Executive Leadership

Mary Lynn Alvarino is a mission-driven nonprofit finance and accounting executive who has spent 25 years helping Philadelphia’s retail auto industry define and expand its philanthropy. During her time as Director of Operations for the Auto Dealers Association of Greater Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Auto Show doubled net proceeds while attendance grew by forty-five percent and the Auto Dealers Caring for Kids Foundation accrued $6 million in assets while giving away $19 million over 20 years. Alvarino took the Foundation’s mission to heart and led the charge to build the Annual New Coat Program that has given more than 625,000 brand-new winter coats to impoverished children in the five-county area. She also rebooted the Greater Philadelphia Automotive Technology Competition and developed it into the premier competition for the region; it awards more than $1 million in scholarships, tools, and prizes to high school automotive students.

Alvarino started her career as a Controller with the Auto Dealers Association. As the Auto Show and Auto Dealers Caring for Kids Foundation grew, so did Alvarino’s responsibilities. She quickly became the team leader with a sharp eye for budgeting and forecasting through transitions and growth periods. Prior to working with the Auto Dealers organizations, Alvarino was the Controller and Office Manager for Esbelt Corporation, the US distributor of a conveyor belt manufacturer from Barcelona, Spain.

Alvarino is a builder and networker who loves to connect people who can help each other, especially when the result is to help others in need. In her free time, she serves on the advisory board for Nurse Family Partnership and Cribs for Kids to support low-income families in Montgomery County. A native of New Jersey, Mary Lynn stayed in the Philadelphia area after earning her Bachelor of Arts degree from Villanova University. She has been married for 31 years and is the proud mom of two adult sons.

Brendan Conlin is Chief Program Officer (CPO) at Congreso. In this capacity, Mr. Conlin oversees the agency’s 3 programmatic divisions; Education and Workforce Services, Health Promotion and Wellness, Family and Housing Services, as well as the agency’s Data and Evaluation team. Since getting his start with Congreso in 2009 as an English as Second Language Instructor, Mr. Conlin has risen through the various programmatic levels of the organization, including serving as the Director of Adult Education and Vice President of Education and Workforce Services.

Mr. Conlin’s role as CPO is to drive Congreso’s strategic plan, titled Mission 2 Impact, to carry out Congreso’s mission to move clients towards economic self-sufficiency and wellbeing.  Specifically, his work focuses on developing the infrastructure and capacity for using social innovation techniques to enhance Congreso’s services by embedding Human-Centered Design and Lean Impact methods into the organization’s program design strategy. These methods help Congreso continuously analyze their 60+ programs for optimal effectiveness and client value, empowering teams to use rapid experimentation and innovation techniques to drive measurable impact for families.

In addition to serving as CPO at Congreso, he represents the organization and the needs of Congreso’s community across with city, overseeing its partnerships with Philadelphia Works, Inc., Philadelphia Youth Network, Lenfest Foundation, Eastern State Penitentiary, Penn State Abington, Harcum College, Temple University and other leading institutions throughout the region. He is most excited about how his work can influence systems affecting youth on the cusp of leaving school and gaining access to higher education and the workforce.

Most recently, Mr. Conlin was recognized by the Greater Social Innovations Journal as a top innovator in the Healthy Workforce category, for his work on creating a system for running Human-Centered-Design Labs across the organization.

Julia Rivera was promoted to Chief External Affairs Officer in August of 2022 after serving as Vice President of External Affairs & Strategic Initiatives spearheading Congreso’s communications, marketing, community and advocacy work. In her new role as a member of Congreso’s Officer team she now oversees the agency’s fundraising and development as well. Julia started her career at Congreso in 2017 as Congreso’s External Affairs Director and during her 5+ years with the organization she has significantly increased Congreso’s digital marketing efforts and social media presence, coordinated the agency’s civic engagement work and major fundraising events, supported program teams across all service areas, and lead new initiatives to cultivate stakeholder engagement.

Julia was honored as a member of AL DÍA’s 40 Under Forty Class of 2022 and in August of 2020, Julia was selected as a Coors Light Líderes Finalist. She was one of twelve emerging Latino leaders across the United States nominated and selected for their civic leadership and who through their words and actions establish noteworthy improvement in the lives of individuals, communities and organizations.

Prior to Congreso, Julia was the Community Relations Manager at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut supporting the President’s Office and coordinating community engagement and partnerships. Julia also graduated from Trinity College summa cum laude with a B.A. in Sociology, Economics, and Urban Studies and an M.A. in Public Policy which she earned while working full-time. Julia has been a lifelong athlete playing field hockey for four years while at Trinity and representing Puerto Rico as a member of the Puerto Rican National Women’s Field Hockey Team since 2008. Originally from Silver Spring, Maryland, Julia is now established in Philadelphia and enjoys taking advantage of all the community events and festivals that the city has to offer.

Rafael Arismendi is Vice President of Education and Workforce Services (EWS) at Congreso. In this capacity, he oversees the agency’s Children and Youth Services, Adult Education, and Workforce Initiatives Departments, managing a $7M budget for comprehensive education and workforce initiatives within Congreso. EWS oversees the educational and workforce outcomes for more than 4,300 clients, including students in its K-12, GED, Harcum College at Congreso, adult literacy, and workforce training programs.

Mr. Arismendi, a native of Venezuela, built an extensive career as an executive in the private sector before joining Congreso in 2005. Since 2009, he has served as a leader within the EWS division before rising to the Vice President role in November 2017. Mr. Arismendi directed EWS business engagement initiatives which led to countless internship and professional development opportunities for Congreso’s clients.  He was responsible for the design, management and evaluation of Congreso’s successful Learn and Work (LAW) initiative, which directly improved academic performance for hundreds of Philadelphia youth by offering internship opportunities and career exposure, along with academic supports. In addition, he led the agency’s workforce development programs which continue to successfully serve TANF families throughout the city. In his new position as EWS Vice President, he is excited to lend his business acumen and strategic planning expertise to influence systems that affect adults striving for economic self-sufficiency and youth who are in need of education and workforce services.

Mr. Arismendi holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School, a Master of Business Administration from Alliance Manchester Business School (UK) and a Master of Science, Metallurgical Engineering from Simon Bolivar University (Venezuela). He has travelled extensively in Europe, Latin America and North America.  He enjoys outdoor adventures and watching movies with his wife, Liliani, and their two young boys, Fabian and Gabriel.

Kira Bellolio Murillo was born in Ecuador and immigrated to the United States at the age of five. She was raised in New York City, where she grew up in a close-knit family that included her parents, sisters, grandparents, aunts, cousins, and other loved ones. Kira is a proud alumna of the Upward Bound program. She earned her undergraduate degree from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, before attending Western Michigan University’s Thomas Cooley Law School.

Kira’s commitment to victim advocacy began during law school, where she worked with survivors of domestic violence. Over the past twelve years, she has served in various roles advocating for victims’ rights and has presented at both local and national forums on issues impacting survivors. Her extensive training includes certification as a Domestic Violence Counselor, Mediator, Facilitator, and Conflict Coach.

Kira held the position of Director of Family Wellness for almost 10 year prior to stepping into the role of VP. Prior to joining Congreso, she spearheaded restorative justice initiatives and facilitated community mediation efforts in Philadelphia, focusing on conflict resolution and youth development.

Kira Bellolio Murillo nació en Ecuador y emigró a los Estados Unidos a la edad de cinco años. Se crió en la ciudad de Nueva York, donde creció en una familia unida que incluía a sus padres, hermanas, abuelos, tías, primos y otros seres queridos. Kira es una orgullosa exalumna del programa Upward Bound. Obtuvo su licenciatura en Gustavus Adolphus College en St. Peter, Minnesota, antes de asistir a la Escuela de Derecho Thomas Cooley de la Universidad Western Michigan.

El compromiso de Kira con la defensa de las víctimas comenzó durante la facultad de derecho, donde trabajó con sobrevivientes de violencia doméstica. En los últimos doce años, ha ocupado diversos roles abogando por los derechos de las víctimas y ha presentado en foros locales y

nacionales sobre temas que afectan a los sobrevivientes. Su amplia formación incluye certificaciones como Consejera de Violencia Doméstica, Mediadora, Facilitadora y Coach de Conflictos.

Kira ocupó el cargo de Directora de Bienestar Familiar durante casi 10 años antes de asumir el cargo de Vicepresidenta. Antes de unirse a Congreso, lideró iniciativas de justicia restaurativa y facilitó esfuerzos de mediación comunitaria en Filadelfia, centrándose en la resolución de conflictos y el desarrollo juvenil.

Kira también está profundamente comprometida con su familia. Ella y su esposo Wayne son padres de tres hijos pequeños: Ben, Iggy y Manny. Nuestra familia comparte una pasión por los viajes y nos enorgullece asegurar que nuestros hijos permanezcan conectados con sus herencias ecuatoriana y afroamericana.

Denise is Vice President of Fiscal Operations at Congreso. As VP of Fiscal Operations she ensures proper accounting of grants, contracts and special events. Denise oversees the Fiscal Operations of the Budget Analyst, Cash Receipts, and Fiscal Operations Team. Her role includes working with government funders, granters, and our year end outside auditors to ensure proper compliance, quality assurance, and best practices. It is important to her that all divisions are given consistent communication and positive results when working with the Fiscal Department. Denise looks forward to being a part of Congreso’s mission to help the community achieve self-sufficiency and well being.

Denise worked for a CPA Firm during college and after 2 years at York College took a manager position in accounting at a Printing Company. She completed her four year degree to become the Controller of the Printing Company in Philadelphia. Continued her work as an auditor of private schools and became the Controller of their curriculum division. Realizing the passion she had for the education of children she started a non profit business. She joined Temple University’s Board for the prevention of school violence, wrote several grants and started after school programs in middle and high schools in Philadelphia to keep children off the streets and in a safe learning environment. Her continued career in education included the Director of Fiscal Operations at Child Care Information Services.

Other positions include Fiscal Director for a non-profit working with participants with mental illness, drug and alcohol abuse and homelessness. Additional positions include grant reviewer for 21st Century Grant awards, and due diligence work for new business purchase.

Denise loves to read, work out, shop, and social golf, she enjoys her beautiful family and feels blessed to have so many wonderful people in her life.

Juan De Angulo is the Vice President of Quality Assurance who holds an MBA in International Economic Development and BA in Sociology from Eastern University.  Juan started at Congreso in 2008 as the Data Coordinator, working one on one with staff to assure quality data. He quickly grew into new roles in the Data and Evaluation department as Manager then Director and in 2016 was promoted to Vice President.  During his tenure, Juan has worked with program management to build, monitor and report data in Congreso’s well known centralized client database using ETO Software® He played a central role the development and implementation of the agency’s standardized service delivery model, Primary Client Model (PCM™), for which he leads continued development today. Juan is often supporting performance management efforts beyond Congreso through conferences, work groups, and consulting.

Juan has used his expertise in performance management to present nationally including at the   Social Solutions Global Conference in 2011, National Council of La Raza’s Annual Conference in 2011 and 2012, and the Alliance for Children and Families’ Annual Conference in 2013. He was a member of the National Product Advisory Board for Social Solution, and of the Data, Performance Management and Accountability Work Group for Philadelphia’s Department of Human Services.  Juan established a consulting business line for Congreso in response to an increase demand from organizations across the nation requesting support in managing ETO software and developing performance management systems. As a consultant, Juan supported local and national nonprofits, and government agencies with their data management and implementation of performance management systems.  He is a Gold Certified ETO Administrator Certified Implementation Partner for ETO software.

Prior to joining Congreso, Juan designed program evaluation systems for Medicines for Humanity and MAP International in Bolivia.  In 2011 Juan was one of four Fellows selected nationally for Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Evaluation Fellowship Program.  More recently Juan was one of Philadelphia’s public leaders selected for the 2015 Leading for Change Fellowship, an intensive and experiential leadership development program that integrates the latest insights in business, leadership, public policy and innovation to strengthen leadership capacity. Mr. De Angulo currently sits on the board as Treasurer of the New Sanctuary Movement a non-profit organization that focuses on organizing communities to end injustices against immigrant communities regardless of status.

Hildaliz was born and raised in North Philadelphia and is proud of her Puerto Rican heritage. As the eldest of five siblings, she became the first in her family to attend college, where her passion for helping others took root. She earned her undergraduate degree in Behavioral Health from Alvernia College, focusing on children and family services, and later obtained a Master’s degree in Social Work from Temple University, specializing in Management and Planning with an emphasis on children and families.

In 2004, Hildaliz started her career at Congreso as a Case Manager and has since taken on various roles within the agency, demonstrating her commitment to community service. As the Director of Congreso’s successful Housing team, she managed a budget of over $7 million and focused on programmatic growth for nearly a decade. She spearheaded numerous initiatives, including developing a pipeline between homelessness prevention and workforce programs and building a financial coaching program to teach smart money management. She also spearheaded “Mi Casa,” a digital pre-homeownership initiative that has attracted new funding and expanded equitable pathways to homeownership.

In 2022, Hildaliz was nominated for the Greater Philadelphia Social Innovation Award and holds national certifications in Homeownership and Foreclosure. These achievements highlight her vision, capability, and determination to create transformative housing outcomes for residents of North Philadelphia. Hildaliz has emerged as a determined leader, utilizing Human-Centered Design and data-driven tools to improve the effectiveness of the Housing team.

Now, as the Vice President of Housing and Financial Stability, Hilda is dedicated to enhancing the lives of children and families and will continue making a meaningful impact in her community.

Jamie Hughes is Congreso’s Vice President of Programmatic Development.  In this role, she oversees Congreso’s Grants team and grantwriting efforts, as well as works closely with agency leadership on Mission to Impact projects and vision to drive Congreso’s growth strategy.  Ms. Hughes also works closely with Congreso’s administrative teams to maximize agency operations and systems for efficiency, including budgeting and contract management.

Jamie started at Congreso as an AmeriCorps VISTA member in the Education and Workforce Services division, working with the Adult Education department to expand GED and English as a Second Language classes and testing programs.  Since that initial role, she has served as Education and Workforce Services Division Manager and most recently Director of Programmatic Development to support the agency in a various of programmatic and administrative capacities.

Prior to working at Congreso, Jamie worked for a nonprofit community development organization in the Dominican Republic for several years, working with communities across the country in education, health and water system projects.  She holds a BA in Spanish and Latin American Studies from American University in Washington DC, as well as Certificates for Spanish and Medical Spanish translation.

Erin Mullin is Vice President of People and Culture at Congreso de Latinos Unidos after serving as the Director of Employee Relations leading the Human Resources department.  In her role as a member of Congreso’s Executive Cabinet, she leads the organization’s Human Resources, Talent Development, and Security departments.  She is deeply committed to strengthening the organizational culture, values, employee engagement & growth, and the agency’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging initiatives, and objectives. 

Prior to Congreso, Erin was the People Support Partner at the Law School Admission Council developing and implementing human resource strategy, support, and mentorship.  In her Human Resources career, she has worked in large and small nonprofit and for-profit sectors utilizing her diverse skills and experience to help organizations achieve their highest standard of excellence.  She also provides freelance Spanish-English and English-Spanish translation work for a U.S. Immigration Law firm that specializes in family immigration, business immigration, and deportation defense.  

Mullin received her bachelor’s degrees in Spanish and Global & International Studies along with a Minor in Labor & Employment Relations and certificate in English as a Second Language from the Pennsylvania State University where she graduated as the Student Marshal for the College of Liberal Arts.  She is a Society for Human Resource Management-Senior Certified Professional and holds a Trauma-Sensitive Certification from the Lakeside Global Institute.

In her free time, she enjoys working out, cooking and baking, and impromptu day trips to the Delaware beaches on the weekends.  She and her husband live in Plymouth Meeting, PA with their 5 dogs and growing (human) family.

Daisy Rosa is Congreso’s Senior Vice President of Program Operations. In this role, she ensures the effective and efficient support of our program teams and the Chief Program Officer in advancing our M2I initiatives. She previously served as Vice President of Family and Housing Services, a position she held since 2015. In this capacity, she oversaw three key departments- Prevention, Housing and Family Wellness- managing a budget of $12 million and a team of 90 staff positions. 

Her innovation, dedication and commitment has brought national recognition to Congreso, including the agency being awarded a $5M dollar grant from the Jeff Bezos Day 1 Family Fund in connection with our housing and homelessness prevention programming. In addition, as a result of Daisy’s stellar leadership, Congreso has been recognized time and time again by the City of Philadelphia as a “go-to” agency in her areas of leadership.

She came to Congreso with 18 years of experience in social services and has held a number of positions in administration, including the management of a $55 million system established by the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare designed to help over 15,000 welfare recipients a year move to economic self-sufficiency. She is a current Board Member for the Aspira Bilingual Cyber Charter and Antonia Pantojas Charter schools.  She also chaired on the Board of Directors for Latinas in Motion (LIM) a nonprofit which encourages, inspires and empowers women to stay healthy and fit and chaired the Board of Directors of Work Opportunities, Inc, a non-profit dedicated to helping welfare clients become gainfully employed.

Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, Daisy and her family moved to Guanica, Puerto Rico when she was thirteen, thus completing her secondary education there. She later returned to the mainland and graduated with a B.A. in Sociology from Rowan University. 

Daisy is also a strong supporter of health initiatives and caring for others. She defines the true spirit of kindness and humanity. In her spare time, you will find her running or walking her dog, Lexi.  She has a passion for the running sport and has completed several marathon races including a 100-mile ultra-marathon and qualified for the Boston Marathon.  

Daisy is an inspirational member of Congreso’s leadership team always putting her passion for serving and supporting others at the forefront. Her impressive mental toughness as a runner translates to her perseverance and determination to design and managing Congreso’s family and housing programs as effectively and impactfully as possible. Her empathy, compassion, and thoughtfulness for staff, clients, and community members make her a wonderful leader and contributor to Congreso and the greater Philadelphia community.