Women’s History Month Spotlight: Maria Tabarez

Maria Tabarez,

Director of Facilities, Exodus Recovery Safe Landing

Maria Tabarez has an unusual job: maintaining, cleaning, and disinfecting a 172-bed homeless shelter. 

The challenges of keeping the five-building facility clean and disinfected 24/7 present challenges unlike most other Crothall facilities. Some residents who come to Exodus Recovery Safe Landing in Los Angeles have more struggles other than homelessness; mental health issues, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), or other health issues. Not long ago, 35 of the residents caught the COVID-19 virus. In that case, Maria’s team worked 24/7 to disinfect the facility and quickly reduced the COVID population to zero. 

“Our goal to aid those who are homeless by making the campus safe for them,” she says. “It’s critical that we have a clean facility to ensure viruses don’t spread while maintaining and improving all of our facilities.” 

To provide residents with a clean facility, Maria does hourly rounds each day with the Safe Landing Sr. Director, Director of interim housing and nursing. Working with a staff of 11 EVS and three Facilities Management associates, she also already improved the facility by upgrading its dog park from a patch of dirt by planting new grass and adding other amenities. 

What Makes This Role Different

Maria holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Sciences from California State University Dominguez Hills. Before joining Crothall, she worked as Senior Facilities Manager at a healthcare clinic, National Facilities Admin Coordinator and has also worked in hospitals and behavioral health facilities. One difference now compared to her previous work is the ability to build relationships with each resident who lives at Exodus. 

Each resident has their own living space that includes a bed, locker, and light, so Maria speaks with each one during her team’s daily deep cleaning. 

“I have a relationship with every single person who comes here,” she says. “For those going through a difficult period, it’s comforting to see the change in their behavior in a stable environment. And if I see someone who is not doing well, I speak to the Safe Landing team and guide them to the right people. It’s something we do all of the time.” 

Valuable Mentors

Since joining Crothall in May 2024, Maria has benefitted from a strong set of managers. She receives regular coaching from Regional Director of Operations of Facilities Management Ian Timothy and Regional Vice President Carmine DiCicco. Both have taught her the importance of building solid working relationships with the Safe Landing staff. On site, Maria has developed a relationship with the Senior Leadership at Safe Landing, adding to the crucial bond between Crothall and Safe Landing.  

“I’ve learned so much from my management team. Ian has been training and educating me and has helped me understand how to advance my career.  He and Carmine keep motivating me to bring out my best work.” 

As part of her training, Maria has completed the Foundations training course for new managers. She has received invaluable help from Human Resources Director Bernadette Medina, who has served as a Mentor from New York to coach Maria since she started at Crothall. 

“When I began to work here, for four or five months, Bernadette took time out of her week to schedule a meeting with me every week. She helped me understand how to work with my staff and my leadership team. Any time I needed help she was available for me.” Even now, Bernadette meets with Maria every other week to guide her through any issues. 

Life Outside of Work

After work, Maria spends much of her time with her dogs: Kratos, a French bulldog; Hannibal, a Doberman; and Nike, a Samoyed. 

She is also focused on continuing her education and growth in Facilities Management.  She is studying to obtain her certification as a Certified Healthcare Facilities Manager and has been nominated for the Leading Edge, a leadership training course that will begin in March.