Mrs. Ana Javier arrived in the United States at the age of nine from her native country, the Dominican
Republic, and settled in Lawrence, MA, where she has been a resident ever since. Ana is passionate
about the city of Lawrence and its people. She has dedicated her career to helping others in her
community.
After completing her education at Greater Lawrence Technical School, Ana attended the Burdett School
in Boston, earning an education in Retail Management. It soon became clear that Ana’s gift was in
serving others in a more meaningful and comprehensive way. Ana shifted her career to be more aligned
with her personal goals of helping those in need.
Ana has attended countless trainings, seminars, and workshops in the areas of helping families in the
community, victims of domestic violence, those struggling with addiction, undocumented immigrants,
and many more social issues. Most recently, Ana completed training to become certified as an Addiction
and Drug Abuse Counselor.
Ana’s career shift to social services began in 2012 when she worked as a Faith-Based Liaison for the Safe
and Successful Youth Initiative Team in Lawrence. In that role, Ana worked with proven at risk youth to
help them seek alternatives to violence.
Ana then transitioned to her role as a Family Advocate with The Lawrence Methuen Community
Coalition (LMCC). In this role, Ana has worked with families across the Greater Lawrence area who were
experiencing struggles in their day-to-day function. Ana filled the role of advocate, referral source,
support system, and most importantly, the individual who gave all that came her way hope.
Ana’s current position is also with LMCC. However, Ana is now the Substance Abuse Prevention
Coalition Coordinator. Ana manages a Massachusetts Department of Public Health funded program
aimed at preventing substance use in the community.
In addition to her professional positions, Ana has a rich history of volunteerism in her community with
the causes that she is passionate about. Since 2009 Ana has been involved with several addictions
treatment organizations; New Challenge in Lawrence and Lowell, as well as Christ Liberating Men of
Worcester, MA, where she served on the Board of Directors.
Over the years, Ana has provided many needed services and filled many roles in these organizations. She
has provided the Word of God through sharing scripture, she has organized and participated in a weekly
distribution of hot, homemade meals to homeless individuals. She has also established similar food
distribution initiatives in churches and other sites throughout her city.

For almost twenty years, Ana has been an active participant and has been actively involved in the
Lawrence Public School system. Ana has volunteered on many committees, including the Parent teacher
Organization, School Improvement Plan committees, Uniform Committee, and in 2012 served on the
Lawrence School District’s Stakeholders Committee for schools categorized as level 5. Ana has also
supported the school system and parents in many informal ways through the years, as education and
access to education is one of her passions. Ana believes that parental involvement in the community is
an essential and integral part of a child’s academic success.
Since 2005 Ana has been an active member of the Merrimack Valley Project, an organization that
focuses on uniting religious, labor and community organizations to promote social justice. In addition to
her ongoing active volunteerism and leadership in the organization, Ana also served several terms as the
President of the organization.
In 2013 Ana co-founded Time for Change and has regularly facilitated support group meetings since the
inception of the organization. Ana has recruited and trained volunteers, sought funding, conducting
outreach and marketing. Ana has developed and maintained a faith-based support group that has had
high retention rates in its membership, a testament to the success of the model.
In 2019 Ana was recognized by The Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women as a 2019
Unsung Heroines of Massachusetts. This honor is given to women who are positive change makers and
are doing positive things for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Ana currently serves as a member of the Governor’s Task Force on Hate Crimes. She has been on this
committee since it was reinstituted in 2017 and has served on the education and law enforcement
subcommittees.