Topic to Cover
“Education: The Pathway to Opportunities”
Biography
Carlos Valentín, Jr. currently serves as the Executive Director of ASPIRA Inc. of New Jersey. With a professional background in the nonprofit, political, and government sectors, Carlos began working extensively with nonprofit organizations starting in the mid-1990s. As an advocate for the underserved, a proponent for youth empowerment, civic engagement, and advocacy, as well as effective juvenile justice alternatives, Carlos has dedicated his entire life and career to providing opportunities and resources locally and statewide.
Since the very beginning, Carlos’ connection to ASPIRA was firmly entrenched with the organization, first as an “Aspiranté”, serving both as a member of the board and as a student representative for New Jersey and ASPIRA’s National Offices. Today, he leads a staff of 30 employees in Newark, NJ, while overseeing a multi-million-dollar budget serving thousands of youths and their families annually. During his leadership, Carlos has generated millions of dollars in grant and donation support for programmatic and community-based initiatives and services.
As an innovator, Carlos has created a duo of programs that has since been replicated by other ASPIRA affiliates. He started and developed the Evening Reporting Center in the State of NJ for juveniles in conjunction with the Juvenile Justice Commission of Essex County. The program was designed to provide a series of alternative rehabilitative services to incarceration for juvenile offenders ages 14-18. Since its creation, it has become a model program and has received numerous accolades from local and statewide judicial and government agencies.