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Dear friends, colleagues and supporters,
In February 2022, the Association of Latinos/as/xs Motivating Action (ALMA) embarked on a historic milestone, launching a search for its first full-time executive director after more than 30 years as a volunteer-led organization. With your support, the search resulted in an overwhelming number of highly qualified applicants, as expected. Now, I am proud to announce that after an extensive and thorough process ALMA has hired our first full-time Executive Director, Manuel Hernández.
Manuel Hernández, a Puerto Rican New York City native and now proud Chicagoan, brings with him nearly a decade of experience in organizational leadership, fund development, and community building. Manuel began his career as a math educator and later transitioned into higher education administration. He worked for various institutions in upholding their commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, including Hampshire College (Massachusetts) and most recently the University of Chicago Office of Business Diversity. Having worked as a consultant and content expert for local and national non-profit organizations, private and public educational institutions, and science and technology startups, Manuel will help in building ALMA’S organizational capacity and strengthening our partnerships, engagement, and commitment to the communities we serve.
ALMA, founded during the AIDS epidemic, in 1989, has embodied the resiliency of the Latinx LGBTQ+ community through three decades and multiple important moments in history. Having persevered through the AIDS epidemic, the COVID pandemic, and pending Monkey Pox outbreaks, and having served as a leader in advocating for marriage equality in Illinois, ALMA remains one of the leading and longest-serving Latinx LGBTQ+ organizations in the United States. Due to your unwavering support, we have been able to continue our impactful work and grow our organization. We are now, more than ever, positioned to have an executive director help steward ALMA into the next phase of the organization’s journey.
Please join me in welcoming Manuel as the new Executive Director of ALMA. Stay tuned for more information about an upcoming celebration formally welcoming and introducing him to the community. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to reach out and introduce yourself to Manuel via email at ED@almachicago.org.
Thank you again for all your support, and we are so hopeful and excited about what lies ahead.
In community,
Julio Rodriguez
Co-Founder & Board President
ALMA Chicago
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