This year's recipient of the J. Frederick Miller Award for Distinguished Service by a UI Faculty/Staff is Dr. Korinta Maldonado Goti. 

Dr. Kora Maldonado's work on indigenous movements, human rights, and racial formations in Latin America are not only the center of her research, but of her public service to the Champaign-Urbana community. Her work is building bridges and promoting respect & understanding between Maya communities, school district staff, local service providers, and non-Indigenous community members. Her efforts to further accompaniment for and with Maya immigrants led to the formation of the Maya Interpreters Collective in February 2019, a group of seven local Maya men and women who have received a 40-hour interpretation training workshop and are being equipped to enact language justice throughout the community who can intervene in legal proceedings, in hospitals, and more. Dr. Maldonado's quiet, unshowy, and steadfast organizing efforts are anchored in a resolve to increase the possibility of self-determination and agency for Maya immigrants.

The J. Frederick Miller Award is given for distinguished volunteer service by a staff or faculty member of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign or a member of the Religious Workers Association of Urbana-Champaign who has made significant contributions as a volunteer during his or her life in the local community.

Read Dr. Maldonado's full bio and learn more about all of the 2020 award winners at: universityymca.org/awards