Nonprofit director spreads good works from Plainfield to South America

By Richard Khavkine/The Star-Ledger 
Newark Star_Ledger


This feature is part of "I Am New Jersey," a Star-Ledger series profiling some of the people who make the Garden State special. 


As a schoolgirl in her native Colombia, Carmen Salavarrieta had such a poor command of English that she paid others to take her exams.

But within a few years, she had immigrated to the United States — and become adept enough with the language to battle mayors, call out thugs, lobby state legislators and testify before federal officials on behalf of Central Jersey’s Latinos.

Salavarrieta, a co-founder and president of Angels in Action, a Plainfield social services nonprofit agency, has done so with equal parts conviction and passion for more than 40 years.


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