Lina Román: A Whole Life Dedicated to Serving the Community
Por: Jhon Cardona
Román’s story is an example of perseverance, vocation and commitment to the community.
For nearly three decades, Lina Román has been a leading advocate for Rhode Island’s community health workers. Despite a career filled with certifications, awards and leadership roles, she is still pursuing the dream that first brought her to Rhode Island College more than 30 years ago: becoming a social worker.
In 1995, Román enrolled in the School of Social Work at Rhode Island College, eager to follow her dream. However, just two weeks into her classes, her history professor noticed difficulties with her English proficiency and recommended that she temporarily drop the course.
“I didn’t know much English. The professor noticed this and told me, ‘Lina, I’m sorry, but this class isn’t for you. I don’t want to hold you back. It would be better to drop the class now and improve your English before coming back,’” says Román.
She viewed the experience as motivation to continue working towards her goal. She decided to strengthen her language skills and continue her studies. In 1997, Román earned an associate degree from New England Tech.
Determined to keep moving forward, Román continued taking courses, volunteering and gaining hands-on experience serving her community. While building a career serving underserved communities, she was also earning certifications in human services, behavioral health case management, and community health work.
“In 2019, I completed the community health worker training program at Rhode Island College,” she says. “I loved the program because it combined elements of social work with healthcare.”
Her enthusiasm and dedication soon caught the attention of the program’s leaders. The then-coordinator, Sarah Laurens, offered her a position as a bilingual coordinator for the Community Health Worker Association of Rhode Island (CHWARI). Román remained in the position for three years, teaching courses for community health workers focused on elder care and training certified nursing assistants in collaboration with the Institute for Education in Healthcare of Rhode Island College.
During her time there, Román became a strong advocate for offering training in Spanish, believing language should not be a barrier to professional development.
“I happily accepted,” she says. “I was able to convince the leaders that learning in our own language was valuable, since many Spanish speakers arrived with a wealth of knowledge and cultural richness. I soon began teaching classes in Spanish – without, of course, neglecting English.”
Román’s passion for education continued long after her time with the CHW program at Rhode Island College. Since 2023, she has conducted workshops on dementia and Alzheimer’s disease and served as a co-facilitator for trainings on cardiovascular disease, diabetes management and behavioral health for certified nursing assistants.
“I’ve realized that I enjoy caring for older adults. I feel they are a very vulnerable population with significant needs,” she says.
Román has also provided training for community health workers, the Personal Choice Program and the Prison Education Program – collaborating on reentry and probation educational campaigns – at Roger Williams University.
Her contributions have continued to gain recognition: for two consecutive terms, Román has been named an Ambassador of the National Association of Community Health Workers (NACHW), a recognition she considers one of the greatest distinctions of her career.
“I am very honored to have been chosen as a NACHW ambassador, representing the incredible community health workers of Rhode Island,” she says.
Her commitment to community health extends beyond the classroom. Román founded the Latinx Support Group, an organization that provides support and collaborative spaces for Spanish-speaking community health workers.
“We are between 40 and 50 participants here in Rhode Island,” says Román. “Besides networking, we look for ways to support one another and organize collaborative events to help low-income families and the homeless in the community.”
At the same time, Román has fostered partnerships with local and national organizations to expand educational opportunities and resources available to the Hispanic community. These include Mujeres Positivas, based in Central Falls, and Visión y Compromiso, a California-based organization that recently established the Visión y Compromiso Rhode Island Committee, its first pilot program outside its home state.
“They saw the work we are doing here and wanted to help,” says Román. “Thanks to these collaborations, we have held free training sessions, health fairs and Spanish-language courses on topics such as cancer and diabetes, making health information more accessible to Hispanic communities.”
Along the way, Román trained generations of community health workers, expanded access to Spanish-language health education and became a respected leader in Rhode Island’s public health community.
Today, more than 30 years after she first walked into a social work classroom, Román is still working toward the degree she once thought might be out of reach. She recently graduated from the SWRK 200: Introducing Social Work and Social Justice program through the RIC Workforce Hub in Central Falls and plans to continue toward a bachelor’s degree in social work at Rhode Island College.
“Thanks to my years of professional and academic experience, I will be able to transfer several credits to the School of Social Work. I only have to take ten classes to become a social worker,” she says. “It’s never too late.”
