Cynthia was smart, kind, with a warm smile and ready to lend an ear to anyone who needed it. She was humble, natural, without airs and with a contagious energetic spirit. And she was devoted to service: she was Big Sister to a little girl, taught Spanish, volunteered on 9/11 at Logan airport, and regularly at a shelter for battered women, she had just earned her doctor of psychology degree. She was running the Boston Marathon as a member of the Leukemia Society’s Team in Training when she collapsed and never regained consciousness. True to her nature, she gave the gift of life to 7 women and helped many more through tissue donation. Her legacy lives on through those who received her gifts and the Latino Mental Health center that was established in her name at her alma mater, William James College.

