BETHLEHEM, Pa. — The Hispanic Center Lehigh Valley has a new leader.
Raymond Santiago was appointed executive director, succeeding Victoria Montero, who led the center for the past five years.
- Raymond Santiago is the new executive director of the Hispanic Center Lehigh Valley
- He has 10 years of experience in the nonprofit and human resources sectors
- He most recently was the director of development at the United Way of Bucks County
Santiago, 34, was born and raised in Bethlehem.
He comes to the South Bethlehem facility from the United Way of Bucks County, where he was the director of development for the past year. Before that, he worked seven years and led workplace campaign fundraising for the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley.
Headquartered at 520 E. Fourth St., the Hispanic Center includes a food pantry, the Basilio Huertas Senior Center and the Fowler Community Wellness Center.
Santiago has served on the Hispanic Center’s board of directors for the past year and a half. He started as executive director Monday and says he's eager to get going.
"It’s an organization I truly believe in," he said Wednesday. "It’s assisted people I know personally. I understood just how vital their services are, especially around the senior center and food pantry.
"Being able to be on the board for that year and a half — really get into the details — when the opportunity arose to be executive director, it’s one that I jumped at. I connected with the mission and the vision."
The center announced Santiago's hiring in a news release.
“Mr. Santiago will lead HCLV in its commitment to providing anti-poverty programming and services that promote self-sufficiency, along with increasing health equity amongst those most vulnerable in the Lehigh Valley,” the release said.
“His wealth of experience in fundraising and community engagement will be instrumental in furthering the organization’s efforts to secure the necessary resources to continue to expand and enhance its services.”
Santiago has more than 10 years of experience in the nonprofit and human resources sectors. He is a trustee for The Foundation for the Bethlehem Area School District — he's a Liberty High School alum — and earned a bachelor’s degree in business management from Moravian University.
The Hispanic Center statement said Santiago’s appointment caps an extensive search. The center’s board said it was grateful for Montero’s leadership. She had served in an interim role during her tenure, according to the release.
“Under Ms. Montero’s vision and leadership, the agency has grown significantly more financially and operationally sound, making way for a seamless leadership transition,” it said.
Montero also works at St. Luke’s University Health Network as the manager of health equity initiatives; she has worked for the health system for more than 15 years.
Santiago said Montero is assisting in the transition to new leadership. She was splitting her time as a loaned executive between the Hispanic Center and her St. Luke's duties, but now will return full-time to her work with the health network, according to Santiago.
"She has taken the Hispanic Center the past five years to a much more stable and financially sound organization," Santiago said. "I want to build off what she put in place and build on those services, making sure we’re reaching those who are food-insecure with our food pantry.
"We’re reinvigorating our administration building now and adding a workforce development center to offer different services to support the Hispanic workforce."
The center was founded in 1968 as the Council of Spanish Speaking Organizations.
