Jorge Saenz De Viteri’s path to executive leadership began in community-based programs in the Bronx. There, he saw how public policy, funding decisions, workforce conditions, and organizational leadership shape the services children and families experience every day.
Raised in the Bronx and now a longtime resident of Rockland County, Jorge’s personal and professional journey spans distinct parts of New York. His Bronx roots grounded him in diverse urban communities and community-based services. His years in Rockland County broadened that perspective through local education, civic engagement, and suburban community life.
Together, these experiences helped shape the central question of his career: How can public and nonprofit systems become more responsive, accountable, and effective for the communities that depend on them?
From Community Programs to Organizational Leadership
Jorge began his career working closely with children, families, educators, and community organizations. As his responsibilities grew, he carried that perspective into program administration, higher education, organizational leadership, regional technical assistance, and federal oversight.
As Executive Director of the Bronx Community College Child Development Center, he led a complex, publicly funded organization serving more than 250 children through multiple program models. He oversaw strategy, enrollment, budgeting, staffing, facilities, regulatory compliance, family services, partnerships, and organizational performance.
The position required him to balance educational quality with financial and operational discipline. During his tenure, the organization generated a cumulative operating surplus of approximately $500,000 over five years. The experience reinforced a principle that continues to guide his leadership: mission and management cannot be separated. Organizations need sound finances, capable teams, reliable systems, and clear accountability to sustain quality services.
At Lehman College, Jorge helped expand professional opportunities for Spanish-speaking early childhood educators. He played a leading role in establishing New York City’s first Spanish-language pathway to the Child Development Associate credential, addressing a barrier for members of the workforce whose knowledge and experience were not always recognized by traditional professional-development systems.
That work reflected an issue he would continue to address throughout his career: language and culture should be treated as professional and community assets, not as obstacles to advancement or participation.
A Broader New York Perspective
Jorge’s understanding of New York extends beyond the Bronx and Rockland County. As an Early Childhood Specialist supporting the Office of Head Start, he worked directly with Head Start grant recipients from the Mid-Hudson Valley and Capital Region to Western New York.
Working across these communities gave him firsthand insight into how geography, workforce conditions, organizational capacity, transportation, funding, and local resources affect the implementation of state and federal policy. It also showed him why strategies developed for one community cannot simply be applied elsewhere without understanding local conditions.
This work across multiple regions of New York prepared Jorge for broader regional leadership. He later directed the Head Start Training and Technical Assistance system for New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In that role, he managed a $5.2 million contract and led a multilingual team of 33 professionals supporting more than 160 organizations.
Under his leadership, the regional system introduced performance measures, dashboards, and reporting tools to support stronger decision-making and accountability. His team also helped local leaders translate complex federal requirements into practical strategies for organizational improvement.
For Jorge, technical assistance should do more than explain compliance. It should help organizations identify problems, build internal capacity, strengthen performance, and sustain results.
Leadership During Disruption
Jorge’s regional leadership was tested following Hurricanes Irma, Maria, and Fiona. Head Start programs in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands faced damaged facilities, displaced staff and families, interrupted services, and unstable infrastructure.
He helped reorganize regional support, establish response priorities, and coordinate with federal and local partners. These efforts contributed to restoring services for more than 12,000 children.
The experience reinforced another principle that influences his leadership: systems reveal their true strength during disruption. Effective crisis leadership requires clear priorities, reliable information, trusted relationships, and the ability to adapt without losing sight of the people affected.
Federal Leadership and Systems Accountability
Jorge later moved into a senior federal leadership assignment with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Head Start. He helped guide strategy, accountability, risk management, and program oversight for a $1.2 billion portfolio encompassing 222 grants across New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The role required him to connect federal policy, fiscal stewardship, program performance, child safety, workforce realities, and local conditions. It placed him at the intersection of national policy and community implementation, where decisions made at the systems level have direct consequences for organizations, staff, children, and families.
His progression from community-based programs to federal leadership gave Jorge experience on both sides of public systems. He understands the responsibility of implementing complex requirements locally and the accountability involved in overseeing public resources at scale.
Public Service and Community Leadership
Jorge’s leadership extends beyond his professional positions. He is a Governor-appointed member and Co-Chair of the New York City Citizens Review Panel on Child Protective Services, contributing to independent examination of the systems responsible for protecting children and supporting families.
He previously served on the New York State Board of Regents Early Childhood Workforce Blue Ribbon Committee and has contributed to policy and advisory initiatives involving the New York City Administration for Children’s Services, CUNY, and the New York City Council’s Universal Prekindergarten Workgroup.
His connection to Rockland County also extends beyond residency. Jorge served as president of the Palisades Association for the Education of Young Children, participated in the Thiells Elementary School PTA, and graduated as a member of the Leadership Rockland Class of 2010. These experiences have kept his broader systems work connected to local educators, families, and civic leaders.
Expanding Representation and Opportunity
Jorge has worked throughout his career to strengthen Latino representation and leadership within the early childhood field. He co-founded the Latino Coalition for Early Care and Education, serves as Co-Facilitator of the NAEYC Latino Interest Forum, and previously served as president of the New York City and Palisades affiliates of NAEYC.
He also helped establish the Spanish Outreach Ambassadors Committee, expanding access to Spanish-language professional learning and creating opportunities for bilingual professionals to contribute to national conversations affecting Head Start programs, educators, children, and families.
Through these efforts, Jorge has helped bring perspectives that are often underrepresented into professional, organizational, and policy discussions.
His Work Today
Jorge holds a Master of Science in Early Childhood Education from Lehman College, a Bachelor of Arts in Education and Human Services from Manhattan College, and permanent New York State teaching certification.
Today, his work focuses on modernizing public and nonprofit systems, strengthening organizational and workforce capacity, and closing the distance between policy decisions and people’s lived experiences.
For Jorge, leadership is not measured only by the size of a portfolio, budget, or team. It is measured by whether systems work better, organizations become stronger, and communities can see and trust the results.
