The new Vallarta Gay+ Community Center (VG+CC) has appointed Pedro Lopez as its Executive Director.
Pedro Lopez is a nurse and received his education from Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, California. He has over 30 years of experience working with the community in mental health settings, with the last 20 years in senior leadership and executive management positions. Pedro started his career as a psychiatric nurse working in the city of Pomona.
In 1992, he moved to work with the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health in the newly formed Mental Evaluation Team, where he worked alongside the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
In 1994, he was recruited to work with Pacific Clinics, a local non-profit mental health agency. He served in several roles there, including Team Supervisor, Program Director, and Division Director. He ended his career with Pacific Clinics as V. P. of Divisional Services, overseeing clinical and fiscal programs with an operating budget of over $90 million.
“After being away from Mexico for 50 years, I am honored to have the opportunity to work and serve ‘mi gente.’ I look forward to working with our board and the community to identify the needs and develop programs that will best serve the people of beautiful Puerto Vallarta.”
“We are so lucky to have Pedro as our Executive Director. His extensive experience in directing a large clinical services provider in California, along with his background in mental health, is a perfect fit. This will be Pedro’s first job working for Puerto Vallarta’s LGBT+ community, and he is excited to lead us in building a world-class community center,” said Don Pickens, President of the Board of Directors of the VG+CC.
Pedro moved to Puerto Vallarta with his husband from California in 2020, returning to the state of Jalisco, where he was born.
NEW OFFICES TO OPEN:
The VG+CC will occupy new facilities in Puerto Vallarta beginning May 1. They are located right in the heart of the Centro on the Malecon above the Santander Bank, next to the Rio Cuale. Located at Morelos 101-Local 3B, the offices are in the Vallarta CoWork space, offering convenient access to clients, staff, and community members. While temporary, this space will enable the VG+CC to expand medical services to include STI testing, treatment, and prevention and continue with PREP distribution.
Operating as a program of Vallarta Cares (formerly known as Vallarta Food Bank [Alacena Por Amor de Vallarta]), the VG+CC continues to formalize its structure and services. Look for a series of focus groups with members of their diverse community to begin shortly to determine priorities and needs for new programs.
CURRENT SERVICES LOCATION:
Medical services are currently offered at ThrIVe IV & Med Spa, Monday – Friday, 10 am-2 pm and 3-6 pm. They are accepting new patients for PREP & PEP.
ThrIVe IV & Med Spa is located at Basilio Badillo 277A, Zona Romántica, Emiliano Zapata, 48380 Puerto Vallarta.
Contact the center via WhatsApp or by phone at +52 322 128 6793 or via email at info@VallartaGayCC.com.
