Mario Ortega is the Chief Executive Officer of Abrazar. Abrazar(means to Embrace in Spanish) is a non-profit direct service organization providing services to residents in Orange County. Abrazar is dedicated to embracing the diversity of families in our community, educating them on the resources we provide through our community collaborations, and empowering them to improve the quality of their lives through programs addressing health equity. Abrazar’s goals are to Embrace, Educate, and Empower children, families, and individuals with the necessary tools to improve health equity by delivering programs that improve the social determinants of health. Diversity and the delivery of collaborative services are critical to the success of our programs.
“I am the youngest of 9 children from immigrant parents from Mexico. They came to Orange County with 5 of my sisters to make a better life for our family. Our family has faced numerous obstacles, but we have persevered. I know our resilience and success are due to our family and community support. I am honored to address the health inequities that still exist and continue to help improve the social determinants of health for the community through our programs at Abrazar.”
Mr. Ortega received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance and Accounting from the University of California, Berkeley. Before joining Abrazar, he was the lead Non-profit Audit Manager for a CPA public accounting firm. Mr. Ortega was the Audit Manager in charge of leading the financial, program, operational, and grant compliance audits. He also assisted with business consulting projects with his non-profit clients.