Miriam G Espaillat MSW, LCSW

I was born in Santa Ana, El Salvador during a time my country was experiencing a civil war.  I am the youngest of four siblings.  My parents both lacked access to education and worked in coffee fields to financially support the family.  When I was a few months old, my parents had an opportunity to immigrate to the USA as their ticket out of poverty.  My father immigrated when I was eight months old and my mother shortly before I turned 2.  It was not until I was 7 that I was reunited with my parents and immigrated to Queens, NY.

In NYC I was exposed to diverse cultures, foods, religious beliefs, and socioeconomic statuses.  Growing up I felt a sense of belonging, and felt I had similar opportunities to my peers.  I pursued undergraduate studies in Psychology and Youth Pastoral ministries as I always had a passion for the youth. I had many of my own struggles as a youth navigating two worlds- the world of a teen immersed in the NYC culture and the world of navigating a Christian-Salvadorian home. Those worlds seemed to be in constant conflict.

After graduating from Nyack College in New York, I was seeking direction on what my next life step would be and chose to follow my older siblings who had moved to Charlotte, NC.  Moving to Charlotte was pivotal, as it is where I met my husband and where I first identified as a Latina-immigrant-woman of color.  When I moved, I identified as a New Yorker; however, both non-Latinos and Latinos were confused.  For non-Latinos they were intrigued by what country I was really from and for Latinos, they interpreted my identification as a denial of my ethnicity.  These experiences led to a curiosity into exploring what immigrant experiences are like in my new city, and the best path I identified to explore this curiosity was by enrolling in UNC Charlotte Master's in Social Work program.  In my studies I focused on immigration policies, immigrant identity building, family separation related to immigration, and advocacy.

Post graduate school- I worked in clinical settings with Spanish speaking immigrant families facing anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, and adjustment disorders.  In addition to clinical work, I have an interest in understanding macro systems such as the impact of research, policies, and advocacy.

In 2017, when we faced the family separation crisis at the Mexico-US border, I experienced what some refer to as “my calling”.  The families experiencing this crisis were families from my country, and it was then that I decided there was more I could do.  I attended local community meetings to learn about local and national issues. It was then that I learned about Charlotte being 50 out of 50 for upward economic mobility.  I realized that as an employer, I could impact my employees by connecting them to services that at times had become barriers to sustain employment and reduce barriers to employment by partnering with second chance agencies.   

As my career has evolved, I have learned there is great power in partnerships and collaborations.  We all have our own power in different spaces and have greater impact working together.  I currently serve as co-chair of the Leading On Opportunity Council Board, Vice President for Charlotte Bilingual Preschool Board of Directors, and as a board member of both the Housing Collaborative and Charlotte Mecklenburg Community Foundation of the Foundation for the Carolinas. 

My journey as a mother-wife-professional-woman has had and continues to have many layers.  As my children are now entering adolescence, I can reflect on how my choices have impacted them and my career.  Being in a place now that I can pursue my career passions, I am excited to expand on my professional goals.  As a person who experienced the challenges of separation from parents, lived through a time of war, and immigration, I’ve had to overcome adversity to become a business owner and family woman. Consequently, I believe in transformation and am passionate about using my clinical skills to aid you in starting or continuing your healing journey.

Target Areas:

• Individual – adolescents and adults

• Couples

• Family

• Immigrant Trauma - marginalize, discrimination, language barrier, loss of community, traumatic immigration experiences

• Spanish speaking

• Trauma

• Anxiety

• Post Traumatic Stress

• Personal/Work Balance

• Faith base: Christian