The Ibero-American Action League’s new leader has a long connection with the agency.
Angelica Perez-Delgado is the new president and CEO of Ibero. She is succeeding Hilda Rosario Escher, who said earlier this year that she would be stepping down.
Perez-Delgado said that during her youth and early adulthood, Ibero provided her with a lot of support.
“I am one of many Ibero success stories,” she said. “I was a teenage mother; I had my first child when I was 16. I’ve received several services through Ibero throughout my life. My children attended the Early Childhood Center.”
She says that support was critical during a time when she was starting college and working toward a new life.
“Kind of making my transition from being on welfare and transitioning into being a working family,” she said. “I was a single mom … Ibero went above and beyond with me.”
She says if not for Ibero’s support during that difficult transition, she wouldn’t be where she is today.
Perez-Delgado, 43, has a master’s degree in health administration from Roberts Wesleyan College and most recently served as chief compliance officer at the Villa of Hope, which provides youth and family services.
She was a board member for Ibero for about three years, but when Rosario Escher announced her plans to leave, Perez-Delgado said she had to make a decision.
“I was debating whether I wanted to apply,” she said, “so I kind of decided to end my time at the board and not be part of the search committee.”
That decision to leave the board, she said, was very difficult.
“Because if I wasn’t going to apply, I definitely wanted to have a say-so about who the next CEO would be,” she said.
Perez-Delgado said that after a lot of reflection, she decided she was ready for the challenge of leading Ibero.
In a statement, Ibero’s board chair, Miguel Velazquez, said, “While Hilda is leaving behind a great legacy and we are sad to see her leave, the Board of Directors is very excited about Ibero’s future and having a leader like Angelica to lead us in this new chapter for the organization.”
Among Perez-Delgado’s first goals are to do an assessment of Ibero’s internal infrastructure needs to ensure that it’s equipped to continue its work in the community. She also wants to position Ibero to be able to meet the needs of the changing Latino community and be an advocate for the northeast side of Rochester.
