Employee Spotlight: Richard Amador, Outreach Manager – Connector

At HealthCare Access Maryland (HCAM), we believe that our employees are the foundation of our organization. With a staff of just over 200 individuals, each employee brings a vast amount of knowledge and experience that contributes to furthering our mission of making Maryland healthier. At HCAM, we know that our staff members are dedicated to helping Marylanders have access to quality health care, and that’s why we are dedicated to creating an environment for healthy professionals that focuses on their health and well-being, which also provides them with opportunities to grow as leaders.

Richard Amador, who joined the HCAM team in July 2017, currently serves as HCAM’s Outreach Manager in the Connector program. In this role, his educational background in language and pedagogy comes together with his knowledge about insurance affordability programs and policy to increase health literacy in the communities served by HCAM. Richard, a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park, holds a B.A. in Hispanic Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, and he received an M.A in Latin American Literature from UC Berkeley in 2009. Richard has spent the last decade applying his background in the humanities to a career path dedicated to advocating for Maryland residents’ access to health care – from working as a Spanish translator and interpreter at the Columbia Health Center Clinic within the Howard County Health Department to a Connector employee since inception in 2013.

Richard’s professional career trajectory at HCAM is a true testament to his hard work and dedication to HCAM’s mission and clients. Over the course of his five+ year career at HCAM, Richard has been promoted three times and has held the following positions: Certified Navigator, Certified Bilingual Navigator, and Community Liaison. Richard works tirelessly to ensure HCAM’s name is known throughout Maryland and truly puts everything into his day-to-day tasks for the greater good of the community. Richard shared that his connection to HCAM’s mission is personal as before the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the Medicaid Expansion, he found himself unemployed, sick, and without health insurance, often circumstances that HCAM’s clients are experiencing when they reach out for enrollment assistance.

When asked about what he enjoys most about working at HCAM, Richard mentioned the following things: the employee benefits, the talented coworkers he works with each day, flexibility, and the opportunity to be creative. “Besides the usual details mentioned when describing one’s positive experience at HCAM, HCAM gives you the space to showcase your talent and be creative with your strengths. Most recently, for example, I was given the opportunity to use my former experience as a Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) while speaking about how HCAM addresses social determinants of health in three classrooms filled with students from the Johns Hopkins Schools of Medicine and Nursing – which was unforgettable!” 

Looking to make a career change? Want to work in an environment that has an emphasis on leadership development and has a strong focus on health and well-being? Interested in finding out more about our employee benefits? Check out our current job openings and apply today! 

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