Jorge Adrian Naranjo

Jorge Adrian Naranjo

Chief Operations Officer

Adrian has held various leadership positions in both private and non-profit organizations. In 2001, he became Manager of Operations & Marketing for the Center for Community Educational Excellence at UnidosUS formerly known as the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Latino civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S. At UnidosUS, Adrian helped established the Charter School Development Initiative, managing over $30 million to open and provide technical assistance to a nationwide network of 80 Hispanic-serving charter public schools, serving more than 20,000 students.

In 2008, drawing on his extensive background in business and his ongoing work with nonprofit organizations, Adrian formed Avanti – a consulting firm dedicated to helping small business with strategic planning solutions in the fields of marketing, operations, and financial management.

From 2010 to 2016, Adrian was the Director of Operations for Avina Americas, an organization created to contribute to sustainable development in Latin America.  At Avina Americas, he worked to drive impactful initiatives to increase sustainable development and economic and social opportunities in the Americas by ensuring alignment among organizational strategic priorities, business goals and financial objectives.

In early 2017, Adrian accepted the position of Chief Operations Officer / Deputy Director at the Trust for the Americas, a non-profit organization associated with the Organization of American States (OAS).  As COO, Adrian was responsible for the general management and strategic oversight of the Trust’s ongoing operations (human resources, financial management, and budgeting, communications and marketing, legal compliance), and programmatic unit.

Previously, Adrian worked at Lutheran World Relief (LWR) as Deputy Regional Director of Operations providing management, supervisory, and technical support to the Latin America Team Baltimore and in focus countries (Peru, Colombia, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua & Guatemala).

He possesses extensive international program management and operational experience while working with counterparts in Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, El Salvador, Peru, Uruguay, Mexico, Panama, Guatemala, and Costa Rica.

Adrian holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) specializing in Business Planning & Strategy Development.

Adrian enjoys traveling abroad while learning about different cultures, gastronomy, and customs. He also loves spending time with his sons and family.