In 2003-04 she taught English in a kindergarten, after-school program, and adult high-school equivalency program in an impoverished neighborhood outside Buenos Aires, Argentina. The agency she worked for placed an emphasis on serving the entire community, and in many families Margaret taught both parent and child. She learned a great deal about the many ways to foster a sense of solidarity from her host family, supervisor, students, neighbors, friends, and fellow volunteers.
 
After returning to the United States, Margaret began working at Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago in the North Lawndale neighborhood. Her main duties were communicating with underprivileged clients and responding to their needs by providing them with legal advice and connecting them with resources in their community. She was regularly called upon to relate with empathy and clarity, while tailoring her message to an individual client's situation and sensibilities. For Margaret, assisting people in some of their most challenging life experiences was both trying and incredibly fulfilling.
 
After over two years at Legal Assistance Foundation, Margaret joined the Memory Bridge team in January 2008. She was particularly interested in returning to the field of education and introducing positive communication skills to children and adolescents. Part of Margaret's passion for the Memory Bridge program lies in its commitment to diversity and dignity. She is inspired by the students and residents with dementia who form meaningful connections with each other, oftentimes having little in common other than the human spirit.
 
Margaret's duties at the Chicago Memory Bridge Initiative encompass both class coordination and administrative duties. She has translated much of our correspondence into Spanish, as a large percentage of Memory Bridge students come from Spanish-speaking homes. She regularly updates the website, www.memorybridge.org, and responds to program inquiries from all over the world. In addition, she is coordinating the publication of an anthology of short stories dealing with Alzheimer's disease and adolescence. Margaret also recently took on the operational duties of the Memory Bridge program and did not realize until she was in charge of them just how much she loves details. Outside of work, her interests include reading, traveling, and sharing meals with friends.