Immigrant rights advocate Maria Juega of Princeton was among those honored May 4 by the New Jersey Hispanic Research and Information Center at the Newark Public Library. She and others will receive the María DeCastro Blake Community Service Award.
Ms. Juega is a native of Bilbao, Spain, and the daughter of a former Spanish diplomat.
As a vice president of a major financial corporation, Ms. Juega volunteered in various business and community organizations, finding her passion in championing immigrant rights.
She is a co-founder and served as the first chairman of the Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund, advocating a more rational and humane immigration system at the federal level and more pro-immigrant initiatives on the state and local levels.
She has served as a past president of the Princeton Business & Professional Women chapter and is currently serving as a member of the board of delegates and the Immigration Committee of the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey. She also serves on the Princeton Regional Schools Minority Education Committee.
