Yany (Gladys) Almonte

Kitchen Manager, Mariposa Center

A Cabarete native, Gladys is in charge of our kitchen and all the meals we serve to our girls. Vital to our commitment to provide healthy and consistent nutrition to Mariposa girls, Gladys prepares and serves breakfast and afternoon snack to all of the Mariposa girls everyday. She also aids in the cleaning and maintenance of the eatery, and has offered a helping hand in the Obuntu Teaching Kitchen. As an older sister to a Mariposa graduate, Gladys has seen the positive impact that our programs have and is passionate about her contributions to our team. Gladys began working at the Mariposa Foundation in 2016 and has two daughters who are both enrolled in Mariposa programs. She is thrilled by the opportunity to watch her daughters grow and play (and eat) at the Center. 

Gladys loves to cook and outside of Mariposa can be found cooking at her own home. She learned how to cook at a young age (“desde pequeñita”) with her mother and is forever grateful for all the recipes and lessons that her mother taught her. Her favorite meal to cook at Mariposa is the Mexican-Dominican fusion as she loves to make Pico de Gallo and prepare tacos with plátano maduro (sweet, ripe plantain). Gladys also admires the work at Mariposa because she sees it as an opportunity to continue to learn, especially from the youngest girls where she has learned a significant amount about the developing child’s palate and taste buds.