Our co-founders, Dr. Maritza Concha and Dr. Maria Elena Villar were brought together by their passions to put their knowledge and experience into service for their community. The paths that brought them to where they are today are similar. Dr. Concha moved to the United States at the age of 16 with her parents from Lima, Peru. In Peru, she witnessed social injustices and the lack of a government response to the economic and social problems. This was the primary motivator that encouraged Dr. Concha’s family to immigrate to the United States. Dr. Villar, a Puerto Rican native, has lived in numerous places throughout South America and the Caribbean. Working as a health promoter in Santiago, Chile, she realized the importance of community-based efforts to improve people’s lives. They met as master’s students while working at the University of Miami where they began collaborating on projects to help nonprofits in the local community.
In 2003, they decided to take their passion for helping others and their educational expertise in evaluation services to co-found Covian Consulting, Inc. They use their extensive experience and knowledge base to collaborate with nonprofit organizations in evaluating their programs and articulating the impact of these programs in a meaningful way. Since 2003, they have worked with numerous partners at the local, state, and national levels.
As of 2013, they expanded their operations to include an office in Orlando, FL, in addition to their ongoing presence in Miami, FL. Through their academic ties through working at Florida International University, University of Central Florida, University of Miami, Nova Southeastern University, and the University of Notre Dame, they have been able to partner with a superb team of collaborating consultants to meet the diverse needs of all their clients.
Today, Maritza and Maria Elena both have their doctorates. Now Drs. Concha and Villar respectively, after a decade of experience in providing evaluation services, uniquely understand how to deal with diverse communities and staff to bring out the best of nonprofit organizations in achieving their social missions. Your drive to make change possible in your organization constantly inspires Covian’s drive to obtain the best outcome for your organization and your community.