-1.svg)
Hilda is a nonprofit executive, community advocate, and researcher with experience spanning organizational strategy and development, transformational leadership, human resources, change management, and community organizing. Her professional background also includes experience in banking and finance with Bank of America. Prior to joining DPN, she worked with Five Star Home Health and organized alongside communities disproportionately impacted by systemic inequities, advocating for low-income individuals and families.
As Executive Director, Hilda leads DPN’s organizational strategy, programs, campaigns, operations, partnerships, fundraising, and long-term sustainability, with a focus on strengthening the organization’s capacity to sustain grassroots movements and advance systemic change.
Hilda’s leadership practice is also informed by her research on nonprofit leadership, workplace well-being, and organizational sustainability. Her published scholarship examines executive attrition and the human impact of mission-driven leadership, including psychological safety, work-life balance, stress, and burnout. She has also co-authored research examining pregnancy discrimination as a workplace and mental health issue.
Hilda completed the UCLA Anderson School of Management Executive Education Board Director Program and Board Certification pathway, further strengthening her expertise in governance, strategic oversight, fiduciary responsibility, risk, and board leadership. She holds a Master’s degree in Healthcare Administration from California State University, Long Beach, a Bachelor’s degree in Linguistics from the University of Benin, and is a SHRM Certified Professional (SHRM-CP).
Her leadership is grounded in the belief that strong, sustainable organizations, supported leaders, and deeply rooted community power are essential to creating lasting change.
Selected Publications:
1. "Exploring the Factors Influencing Executive Attrition in Nonprofit Organizations" Read Here.
2. "Psychological Safety of Nonprofit Executives: Attributional Insights into the Human Burden of Mission-Driven Leadership, Work-Life Balance, Stress, and Burnout" Read Here.
3. "Understanding the Psychology of Pregnancy Discrimination as a Challenging Woman’s Mental Health Workplace Dynamic" (co-author) Read the article.