Margarita has lived in Asheville for the last 20 years, working in community health, healthcare and childcare. She is passionate about social determinants of health, using data to make decisions and approaching communities with questions rather than answers.

Margarita holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Texas A&M University, an MPH from the University of North Carolina’s Gillings School of Global Public Health and an MPA from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

In her free time, she loves to read, cook, travel and argue about baseball with her partner, Josh. They have a heeler/hound mix named Barb and the two greatest nieces in the world.