About
Desiree Vargas
Our ancestors were extraordinary weavers, healers, artists, navigators of the water, and cultivators of the land. We, too, can carry on their legacy as we weave our way into history and plant seeds of healing and resilience for the next generations.
Desiree (Anakoniwa) Vargas (she/her) has been called to weave together collective healing, earth tending, education, and organized movement to create change. She is a mother, herbalist, gardener/farmer, community organizer, healing retreat facilitator, harm reductionist, business owner, nonprofit director, and racial justice advocate.
She plants seeds of change as a State of Maine certified DEIA Racial Justice Trainer, educator and consultant at Equity Consulting & Education Firm LLP, faculty member at the University of Maine School of Social Work and Professional Development Center, Co-founder of Generations Retreat and Grow Farm Nonprofit, and Matunhero (advisor) for the Higuayagua Taíno People of the Caribbean. She is also launching a woman-owned business, Healing Roots Adahi Kena Akuaiyaba Nakan (Medicine and Culture Center), offering trauma-informed massage therapy, polarity therapy, yoga therapy, meditation, land-based healing retreats, and herbal remedies.
Desiree’s work is rooted in her identity as a Cape Verdean, Boricua-Taíno Indigenous, and Portuguese woman of color, coupled with her anthropological education, racial justice expertise, and trauma-informed holistic health background. She creates unique and holistic educational curricula, strategic plans, healing modalities, community programs, intersectional social critiques, and solution-based action plans to uproot injustice and inequity.
She has supported school districts, municipalities, nonprofits, businesses, higher education institutions, BIPOC students and families, and youth-led organizations through keynote speaking, policy development, DEIA committee formation, curriculum review, strategic planning, data collection, culturally responsive programming, and sensitive community engagement.
Her consulting and facilitation offerings help partners reimagine their values and approaches to make programs more impactful, intentional, inventive, collaborative, and community-centered.
Growing up in Wabanaki Territory (Maine), Desiree learned to navigate and survive homogeneous, complex, and often violent environments with empathy and responsiveness. As a survivor of racial and gender-based violence, her life’s work is to help others transform wounds, imbalance, and injustice into truth, wholeness, balance, and strength. She is committed to ensuring her community has access to what she calls our divine birthright: healing, freedom, sovereignty, cultural continuation, earth stewardship, and wellness.
Education
Spa Tech Institute
Massage & Polarity Therapy Certified, 2016
University of Maine
Anthropology B.A. with a Minor in Native Studies
State CEU Certified Comprehensive racial equity and diversity trained
Affiliations
Higuayagua: Taíno of the Caribbean
Co Director of Generations Retreat & Grow Org. (previously known as -Racial Equity & Justice)
Healing Roots Adahi Kena Akuaiyaba Nakan (Medicine and Culture Center)
David Patrick
David Patrick (he/him/his) is the Cofounder of Equity Consulting & Education Services. David holds a B.S. from The Maine Business School in both International Business & Marketing with an advanced Master of Social Work (MSW) degree through The Graduate School of Social Work at The University of Maine. David currently works as a clinical social worker and educator in a variety of practice settings with experience in Care Coordination through The State of Maine Office of Aging & Disability Services (OADS) and clinical counseling in his current professional role. David specializes in advocacy for underrepresented communities and outpatient therapy services with a focus on diverse client populations and patients. These practice settings include providing services and clinical support for New Mainers, underrepresented community members, and those most impacted by DEIA policies. David is a state certified continuing education (CEU) educator and training facilitator.
As an alumni of the University of Maine David has been featured as a subject matter expert in several publications. Most notably “Social Work Today” where his contributions to the field have been featured on a national peer reviewed platform. David prides himself on the time he spent at the University of Maine. David is currently partnering with the University of Maine and local healthcare facilities to teach students and preceptors the importance of DEIA through strategies designed to increase more equitable outcomes in practice settings. This partnership through the State of Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) was established to enhance cultural awareness for social workers in healthcare settings. David continues to maintain key partnerships with the University as a guest lecturer for the School of Social Work, The Maine Business School (MBS), and as a training facilitator through the Office of Professional Development at the Hutchinson Center located on the University of Maine’s Belfast campus. David has successfully partnered with numerous organizations to uplift and strengthen DEIA practices and workplace culture both as an advocate and organizational consultant. David has worked with many public schools and municipalities. This includes drafting school policies to better address instances of bias and improve curriculum as well as co-authoring the City of Bangor’s landmark ordinance that helped lead to the formation of Bangor‘s first Advisory Committee on Racial Equity, Inclusion and Human Rights. As chairperson of this city committee, David partnered with community leaders, elected officials, and stakeholders to evaluate policies, identify funding & training priorities, and assess city projects to ensure diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility were centric to these initiatives. In his free time, David volunteers with organizations focused on civil liberties and advocacy . David is the Vice President of The Greater Bangor Area NAACP and serves on several other boards and committees throughout the state of Maine. David is a proud father who enjoys fishing,gardening, and adventures with his two young children and wife.
Education
University of Maine
Bachelors of Science
Marketing & International Business and a Masters Degree
MSW School of Social Work
CEU Certified
State CEU Certified Comprehensive racial equity and diversity trained
Affiliations
NAACP
Co Director of Generations Retreat & Grow Org. (previously known as -Racial Equity & Justice)
National Association of Black Social Workers (NABSW)
