Please Welcome Our New Director of Community Impact!
We are thrilled to announce that Carolina Castañeda del Río has joined SVP Portland as our new Director of Community Impact! In this role, Carolina provides strategic direction and oversight of the work we do with our Community Partners, and collaborates with staff to identify and match our Partner volunteers with our nonprofit partners’ capacity-building needs. “I am passionate about steering the development of organizations and initiatives that champion diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice,” says Carolina. “As a mental health professional and mother of a young child, I am convinced that early-childhood years are the most critical for any meaningful and sustainable change that we want to see in individuals and societies. I am excited to use my passion and expertise to make a positive contribution to SVP Portland as the Director of Community Impact!”
Carolina was born in Mexico City, raised in Guanajuato, and she moved to Oregon in 2012 to complete the second year of her Master’s degree at Southern Oregon University. She started her career as a mental health counselor, providing support to families with children with disabilities living in poverty and later to high school students. She became a wellness program manager in 2015, developing an integrative medicine program that provides holistic healthcare services.
Since 2018, Carolina has served as the Chief Operating Officer at Hacienda CDC, a Latino-led Community Development organization and one of our Community Partners. In that role, she oversaw the operations necessary to drive the activities of the organization that include affordable housing development, homeownership support, economic advancement, early childhood and educational opportunities. She also founded her own coaching and consulting business to support leaders and non-profit organizations committed to social justice. She is well-versed in understanding community needs and driving programs that advance diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Carolina enjoys spending time with her family, taking her almost two-year-old daughter, Yara, on walks in nature and smooching her little cheeks, watching horror shows with her husband Wesley, and exploring Portland’s gastronomic, arts, and music scenes.
You can reach out to Carolina if you would like to connect and welcome her to SVP Portland!