ABOUT US
MISSION
Leaves from Stella’s mission is to facilitate education attainment for bereaved young adults by providing financial assistance and peer-to-peer support.
VISION
Shaping bright futures that thrive after loss.
VALUES
We are committed to empowering bereaved young adults by reducing financial barriers toward education attainment.
We aim to lead and create emotionally safe spaces through peer-to-peer friendships.
We do good in our communities by being honest stewards and investing in grief-related resources for collective improvement.
Why invest in Leaves from stella?
One
1 in 12 children in the U.S. will experience the death of a parent or sibling by the time they are 18 years old (approx. 6M). That number more than doubles to 14.7M by the age of 25.
TWO
Grief-related adversity poses a significant threat to healthy development and can lead to mental health issues, academic setbacks, relationship difficulties, and early mortality.
Three
There are limited bereavement scholarship programs available in the U.S., and 75% of them are specific to an illness (e.g. cancer), traumatic event (e.g. Sept. 11 attacks) or line of work (e.g. military).
four
Death can be a financially catastrophic event for any family. Less than 35% of U.S. families have a will & testament, and only 54% have life insurance.
Current Board Members
Nathalie Santa Maria — Founder (2020-Present)
Elina Blanco-De Stefano (2022-Present)
Chantez Neymoss (2023-Present)
Justin Butler (2023-Present)
Past Board Members
Laura Mirmelli (2020-2022)
Diana Santa Maria (2020-2022)
Jennifer Vaida (2020-2022)
Dr. Charryse Johnson (2020-2023)
Yesenia Mueller (2020-2023)
David Berry (2020-2023)
Ryan Will (2022-2023)
In honor of
Estela Santa Maria
Leaves from Stella was founded in May 2020 in honor of Estela Santa Maria (1953 - 2010). Estela died at 56 from two co-occurring neurological conditions: sporadic ataxia and multiple system atrophy.
Since Estela’s passing, both her daughters (Diana and Nathalie) pursued and earned their respective graduate degrees as first-generation scholars.
Estela left her daughters a peperomia scandens plant that they have propagated and share with each scholarship recipient in her honor.