America’s Promise Alliance Expands Senior Leadership, Adds Dennis Vega as Chief Operating Officer

America’s Promise Alliance, the nation’s largest network dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth, has named Dennis Vega as its chief operating officer. Vega, a dedicated public servant, has over a decade of experience in international and domestic affairs and significant expertise in organizational and strategic planning, policy development, and resource mobilization and allocation.

Vega has spent the past nine years in the federal government, serving in senior positions at the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Department of State.  Most recently, he served in the Department of State’s Office of U.S. Foreign Assistance Resources as the Managing Director for Regional and Global Issues and, previously, as the Managing Director for Planning, Performance, and Systems. There, he managed strategic planning, performance management, budget planning and resource allocations for the Department of State and the United State Agency for International Development’s $30 billion foreign assistance portfolio. Vega also held multiple positions at the United States Agency for International Development, including chief of staff for the Office of Budget and Resource Management.  During this time, he also served on the House Appropriations Subcommittee for State and Foreign Operations in the House of Representatives.

Prior to government service, Vega worked for the 2008 Obama Presidential Campaign, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and Missouri State Public Defender.  He is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis School of Law and the University of Texas at Austin. Vega is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations and was a fellow for the Center for American Progress’ Leadership Institute.

“We are fortunate and delighted to attract Dennis to America’s Promise. Dennis has an exceptional record of success as a senior leader at the State Department and USAID, and he brings a deep commitment to children and youth,” said John Gomperts, president and CEO of America’s Promise. “Dennis will play a key role as we expand our work to help more young people reach their full potential.”

America’s Promise has been known for its leadership of the GradNation campaign. Recently, it launched the Healthy Schools Fund, as part of Together for Healthy and Successful Schools, an initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.  In addition, last year, America’s Promise announced a partnership with Say Yes to Education to create the Weiss Institute to help local communities expand their capacity to support students as they prepare for postsecondary education. The organization anticipates launching an initiative focused on youth employment in the near future.

To support the strategic planning behind these efforts, Vega joins a leadership team at America’s Promise that includes John Gomperts, chief executive officer; Donna Anderson, chief financial officer; Tanya Tucker, chief of strategic initiatives and partnerships; Melinda Hudson, vice president and senior advisor to the chair and CEO; Stefanie Cruz, vice president of marketing and digital strategy; Daria Hall, vice president of communications and external relations; Dr.Jonathan Zaff and Marissa Cole, executive director and associate director, respectively, Center for Promise; and Monika Kincheloe, a senior director who oversees the GradNation campaign. Mrs. Alma Powell serves as board chair.

You can follow Vega @DennisRVega on Twitter.

America’s Promise Alliance is the nation’s largest network dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth. The Alliance brings together more than 450 national organizations and thousands of community leaders to focus the nation’s attention on young people’s lives and voices, lead bold campaigns to expand opportunity, conduct groundbreaking research on what young people need to thrive, and accelerate the adoption of strategies that help young people succeed. To learn more visit, www.AmericasPromise.org.