Chief Programs Officer at Esperanza United

Vivian Huelgo serves as Chief Programs Officer at Esperanza United. Vivian is a key member of executive management at Esperanza United, articulating and implementing the strategic vision and leadership of the agency as she creates and supports a high-performing culture with staff in the Twin Cities area, Washington DC and across the country, working on direct service, intervention and prevention, policy and training and technical assistance. Vivian has worked at the intersection of law and gender-based violence for over twenty years. She started her legal career as a domestic violence prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, then transitioned to leading legal teams at Sanctuary For Families & Safe Horizon. She led the planning and implementation of a Family Justice Center through the Office of the Mayor of the City of New York. She has lectured on gender based violence and legal response throughout Latin America as a speaker for the US Department of State.  Vivian spent over a decade leading and growing the American Bar Association (ABA) Commission on Domestic & Sexual Violence as Chief Counsel, working intensively on the organization’s human rights, domestic and sexual violence, and human trafficking initiatives.