VALLARTA CENTER NAMES EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OPENS OFFICES The new Vallarta Gay+ Community Center (VG+CC) has appointed Pedro Lopez to be 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 working alongside the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department. In 1994, he was recruited to work with Pacific Clinics, a local non-profit mental health agency where he served in several roles within the agency including Team Supervisor, Program Director, Division Director, and ending his career with Pacific Clinics as V. P. of Divisional Services, where he oversaw clinical and fiscal programs with an operating budget of over $90 million dollars.
“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 in 2020 with his husband from California, 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, located right at 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 situated 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 as well as to continue with PREP distribution.
Operating as a program of Vallarta Cares (formally 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 our diverse community to begin shortly to determine priorities and needs for new programs.
CURRENT SERVICES LOCATION:
Our services are currently offered at ThrIVe IV & Med Spa, Monday – Friday 10am-2pm and 3-6pm. We are currently
accepting new patients for PREP & PEP. ThrIVe IV & Med Spa is located at Basilio Badillo 277A, Zona Romántica, Emiliano Zapata, 48380 Puerto Vallarta. You can contact our center via WhatsApp or by phone at +52 322 128 6793 or via email at info@VallartaGayCC.com
For more travel news and stories about the Puerto Vallarta gay scene check GAYPV travel news here.
