My Story

My name is Magdalena Morales-Maithalouni. I am of proud Mexican roots from the state of Guanajuato and a native Los Angeleno. I am the daughter of Mexican American community leader Dionicio Morales and Disability Parent Advocate Maria L. Morales.

My passion is for walking and public transportation. It has saved my life as I have kidney disease and coronary disease. It has raised my awareness of inequities and lack of information in various languages.  It has brought me closer to nature. I have become a tourist in my own town. I have a quest to incorporate these important parts of my life for the greater good. If I learned anything from my parents and brother, it’s that one person can make a difference. 

Leading By Legacy of Community Engagement

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My mother was a parent disability advocate; my twin brother Dionicio Jr. (Mr. D) has Down Syndrome. She helped other Latino parents and caregivers navigate the complicated developmental disability system community in Spanish and created programs that still exist to support other parents today.

My pop, Dionicio Morales was the founder of the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation, one of the largest Latino organizations in the country. He passed away 13 years ago but continued his activism until his death as he was at the office the day he went into the hospital after being on dialysis. He still had dreams and knew there was work that still needed to be done in the Latino community. During the last few years of his life, we learned as a family how to maneuver and travel with his walker and then eventually his wheelchair.

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Now as my twin brother Mr. D is aging, we are having walking and rolling adventures as it has become more difficult for him to walk long distances.

In my quest to make a difference in 2021, I was accepted as a Fellow of the America Walks (California) walking college, and the idea of El Nuevo Andar was born.

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I still hear my pop’s voice asking what can and will continue to do for my community. For me, it is El Nuevo Andar.