Celia “CeCe” is a proud SEIU-HCII union member who has served as a Homecare SEIU METC part-time Bilingual Facilitator for over 3 1/2 years and recently was promoted to a Homecare METC Bilingual Training & Outreach Specialist in October of 2024. She is also a member of the SEIU Homecare Division Bargaining team for Help at Home and a former SEIU Executive board member. She is still a current PA for her mother-in-law as well in the Northwestern part of Illinois for 10 years. She has worked in the healthcare field for over 18 years and in the Special Education field for over 15 years. One of CeCe’s favorite parts about working at METC is helping PA’s attain all the knowledge and education they can to help them excel in their healthcare profession as Individual Providers. Her favorite training is the DORS Mandatory IP training and Strengthen Communication Skills. She believes extremely important to know the “Do’s and Don’ts” of the job. It’s a way of protecting yourself. Strengthening communication skills is essential in our day to lives. Especially as a PA in the Home Service Program. If you do not have the appropriate skills to communicate effectively with your Consumer, how are you ever going to perform your job tasks as your employer would like? It’s essential to learn the skills to communicate verbally and with appropriate body language to get your message understood in a respectful manner.

CeCe is a strong advocate and peer supporter for the senior and disabled community. She was a former Hispanic Resource Coordinator for a Center for Independent Living and believes strongly in the “independent lifestyle and movement.” She believes that individuals with disabilities have the same rights and choices as people without disabilities. And it all started 32 years ago when her first child was diagnosed with Autism. Later, in CeCe’s journey her two (2) other children were also diagnosed with autism as she was as well in 2021. CeCe formerly served as ESL Paraprofessional at her local high school in the “Life Skills Program”. Educating high schoolers with special needs other than academics but also life skills such as: money management, grocery shopping on a fixed budget, meal prep, housekeeping, laundry and social skills. One her favorite quotes is from Judy Heumann- “Independent Living is not doing things by yourself. It is being in control of how things are done.”

CeCe was raised on the North side of Chicago and when she got married in the 90’s she and her husband moved to a small farming community within the Sauk Valley area in the Northwestern part of Illinois over 26 years ago.  She loves spending time with her family and enjoys volunteering at her local church as an interpreter as much as she can.