Meet Marenid – Grant Halliburton Foundation’s newest outreach and education manager.

With more than 10 years of nonprofit experience providing services to multicultural families, Marenid is passionate about serving communities in North Texas. She’s committed to creating opportunities to educate and raise awareness about mental health and suicide prevention. As an outreach and education manager, Marenid focuses on ensuring the Foundation’s life-saving education is accessible to all communities in a culturally sensitive and inclusive way.

Here are 10 things to know about Marenid!

1. What was your first job?
My first job was working at a local store in Puerto Rico selling shoes.

2. What’s your guilty pleasure?
My guilty pleasure is eating Corn Nuts!

3. What advice would you give to your teenage self?
No one will ever know your dreams better than you. Unapologetically focus and chase them.

4. What’s your favorite movie scene and why?
There's a scene in "Eat, Pray, Love" where the main character, Liz, feels helpless. Even though she doesn't pray often, in this scene, she gets out of bed, goes to her living room, and starts praying. She starts her prayer and says, "What I said to God through my gasping sobs was something like this: 'Hello, God. How are you? I'm Liz. It's nice to meet you.' That's right, I was speaking to the creator of the universe as though we'd just been introduced at a cocktail party. But we work with what we know in this life, and these are the words I always use at the beginning of a relationship."

Like Liz, I know what it’s like to feel helpless and like you don’t have anything or anyone to help you. So, you pray the best you can to communicate your need for support. That scene always makes me cry, but it also makes me feel relief because it reminds me that I’ll never be alone.

5. What’s one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
I’ve played the alto saxophone since I was 13.

6. What would you name the autobiography of your life?
“Giving Up Was Never an Option”

7. What do you enjoy doing when you’re not at work?
Reading, playing video games, listening to music, and cycling with my husband.

8. What are your top three TV shows you’re streaming right now?
I don’t watch a lot of current TV shows. Usually, I’m rewatching my favorites, which are “The Big Bang Theory,” “Downton Abbey,” and “That’s 70s Show.”

9. Where’s your favorite travel destination and why?
Puerto Rico is my favorite destination because it’s my home! I was born and raised there. It’s the most beautiful place. 

10. Why is Grant Halliburton Foundation’s mission important to you?
Grant Halliburton Foundation captures what’s needed in our communities to raise awareness about mental health and save lives through a robust network of accessible resources and education. Working at the Foundation has been my goal as a professional in the mental health field.