IVETTE GALARZA: 2022 Top Lideres Awards; SWFL

Tell us about what you do for a living and how you got into it

Ivette Galarza: Ivette was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY to Puerto Rican parents.  Her mom and dad were both from Moca, PR.  At a young age Ivette watched her mother with a 7th grade educational level advocate on behalf of a community of tenants that were at the verge of being evicted.  Ivette firmly believes that watching her mother walk through this multi-year journey is what birthed the passion within her to dedicate 27 years of her life to working on behalf of vulnerable children, families and communities.

Ivette graduated High School at the age of 16 and received a Presidential scholarship as a result of being in the top 10% of her graduating class.  She attended Edison Community College in Ft Myers Florida where she attained her Associates degree in Psychology and then transferred to Florida Gulf Coast University where she completed her Bachelors in Human Services.  After some years she returned to FGCU and attained a Masters in Clinical Social Work with a concentration in Administration.  

At the age of 18 Ivette began working at the Hope House, a residential group care home for children who had been separated from their parents due to issues of abuse and neglect.  She remembers beginning her work there as a “Child care Technician” and although she was initially hired to help children accomplish basic living skills such as completing homework, bathing, getting ready for school, etc, she quickly became the voice of advocacy on behalf of the kids at school meetings, case staffing’s, etc.  In a period of 2 years she became the Administrative Assistant to the Director and became acquainted with not only the importance of service delivery to children and their families, but also to the contractual obligations that served to fund such necessary work.  Her work at the Hope House allowed her to build working relationships with case workers at the Department of Children and Families and soon was recruited to work there.  She spent a year at DCF before she was recruited to serve as Program Director of the Family Connection Center, a visitation program for children and families in the dependency system, funded by DCF.  After 4 years at the visitation program, Ivette happened to cross paths with a Social Worker at the Redlands Christian Migrant Association…and the rest was history.  It was then that she was introduced to the work of Head Start and served at RCMA for almost 18 years.   Ivette began her work at RCMA mentoring and coaching Family Support workers within a 2 county region.  During her tenure at RCMA Ivette eventually served as Associate Executive Director where she was ultimately responsible for the oversight and programmatic planning of contracts in excess of $60 million, serving approximately 7,000 children across the State of Florida.  Ivette devoted much of her time serving on local Boards such as the Early Learning Coalition of SW Florida, the Hendry/Glades Health Advisory Council and others. 

At the National level Ivette was elected to represent Region XII, which encompasses all Migrant and Seasonal Head Start programs across the nation, on the Board of the National Head Start Association and eventually she served as Board Chair of the National Head Start Association.  She led the 49 member Board that supports the NHSA as the voice that advocates for policy and institutional changes needed to make sure that over 1 million Head Start children, and the staff and grantees that serve them, have what they need to succeed.  In this role she served as an expert voice across the nation on issues of immigration, early childhood education, parent involvement, trauma informed care, strategic planning and organizational leadership and capacity building. 

It’s been just under 4 years since Ivette expounded on yet another one of her passions.  Tapping into her entrepreneurial spirit she ventured out and became licensed as a builder and started Her Homes, LLC.  Since then, she joined her cousins in qualifying and growing a family owned and operated construction business, Ferrer’s Custom Carpentry Services and Remodeling, LLC.   

Latin Times Magazine: In your industry, what would you say separates you from your competition?

Ivette Galarza: First and foremost…the fact that I am a female builder with a background in Clinical Social Work and organizational development! Last I checked, only 8% of the General Contactor’s in Florida are females.  Secondly, that I have devoted almost 30 years in non-profit, advocacy, grant writing, structuring and building programs…all of which I’m able to bring to the for-profit building world!

Latin Times Magazine: Why do you feel you were nominated?

Ivette Galarza:  People have been able to see my heart throughout all I do and have found it worthy of a nomination.  I believe they’ve observed me working tirelessly in business with the purpose of changing the trajectory of generational wealth within my own family while balancing to bridge the gap that exists for others within our community.  

Latin Times Magazine: During Covid 19, tell us about your biggest challenge/obstacle and how you overcame it/or are overcoming it

Ivette Galarza: Balancing the fears/needs of our customers and those of our employees.  We were faced with customers placing projects on hold because they feared for their safety and even for their finances and employees who also feared for their health and finances.  After much evaluation, we led with our hearts and did what was in the best interest of all…as owners we worked from home and for 3 weeks we reduced our field operations—while maintaining payroll for each of our staff members.  Our profit margins for the quarter were reduced drastically, but what came in terms of morale and commitment from staff was something that could not come with a price tag!

Latin Times Magazine: Tell us about your biggest achievement and how you achieved it

Ivette Galarza:  I feel like my biggest accomplishment thus far has been transitioning Her Homes LLC from a for profit business, to Her Homes Inc—a non-profit business.  We just received our official paperwork establishing us as such and can now begin establishing an agency that will eventually build homes for children aging out of the foster-care system.  This vision was birthed several years ago and was built upon another one of my accomplishments which was leading RCMA in becoming a licensed child placement agency and starting the first monolingual Spanish speaking recruitment, training, and licensing program for foster parents in Ft Myers.  This came as a result of a partnership created with the Children’s Network of SW Florida after a story hit the news that highlighted the number of children ending up in foster care as a result of the deportation of their parents.  Many of these children ended up in foster homes in communities’ miles away from what was familiar to them and in communities that were culturally different than theirs.  When we dug deeper, we realized that there were no licensed foster homes within the rural communities of Labelle, Immokalee, and  Moore Haven because the classes being held were only in English—we began the monolingual Spanish speaking recruitment and licensing program and licensed many homes within these rural communities—ultimately allowing for children to remain in their communities.   

Latin Times Magazine: What is next for you? What can people expect to see from you?

Ivette Galarza:  You can expect to see me joining with other likeminded/hearted folks to get some houses built for kids aging out of foster care.  You can also expect o see our family owned and operated business doing all they can to build communities one home at a time!

Latin Times Magazine: What does being a US Citizen mean to you?

Ivette Galarza:  For me, I had the good fortune of being born a US Citizen.  For me, that means that I have a responsibility in knowing the history of this country so that I’m able to not just understand how far we’ve come, but also to understand how far we still have to go.  For me, it means continually doing everything within my power to build on the ideals of liberty and equality for all. 

Latin Times Magazine: What is your opinion of the state of affairs in our nation?  And what role do you see Hispanics/Latinos playing in the future of our nation. 

Ivette Galarza: On some days I’m disheartened at the state of affairs in our nation.  On some days I feel that fear has been used to weaponize conflict amongst communities.  But then on other days, I feel that the resolve of this nation has what it takes to get us past what I’ve seen.  While our history is filled with some harsh realities, it is also filled with the resolve of its people desiring better and giving their lives to promote better.  Hispanics/Latinos will play a major role in the future of our nation—in reality, we already have played a major role in the establishment of this country. 

Latin Times Magazine: What words of encouragement can you offer?

Ivette Galarza: Seasons change…breathe and find purpose in each of your seasons. 

Latin Times Magazine: What is your comida Latina favorita?

Ivette Galarza: Arroz con gandules con pernil y tostones 😊