BIOGRAPHY
Zoé Colón, MPA, is a public service and nonprofit professional that holds a strong track record of success in administration, program development and fundraising for nearly twenty years. She currently serves as Associate Director of UCF Global Perspectives & International Initiatives and Senior Advisor of the Puerto Rico Research Hub at the University of Central Florida (UCF). She has also served as Partnerships Manager for programs aiming to close the education achievement gap in Parramore and surrounding West Orlando communities for four years at UCF. In that role she helped secure $2 million from Helios, Kresge and JPMorgan Chase Foundations and the City of Orlando.
She is the former Director of Florida and Southeast Operations for the Hispanic Federation where she provided technical assistance to Hispanic led nonprofit service organizations and managed programs that respond to the needs of the Latino population. During her time there she helped expand the organization’s educational programs and became a leading advocate for families affected by the Pulse Night Club shooting. Prior to joining the Hispanic Federation, she served as the Executive Director of the Hispanic Resource Center, one of the leading immigrant services organizations in Westchester County, NY, for nearly six years. The organization’s budget and services nearly tripled under her leadership, securing grants from the Ford Foundation and county, state and federal grants. Zoé has managed a number of education, workforce development and social services programs in nonprofit and health care organizations of various sizes throughout her career beginning in New York, her native home. She is very involved with Hispanic led organizations and initiatives serving and advocating for the newly arrived and other Hispanic communities in Central Florida, and supports Latino student success initiatives at UCF.
Zoé has a Bachelor of Arts from Barnard College of Columbia University and a Master of Public Administration (specializing in non-profit management and policy) from New York University, Wagner School of Public Service. She taught Latino and Gender Studies as an adjunct professor at the City University of New York for eight years and Public Administration courses at Ana G Mendez in Orlando, FL. Zoé serves on Orange County Government’s Children and Family Services Advisory Board, the Hispanic Heritage Scholarships of Metro Orlando Board, among other appointments, and is currently a mentor for a young Latina at Colonial High School through Valencia College’s Horizon Scholars program. She was recognized as one of the Top 25 Influential Hispanics of Central Florida by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Orlando in 2016 and received La Prensa’s Mujeres Destacadas award for Community Leadership in 2017.