The Berks County area covers roughly 864 square miles with an approximate population of 422,434. Yet, this rather large region still manages to provide that small-town feeling which makes Berks special. There are several folks responsible for that, namely Dayana Blandon, Mary Kargbo and Yamil Sanchez Rivera, and Berks County would suffer without them. We recognize these pillars of our community below.
Dayana Blandon
Dayana Blandon is the Human Resources Manager for DAK Americas LLC, an Alpek Polyester Business located in Reading. DAK Americas recently acquired CarbonLite. Alpek Polyester recycles more than 12 billion bottles per year and is the largest PET bottle recycler in the Americas. As HR Manager, Blandon is busy hiring for all different positions: finance professionals, engineers, supervisors, managers, machine operators, material handlers and entry-level roles. She says, “The diverse skill sets needed allows someone coming in to an entry-level position the ability to grow within the company to a leadership role. That is my favorite part of working in manufacturing: watching employees grow into positions they never thought possible. Helping others reach their potential is extremely rewarding and why I love my job as an HR Manager.”
Blandon has a bachelor’s degree in Cultural Anthropology from CUNY, and moved her work to the Berks area two years ago, although she has been a PA resident for 11 years. She says, “When I moved to PA from NY, I was exposed to the manufacturing world, and I absolutely loved it. Seeing all the cultural backgrounds in one world, I knew I had found my home.”
Blandon is also a big fan of community outreach. She explains, “The importance of volunteering has been a significant aspect of my professional growth. It is the part of my life that grounds me and reminds me that I once had others who have helped shape my career and life. I truly believe that we all have a purpose in this life and showing others anything is possible is part of my purpose.”
Blandon is an active participant in any organization she belongs to. It isn’t about fluffing up a resume for her; Blandon sincerely enjoys helping her community through Women2Women, serving as a board member for Berks Latino Workforce Development Corporation, volunteering with soup kitchens in PA and NY as well as a mentor for high school students, and acting as a Next Steps volunteer at LCBC church for the past five years, which allows her to welcome new church members and their families. As part of Women2Women she also once gave a presentation on “Finding Your Voice & Navigating the Workplace.”
In her spare time, the mother of three enjoys traveling, photography and learning about other cultures for her own interests and professional purposes.
Mary Kargbo
Mary Kargbo is the CEO of Berks County Health Center (BCHC). She is also the elected Board Chairperson of the Health Federation of Philadelphia. A trained midwife and nurse, she holds a BS in Nursing and Masters in Maternal Care and Administration from Syracuse University, where she met her husband, Sam, who was studying for his PhD in Education. Kargbo has dedicated her extensive career to caring for the underserved for the last 35 years because as she explains, “they are the forgotten people.”
BCHC has seen tremendous growth with 14,000+ cases annually thanks to her direction. Kargbo is quite modest about her own success and reflects on the service and benefits it provides patients saying, “When I moved into administration, I missed patient care; however, I quickly realized that I am delivering the care to patients through others’ hands. I do this by equipping the staff with what they need and assure that the policies are evidence-based and that the staff stay current.”
In 2017, Kargbo was the first recipient to receive the Wilford Payne Health Center Mentor Award. Given in memory of Wilford Payne, the former CEO of a Pittsburgh CHC, the award is presented to an individual who exemplifies leadership and mentoring future community health center leaders. Kargbo was the clear choice. According to Kargbo, “This was truly a huge honor. One of the things I enjoy seeing is my staff excelling in their work and future career goals. So, I enjoy their internal promotions as well as people moving on to higher positions externally. This award was given to me by Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers (PACHC) and I was nominated by my staff, which made it very special.” She also received the prestigious APEX award.
Kargbo is the epitome of a leader. Rather than boast about receiving these well-deserved awards, she chose to thank her staff.
When asked if she could describe what it is about Berks County that makes it home for her, Kargbo said, “Though it is geographically large, the feeling is that of a small place with people that are well connected. Most of the people know each other and work very well together. This makes collaborations for the good of the population easy to put together.”
In addition to her very robust professional and personal schedule, the mother of four always finds time to serve her community further through various boards and organizations such as the Reading Area Community College Board of Directors, Opportunity House Board of Directors, the Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers (PACHC) Board of Directors and Women2Women. Kargbo also gives back globally through organizations like Food for the Poor, Feeding America, paying school fees for kids in Africa and Smile Train.
Yamil Sanchez
Yamil Sanchez Rivera is the Chief Administrative Officer for the Reading School District. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Villanova University, a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Kutztown University, and earned his Doctorate in Education from Lehigh University in Curriculum and Instruction. He is a life-long learner with more than 25 years’ experience working with schools and nonprofits and is currently back at Lehigh University pursuing an MBA.
His position at Reading School District is stacked with overseeing Equity and Diversity, Communications, Food Services, Athletics, Safe Schools, Technology, IT, Translation and Interpretation and Facilities. It’s a big job, but he’s no stranger to these types of demanding roles. In fact, his work at the United Way of Berks County was basically the training ground for the juggling of duties that he tackles now. Although Dr. Sanchez started his career as a Chemistry teacher, he was quickly drawn into the nonprofit world.
While in nonprofits, he enjoyed his community impact responsibilities of overseeing nearly $6 million in investments along with Masters and PhD studies. He knew since he was five years old that he wanted to be a doctor, but along the way he chose education as a specialty rather than medicine to inspire people. During his time at the United Way, he would frequently take his work to the streets as projects would be coming together. Dr. Sanchez says, “I was raised in this community, so I really try to be a servant leader and help by going into the field and assisting.”
So, how did he get from nonprofit back to education? Dr. Sanchez explains, “I loved working at the United Way, and I loved the people I worked with, too. When Dr. Khalid N. Mumin mentioned my current position, it was the dream job for me. I was able to be back in education, back at the school I went to, still help the community, and I’m supporting an entire school district of students.
I knew it was time to make the change, and here I am.”
Dr. Sanchez further supports the community through service with the Reading Hospital Board of Trustees, Centro Hispano Board of Directors, Berks Community Action Program Board of Directors, as a United Way Cabinet member and with BCPS Berks Connections.
It’s easy to see that Dr. Sanchez considers himself blessed. When he is able to spare some free time, you’ll likely find him enjoying his new deck or renovated home. He and his brother worked on the projects together, and Dr. Sanchez learned enough to make those DIY show hosts nervous.
With Blandon, Kargbo and Dr. Sanchez generously serving as pillars of the community, it is clear that Berks County is in very good hands.
Would you like to be a pillar of the community?
Contact any of these organizations regarding volunteering, making a donation or joining as a member:
Women2Women | 610.376.6766 | berkswomen2women.com
United Way | 610.685.4574 | uwberks.org
Children’s Alopecia Project | 610.468.1011 | childrensalopeciaproject.org
Berks Latino Workforce Development Corporation | 610.898.7774 | blwdc.org
SafeBerks | 610.373.1206 | safeberks.org
Helping Harvest Fresh Food Bank | 610.926.5802 | helpingharvest.org
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Berks County | 610.373.5544 | bigsinberks.org
