental in creating the Women on the Way program in 1981 with Dr. Vilma Zalupski, Helen Gilbart, and Bobbie Hinson. To honor her legacy and life's work, SPC named its Women on the Way Center on the Tarpon Springs Campus for Maria in June 2017.

Maria’s passion for helping students continued beyond her retirement. She served as a governor-appointed member of the Juvenile Welfare Board and chair for the Hispanic Leadership Council. In addition to serving on the boards of several local agencies and non-profits, Maria worked tirelessly to establish and promote the Gabe Cazares Memorial Scholarship in 2013 to honor the former Clearwater Mayor and Pinellas County Commissioner who was her long-time friend and mentor. In 2016, she helped lead our efforts to secure support from Consulado De Mexico En Orlando to establish a scholarship benefiting students of Mexican descent.

These accomplishments only begin to tell the story of Maria’s service to this community. She passed away in January 2017 and will be deeply missed by all who had the good fortune to know and work with her and by the thousands more whose lives she helped improve.