Marleine’s life has been one of service. She began volunteering at the age of 8 by teaching adults and children how to read and write in the school that her parents built in Pont Benoit. As a teenager, Marleine volunteered at Albert Schweitzer Hospital feeding malnourished children who were brought to the steps of the medical institution near death. In Miami Dade County, she received the “Volunteer Of The Year Award for her hard work after Hurricane Andrew.
Marleine is a visionary with an unparalleled dedication and proven-track record of serving the people of South Florida. Bastien is uniquely poised to lead the 17th district to new levels of justice, prosperity, and opportunity.
Marleine has dedicated herself to the betterment and the benefit of others — in health, education, economic survival, and social justice. She consistently stands tall in the face of challenges and tenaciously pursues fairness for the common good of our community — and truly has made a difference.
A passionate and articulate spokesperson, Bastien formed the “Justice Coalition for the Haitian Children of Guantanamo” and also appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show to discuss the devastating impact that prolonged detention at Guantanamo had on Haitian children.
Marleine Bastien is a graduate of Florida International University. She earned a Master’s Degree in Social Work in August 1987. She became a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in 1999. A Trained Paralegal, she is founder, former president, and current Executive Director of Fanm Ayisyen Nan Miyami, Inc. (Haitian Women of Miami), an important group that has provided desperately needed services not only to Haitian women and their families, but to the community at large. She is a Lifetime Member of the NAACP, the Immediate Past Chair of the Florida Immigrant Coalition, and Vice-Chair of the Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition.
Founded in 1991, FANM helps immigrant women and their families by offering a wide variety of resources, helping women become financially independent by starting small business ventures, and adjust to the new social reality of the United States. Its vital programs include Family Intervention and Empowerment, Immigration Advocacy and Citizenship Services, and Community Economic Development. The Family Intervention and Empowerment offers an array of services including: health access, domestic violence intervention, breast health, computer and financial literacy, economic development, small business development, summer camps, and after school programs.
She is a founding member of the Human Services Coalition, The Haitian Neighborhood Center (Sant La), the Center for Haitian Studies, The Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition, The Florida Immigrant Coalition among others. She is a founding board member of Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, Kristi’s House, Haitian-American Historical Society, Girls Advocacy Project, among others. She has been recognized with more than a dozen awards. She was named in the Miami Herald in 1999 as one of the “Forty Special People To Watch In The Next Millennium.” In 2000 , she received the Human Rights Award from Amnesty International and the “MS. Women of the Year Award” in 2001—The Leadership For a Changing World Award from the Ford Foundation in 2002. In 2005, she was named “One Of The 35 Most Remarkable Women In The World” by Essence Magazine.
