Board of Directors

Natalia Beatriz Duke, President

As the daughter of a Cuban refugee, Natalia is extremely passionate about immigrant justice and immigration reform.  She grew up in the Florida Keys and graduated from Key West High School. Natalia graduated with a BA in History and continued her studies at New York University where she received a Masters Degree in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL). She taught ESOL at Pace University and in the New York Public Libraries. 

After moving back to the Florida Keys in 2009, Natalia continued to teach ESOL in the Monroe County Adult Education Department. In addition to language teaching, she has studied and trained in a variety of  healing modalities and currently teaches yoga and Pilates.

As a founding member and President of Keys Immigrant Coalition she is happy to widen our “One Human Family” lens to bring immigrant justice and other issues that are not typically addressed by dominant culture into the conversation.

Patrice Schwermer, Vice-President

Patrice came to the Florida Keys in 2013 from Richmond, Virginia.  She is married to Jay Schwermer and is blessed with three children and five grandchildren.  She loves and enjoys the Keys environmental beauty and close, caring community.  In Virginia, Patrice worked for the Catholic Church, first in the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area for 15 years as the Social Justice Minister for her parish. There she worked with numerous community organizations on many issues of social justice.  When she moved to Richmond Virginia, she turned her attention to global solidarity work by serving for 5 years as the Diocesan Director for the Haitian Twinning Program. When Patrice moved to the Florida Keys, she secured a position as the Outreach Coordinator in Monroe County for Catholic Charities with the Archdiocese of Miami.  In this work, and in her personal life, community engagement and working for social justice is her passion.  Patrice looks forward to serving on the Board of the Keys Immigrant Coalition. She feels that justice and human dignity for our sister and brother immigrants is paramount in order to build a sustainable world based on the common good and mutual relationships with one another. 

Amanda Velazquez, Vice-President

Amanda Velazquez is a Nicaraguan native who emigrated to the United States with her family as a young child.   She grew up in St. Louis, MO. Amanda graduated from the University of Missouri with degrees in Spanish and Political Science, and then went on to get her law degree at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.  Amanda relocated from the midwest to South Florida in 2002, where she has practiced Immigration Law for approximately 18 years, defending immigrant rights before the U.S. Department of Home Security and the U.S. Department of Justice. She moved to Key West from Miami in 2018, and has continued her Immigration Law practice in Key West.  In addition to being a Board Member of KIC, Amanda is also an Ambassador of Key West as well as a mentor for the Take Stock in Children program for Monroe County.  She lives with her fiance, John and her 16 year old son, Nicolas. Together they own a local ice cream shop in Key West, Wicked Lick.

Caroline McGuire, Secretary

Caroline McGuire came to Key West in 2017 from Philadelphia, PA, with her husband, Marty, and their dog and 2 cats. She became involved in her church's Social Justice Ministry, which led to her work with the Keys Immigrant Coalition.  Caroline has a BA in English from The Ohio State University and a Master's in Library and Information Sciences from the University of Pittsburgh.

Selena Quintanilla, Board Member

…Bio coming soon…