Maria Rivera

Maria Rivera was born in Villalba, Puerto Rico. She received her elementary and secondary education on the island and was raised in Queens, New York. She came to Western New York in 1986. Maria is a U.S. Army Veteran with an honorable discharge in 1991. In 2010, she completed her Associate Degree in Human Resources Management and went to complete her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration at Bryant & Stratton College in December 2012. Ms. Rivera takes pride in her Hispanic Heritage and volunteered in the community for various causes. She has served as a co-host in Hispanic Voices on Channel 4, WIVB. On February 20, 2013, Maria got nominated for Hispanic Community Service in the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration. That same year, she received her certificate as a TV Producer in the City of Buffalo Public Access/Apollo Media Center. On April 1, 2013, she created the first and only Spanish Television Talk Show in Western New York (WNY) called the 'La Voz De WNY'. The Spanish program was to stimulate the desire of men and women to succeed and become professionals in their desired field. La Voz was recorded in the Apollo Media Center and was aired every Thursday and Saturday on Time Warner Cable, Channel 20. In June 2013, Maria received a certificate for successfully completing the Police Citizens Academy course. She was honored by having her name written in the Naval Military Park among the other veterans who serve and died for our country. In January 2014, La Voz De WNY was aired on Channel 5 on "WBBZ TV." The show was seen in eight different counties with over 2.8 million viewers. In October 2014, La Voz De WNY went international with the Teleuniverso, Channel 29. La Voz was highly reviewed in the Buffalo News and Buffalo Business First. In December 2015, Maria received an appreciation award for having the only Spanish Television Talk Show in WNY.

In the Hispanic United Gala from the Hispanic Latino Community, she received the "Trailblazer Award" for the Women Making History from the Utopian Euphoria LLC. On February 2016, Maria created Buffalo’s first magazine called "La Voz De WNY Magazine" to inform the community by guests appearing on the show, businesses, and programs available in the community. The magazine came out once every two months and was free for the readers. The magazine was a big success in the Hispanic community. Maria Rivera was an employee at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI), as a Program Assistant to the Office of Diversity & Inclusion. At the RPCI, she started the Hispanic Employee Network and Resource Group, with a mission to bring awareness about the Hispanic culture and educate the Western New York Community about cancer. She also established a Scholarship in memory of her brother called the "William Acosta Scholarship. “With this scholarship, Maria aimed at promoting Cancer Awareness and Prevention in the Buffalo Hispanic Community. On June 28, 2017, Maria Rivera was diagnosed with lung cancer and on July 28, 2017, she went through a lung surgery where she nearly lost her life. Maria is still a patient of Roswell Park Cancer Institute and while she was going through aggressive chemotherapy, she gave cancer awareness to the Hispanic Community through social media. Her life’s greatest reward is still being alive, and she always thanks God to still be here with her loved ones.