Kinesis Foundation, Instituto Psicopedagógico appoint execs
This edition of Climbing the Corporate Ladder features a trio of executive appointments at the Kinesis Foundation and the Instituto Psicopedagógico de Puerto Rico.
Kinesis announces new executive director
The Kinesis Foundation’s Board of Directors announced the appointment of José Cruz-Torres as the nonprofit’s executive director.
Cruz-Torres will continue the legacy of the founder, José Enrique-Fernández, who was at the helm of Kinesis from its foundation in 2004 until last year.
Hiring a leader for executive management has been in the works since June, when Cruz-Torres joined the work team, the nonprofit stated.
This is part of the board’s strategy to redesign and strengthen the foundation’s commitment to education.
Cruz-Torres, a native of Bayamón but raised in California, has extensive experience managing nonprofits.
In addition, he is an alumnus from San Diego State University and Harvard University and has a background in education, strategic planning, program development and evaluation, as well as training students and adult leaders.
“José’s story captured us because he is a living example of what Kinesis promotes, a young man with economic limitations, the son of a single mother, who managed to study at one of the most competitive universities in the world, Harvard, with the purpose of contributing something positive to the community,” said Miguel Fernández-Richards, chairman of the Kinesis Board of Directors.
“His experience as director of education-focused nonprofits is well-suited to developing the next chapter of our Foundation,” said Fernández.
“The combination of academic preparation, professional experience and life history will be of great contribution to the growth of the services we provide to our youth,” said Fernández-Richards.
“For me, it’s an honor to have been chosen to help continue this important legacy of the Fernández family,” said Cruz-Torres.
“In my youth, I participated in programs like this, because college education transformed my life,” said Cruz-Torres. “I believed that I could be an agent of change to address the most pressing needs of my community and my island.”
“Kinesis, with the support of its donors and partners, creates moments like this every day for students from diverse backgrounds,” said Cruz-Torres.
The Kinesis Foundation was established in 2004 to offer high-level competitive opportunities to outstanding and economically disadvantaged students. To date, Kinesis has provided more than $12.5 million in scholarships to prevent economic barriers from clouding the future of outstanding students in Puerto Rico.
IPPR appoints new chairman, executive director
The Instituto Psicopedagógico de Puerto Rico (IPPR) announced the appointments of Eduardo Martí as chairman of the Board of Directors and Elba Castellanos as executive director of the institution.
“I’m honored by this appointment as my motivation with the IPPR is based on the satisfaction of advancing the IPPR’s social mission and achieving a better quality of life for the people with intellectual disabilities,” said Martí.
“These people need support in almost every aspect that shape their development and well-being, but I reiterate my commitment to work alongside Elba and the rest of the board to promote the projects and reforms necessary to offer them the quality of life they deserve,” said Martí.
Martí has been a member of the IPPR’s board of directors since 2013. He has more than 20 years’ experience in the fields of property and casualty, health, and benefits insurance. In 2016, he co-founded RiskOne Group, where he currently serves as a managing member and president of the Insurance and Risk Management divisions.
Meanwhile, Castellanos has more than 30 years of experience at the operational and managerial level in the health care industry and the third sector, standing out for being a professional committed to excellence and oriented towards service and fundraising. Castellanos will be focused on supporting the entire multidisciplinary team in achieving IPPR’s mission by strengthening its existing programs and continuing to identify expansion opportunities.
“Despite my recent appointment, I know first-hand the needs of people with intellectual disability through my sister Rita, who has been part of the IPPR’s population for the past 38 years,” Castellanos said
“My love for her helped me understand that we are not all the same, but we have the same heart, and opened my eyes to the special needs of this population. Therefore, I assume responsibility of directing this entity with the commitment to support both IPPR’s participants and the more than 250,000 people with intellectual disabilities on the island,” she said.
