Our September Volunteer of the Month is Watsonville resident Mary Esther Rodriguez-Najera. Esther joined our team in June and has already given more than 450 hours of service. She is a participant in the Center for Employment Training's work experience program.

Esther came to us with excellent customer service skills from her past work experience with the Pajaro Valley Unified School District and Mi Pueblo Market. A long-time, bilingual local resident, Esther puts her great people skills to use daily at PVLF, interacting with our diverse community of program participants and volunteers with kindness and grace. A self-described "comedian," Esther is also skilled at making people laugh, helping the work day to go by quickly and keeping the mood light.

In addition to her fun personality, we really appreciate Esther's good attitude and hard work. She is a true team player and a joy to work with. As Operations Manager Cecilia Cervantes observes, "Esther is willing to help with anything. And her twinkly eyes make us smile!"

Thank you, Esther, for being a part of our PVLF team! We appreciate you.