Maria Cristina Fuentes was appointed as Director of the Governor’s Office of Youth, Faith and Family (GOYFF) by Governor Doug Ducey in November 2017.

GOYFF serves vulnerable communities to help prevent and address five key areas: child safety, human trafficking, domestic and sexual violence, juvenile justice and substance abuse. Additionally, the office works to strengthen service and volunteerism through the AmeriCorps program and faith-based community engagement.

Previous to Ms. Fuentes’ appointment to GOYFF, she worked at Casey Family Programs, where she furthered the foundation’s mission to safely reduce the number of children in foster care and improve well-being outcomes of children and families.

Ms. Fuentes also served six years in the Administration of President George W. Bush in the U.S. Departments of Labor and Justice. Ms. Fuentes also served in the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives working to help states across the country develop and establish their own faith-based initiatives.