JUAN JOSÉ BERNABE PERÉZ
Community Activist
Age: 23
Heritage: Dominican
Juan Jose Bernabe Perez currently works for Tufts Health Plan as a Utilization Management Coordinator. A proud resident of the city of Lawrence, Juan was born on the beautiful island of the Dominican Republic where he was raised until the age of eleven. At eleven years of age, his mother and him emigrated to the United States. He believes his overall education, both the one provided at home by his mother and the one he acquired throughout his years of education, are the reason for his success.
Juan is a very focused individual, who visualizes nothing but greatness and believes his attitude towards life and his determinization are the tools that have brought him this far in life. The most influential person in Juan’s life, besides his mother, is Dosinda Alvite. Dosinda has been his professor and mentor since college, helping him and providing him with valuable moral and professional advice.
Juan’s experience in the healthcare and medical field is very extensive, working as a researcher through many internships, such as the The Atlantic Project. At this time, Juan was honored to be the first Latino from Lawrence, MA, and the first student from Denison University to be given the opportunity to perform cancer researcher and implement an HIV awareness program overseas in Galicia, Spain. This and many other opportunities prepared him for his current role at Tufts Health Plan and in the Healthcare sector.
Being a proud Gay, Black, Latino Man has played a significant role in Juan’s life, defining his career, passion and his philanthropical work. Juan was given the unique privilege to serve as a role model for the Latino immigrant community and the LGBTIA+ community back in 2013 through sharing his story in a national documentary from Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) called The Graduate, Los Graduados. This Documentary provided a platform for him to share his story and help both the LGBTQIA+ and Latino Immigrant community understand the value of knowledge and education, as well as the power of the mind and how to turn adversity into the fuel you need to push yourself and achieve ultimate success in all aspects of one’s life.
Juan’s future goals are many. He believes there is still so much to do, though he has accomplished a lot at age 23. Fo Juan, there is a lot more left to accomplish. He wishes to complete his master’s degree within the next year and become a hopeful PhD candidate at the Harvard School of Public Health. His long-term goal is that of becoming a medical physician. Nonetheless, Juan also wants to keep on working closely with his Latino and LBGTQIA+ community to empower them and continue to uplift their values and potential.
