ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – An Escanaba therapist has been appointed to the Hispanic/Latino Commission of Michigan by Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
Monica Peach was born downstate in Holland. That’s where her path to social work began when she was just a child.
“I grew up in a Mexican family that was very active socially,” she said. “I remember doing a protest with my mom in regards to Cesar Chavez being here. He was the one who founded the United Farm Workers Union, and he would go around the country protesting the mistreatment of migrant workers in the fields.”
Peach went on to study sociology and Spanish at Northern Michigan University. She earned a master’s degree in social work from Michigan State University in 1998. Her career led her to open Peach Blossom Therapy and Consultation Services in Downtown Escanaba in 2023.
A cousin of Peach’s is active in the Lansing community. When she heard about an open position on the Hispanic/Latino Commission, she recommended Peach for the position. Last week, Governor Whitmer announced Peach as the newest member of the commission.
While it is a new role for Peach, she feels she has a history with the Hispanic/Latino Commission.
“This actually started in 1974, and it wouldn’t surprise me that my mom had been part of the origination of it,” she said. “Governor Milliken was our governor at that time, and my mom worked closely with him on various things for the Latinos here in the state of Michigan.”
The purpose of the Hispanic/Latino Commission is to understand and meet the needs of Hispanic and Latino individuals.
“We will evaluate grants and look over funding sources from the federal, state, and local levels to see how they could help benefit the Hispanic and Latino people,” Peach explained. “We also make recommendations directly to the governor. We produce an annual report every year that outlines what we see are the needs of the Hispanic population. We are required to hold six meetings per year, and we travel around the state so that we get views based on the regional areas where the populations live.”
According to Peach, the commission is also focused on promoting the importance of education.
“My mom emphasized education growing up, but that doesn’t happen in all Hispanic/Latino homes,” she said.
As the only commission member from the Upper Peninsula, Peach says it is important for her to represent the area’s increasing Hispanic and Latino demographic.
“The only statistics I could find came from 2013, and the statistics were basically geared toward the migrant worker population that lives here,” she said. “There were about 183 people at that time. We have more Latinos now here opening up businesses and sending their kids to school on a regular basis.”
She attributes much of that growth to migrant workers.
“This is how we populated the Traverse City area, the Petosky area, anywhere there is agriculture,” said Peach. “When my family first came to Michigan, we came as strictly migrant workers. My grandfather made the decision to keep his family in Holland, and that’s how we ended up staying. We have our history there since about 1942. I see the population up here doing the same thing.”
As a member of the commission, Peach aims to help Lansing better serve all of Michigan’s Hispanic and Latino residents.
“It’s an opportunity to make some changes within how people view the Hispanic population, and I’m kind of excited about that,” she said. “Hopefully, we can advance the Latino and the Hispanic population for the entire state of Michigan.”
Peach’s term on the Hispanic/Latino Commission of Michigan will expire on December 10, 2027.
