I am pleased to announce Patricia Rueda as the new NPH Bolivia National Director effective from 14 September 2020. She succeeds National Director Tom Kuiper, who returned to the Netherlands in mid-October.
National Director is an important leadership position within our organization and family. In addition to overseeing a wide range of operational activities, the National Director is principally charged with transmitting Fr. Wasson’s philosophy of family and imparting the values of love and security, sharing, responsibility, work, and faith. Patricia joins the Operations Team of National Directors, Service Directors, and other NPHI staff tasked with supporting the staff, volunteers, and Pequeños working tirelessly to bring forward our NPH mission. The selection process, including recruitment and interviews, was handled in a fair and transparent manner, in accordance with NPHI policies and procedures.
In her new role, Patricia will provide strategic and operational leadership for the NPH Bolivia family, while supporting the care of all children and youth in accordance with NPH’s mission, vision, principles, and values. Working closely with local staff and a support team from NPH International, she will oversee all administrative functions and a wide variety of childcare and family & community strengthening initiatives.
Patricia is a Bolivian national who grew up not far from NPH Bolivia, in the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. She has known of the home’s work for many years. She is enthused to work with the local team to bring NPH Bolivia through this important moment of global pandemic and national political change.
She studied psychology and earned a bachelor’s degree from Gabriel Rene Moreno Autonomous University in Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Also, she is a fellow of the Perennial Institute in Seattle, Washington, USA. She worked in both the for-profit and nonprofit spheres before coming to NPH. Patricia joined NPH Bolivia in 2018 and led the Human Resources function prior to her appointment as National Director.
Patricia says she feels a special sense of belonging within NPH, which is largely due to the philosophy of Father Wasson. “For me, personally, it has two important aspects. It will be the engine that drives my work, a formula for how we live here. Second, the philosophy tells us to bring the Gospel to life. Father Wasson understood very well that it is the day-to-day work to which we are called, just as Matthew 25:40 says, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’
A few weeks into her role, Patricia is eager to face the challenges before her and her team. “In spite of everything that is happening now, like the pandemic, I want to bring a human touch, to be where the team and the children need me,” Patricia says. “This for me is family and NPH is my family.”
Please join me in congratulating Patricia. We wish her much success in her new role.
To learn more about the Casa Padre Wasson home, please visit NPH Bolivia.