UpliftED would like to welcome Zoé Colón as the new Chair of the Adult Learners Workgroup! Read her bio below. In 2019, the Adult Learners workgroup will emphasize the importance of providing resources for adult learners in Central Florida to increase education access and improve economic mobility. To join the Adult Learners Workgroup or learn more, please email annie.jones@hfuw.org.
“Zoé Colón is the Project Coordinator for the Parramore Education and Innovation District initiative at the Center for Higher Education Innovation at the University of Central Florida. She manages a grant from the Helios Education Foundation that aims to strengthen the educational ecosystem in Parramore to ensure that every individual excels from cradle to career. She comes to UCF with nearly twenty years’ experience managing community based programs in the areas of social services, workforce development, education, children’s enrichment programs, and youth development, serving predominantly low income communities of color in New York and Florida.
Zoé is the former Director of Florida and Southeast Operations for the Hispanic Federation where she provided technical assistance to nonprofit service organizations and managed service and educational programs targeting the Latino and low incomes population in Central Florida. She served as the Executive Director of the Community Resource Center, one of the leading immigrant services and advocacy organizations in Westchester County, NY for six years. The organization’s budget and services nearly tripled under her leadership, securing grants from the Ford Foundation and county, state, and federal grants. She is the former Director of Children’s Programs at the George Washington Carver Center, in Port Chester, NY, where she managed regulated and high quality educational and enrichment out-of-school programs for children and their families.
Zoé has a Bachelor of Arts from Barnard College of Columbia University where she studied Psychology and Urban Studies with a concentration in Political Science. She attained a Master of Public Administration specializing in nonprofit management and public policy from New York University’s Robert Wagner School of Public Service. She taught as an adjunct professor at the City University of New York for eight years. “