As a leader, Victor De La Paz is a confluence of decades of executive leadership experience and a deep-rooted passion for helping people in need succeed.
As Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Victor leads The Village’s administrative departments of risk management & compliance, facilities and information technology. He joined The Village in 2023, bringing with him 20 years of executive leadership experience across the corporate sector—from banking to healthcare—as well as roles in municipal government and non-profits.
As Presidential Appointee, he served as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for The Peace Corps and has held CFO or Chief Operating Officer (COO) roles for Achievement First Charter Schools, and large school districts such as New Haven, Baltimore, and Hartford.
“I feel deep resonance with the core values of The Village. I’ve chosen a career of service, and the opportunity to serve the Hartford region in a focused way is as exciting as it gets for me,” Victor says. “I’m thrilled to be one of many leaders at The Village that executes our mission of serving youth, parents and residents of our community with their health, education and social needs.”
Victor holds a BA in History and Political Science from Rutgers and an MBA from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. Victor transitioned from corporate finance roles over a decade ago through the Broad Residency in Urban Education—now housed in the Yale School of Management, where he also served as an adjunct professor for education management.
What quote best captures your personal philosophy?
If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything. – Mark Twain
What would you most want the clients of The Village to know about you?
I believe in the people of our community. Every person has the potential to do great things, and the core ingredients to living a productive life are a sound education, healthy and supportive relationships, and a personal drive to work really hard for a purpose you care about. If these things are present, there is no limit to what people can accomplish, and I have had the fortune to be proof point for this belief system and feel a responsibility to pay if forward.
What is something unexpected that most people don’t know about you?
I was the captain of the bowling team in high school, and proud of it!