Hispanic Unity of Florida President & CEO Josie Bacallao Announces Retirement

Board of Directors unanimously selects Felipe Pinzon as successor  and outlines transition plan

Hollywood, Fla (December 14, 2020) – Hispanic Unity of Florida, Inc. (HUF) President & CEO Josie Bacallao has announced her plans for retirement. After nearly two decades leading the organization as a board member and then as President & CEO, Bacallao stated her intention to leave the position effective December 31, 2021.

“I am proud and honored to have contributed to building HUF into one of the largest and well-regarded nonprofits in South Florida,” said Bacallao. “But this is a team sport. I am grateful to have had excellent and dedicated colleagues, a board that has supported and championed our mission, and community partners and funders that have helped us build a legacy of positive change for families and the community.  I am fulfilled by what we have accomplished and feel confident in the bright future that lies ahead for this wonderful organization.”

HUF has achieved many accomplishments with Bacallao at the helm. Immediately upon assuming her role as President & CEO, she set out to build a strong team and create the conditions that would allow the agency to deliver on its mission. Under her leadership, the agency grew from 46 staffers to more than 225 dedicated and passionate team members. Adept at forging strong partnerships with private and public funders such as Children’s Services Council of Broward County, United Way of Broward County and The Jim Moran Foundation, Bacallao tripled the operating budget from $2 million to $7 million. Today, the 38-year-old agency annually serves more than 16,000 individuals from more than 30 countries in four languages. 

For the next year, Bacallao will continue to lead HUF while working with its leadership and Board of Directors to execute a plan which will ensure a smooth transition for her successor. “My immediate plans are to continue working hard for our families and maintaining our reputation as an advocate for immigrant issues in South Florida,” she said. “I also will support our Board of Directors in preparing and transitioning my successor, Felipe Pinzon.”

As part of the transition plan, the Board of Directors unanimously selected Senior Vice President of Strategy and Programs Felipe Pinzon as President & CEO-elect. Effective January 1, 2021, Pinzon will be promoted to Executive Director. Over the next year, he will learn directly from Bacallao while working to backfill his position as Vice President of Programs. On January 1, 2022, Pinzon will become HUF’s President & CEO.

“We are grateful to Josie for her years of service, her passion for our mission and the strong position in which she leaves HUF,” said HUF Board Chair Lucia Rodriguez. “The Board worked closely with Josie to identify someone who could continue her efforts while forging their own path forward. Felipe’s dedication to HUF and his unrelenting commitment to improve and refine our programs made him the undeniable successor we needed.”

Under Pinzon’s strategic and visionary leadership, HUF’s mission has deepened and become more focused, with every program area experiencing substantial growth. He also is responsible for leading the agency’s human-centered design work, which resulted in the piloting of English Café, an English language and acculturation program model with Broward College. Felipe has spent much of his professional career at HUF, having joined the agency as a case manager in 2002. He previously worked as a child psychologist in his native country of Colombia. He received his Master of Public Administration from Nova Southeastern University in Plantation, Fla. and his undergraduate degree in psychology from Pontificia Javeriana University in Cali, Colombia.

In retirement, Bacallao said she hopes to become a “reverse snowbird” in New England, spend her time doing interesting and compelling nonprofit work, and enjoying two of her favorite past times, reading and hiking with her husband and friends.

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About Hispanic Unity of Florida

Hispanic Unity of Florida was originally founded in 1982 by community leaders to guide newcomers to the U.S. on their journey to their American dream and to ease the acculturation process. Today, HUF is Broward County’s largest 501(c) (3) dedicated to the immigrant population. With 12 programs and more than 30 services offered in four languages, this agency serves South Florida’s diverse community.

In 2019, the agency served more than 16,000 children and families. HUF offers assistance at three main office locations and provides extended services at 50+ outreach locations. The agency focused on several major areas: Language & Education, Economic Mobility & Entrepreneurship, and Citizenship & Civic Engagement and also provided services in the areas of Health & Well-Being, Equal Treatment & Opportunity and Policy & Advocacy.

HUF’s comprehensive approach to advance and accelerate the pace of social and economic stability is family-centered, two generation (2Gen) and operates through a racial equity lens. HUF’s integrated services provide a seamless framework of economic stability that include immediate assistance as well as long-term solutions. Family coaches work within the 2Gen approach, tracking outcomes for students and adult family members simultaneously.

HUF’s mission is: Empowering immigrants and other members of the community to become self-sufficient civically engaged and to lead productive lives.  

CONTACT
Lesli Franco  
(954)592-9108
lfranco@oandgpr.com