Oscar’s Story
Oscar was born and raised in a predominantly Black and Latino working-class neighborhood in South LA. He grew up in a Mexican immigrant family, is the youngest of five kids. He is the first and only member of his family to complete college. Spanish was his first language and now refers to it as the language of his family and home. He has always found himself navigating issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion – long before he even knew or understood these concepts.
Oscar received his bachelor’s degree in International Studies from Pepperdine University. His goal was to pursue a career in International Development or possibly Foreign Service work, so he moved to Washington, DC . However, his first job was with a small, regional health care non-profit that facilitated access to care for farmworkers along the eastern seaboard. Oscar’s father was a farmworker for many years when he first arrived in the U.S in 1951. That nugget of family history was reason enough to take the Administrative Assistant job for a year or so. That year turned into 25 years – 16 of those as the CEO. Under his leadership, the company grew to become a national leader and trusted partner advancing health equity for all underserved populations (e.g. farmworkers, immigrants, people experiencing homelessness, low income families). In 2008, Oscar obtained a Healthcare Executive Certification from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Oscar believes his passion and commitment to grow as a purpose driven leader is rooted in his respect and admiration for trusted community leaders: “I learned the most important lessons about purpose-driven leadership from all the community health leaders I met over those 25 years. They have been my most impactful teachers.”
Creating Value
We are trusted, credible experts in the field of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). While diversity and inclusion strategies are central to our work, our meta-purpose is advancing racial equity. We partner with businesses and leaders guided by the notion that the corporate sector plays an important role in creating local and global communities where every person is valued, feels safe, and can thrive. In partnership with like-minded businesses, we seek to do work that matters.