Mrs. Curiel is a parent at South Central Los Angeles Regional Center. Her daughter, Olvia Curiel has been part of the Regional for 37 years.
During Olvia’s school-age year, she worked in sales to accommodate her schedule and be available to support her. With the support of her husband and daughter (Olvia’s only sister) Mrs. Curiel was able to build a successful business. In 2006, after losing her oldest brother to cancer Mrs. Curiel decided to leave the sales industry and focus on her family.
In 2007, Mrs. Curiel was presented with the opportunity to work as an Independent Living Skills Instructor. Mrs. Curiel felt that the experiences she had in navigating the system for support and generic resources would be of benefit to the field along with her personal experiences. She contemplated this position as she knew the importance of this job. Shortly after she started this position, she began to build relationships with the individuals she worked with and their families. Mrs. Curiel learned more from them than they did from her.