New La Luz director is ready to serve

Leonardo Lobato left the corporate world long ago, but he’s bringing the problem-solving skills he picked up in company boardrooms to serve Sonoma Valley families as the new executive director of La Luz Center.

Lobato comes to the Springs-area family services and community engagement nonprofit from the Peninsula, where for the past six years he has led an international work-training organization. He replaces longtime La Luz director Juan Hernandez, who stepped down earlier this year to launch a financial services firm focused on supporting small Latinx businesses.

Lobato officially starts later this month but, in many ways, he’s been prepping for this type of leadership role for much longer.

“My past life was as a corporate animal,” said Lobato, of his previous gigs with such companies as Johnson & Johnson, Coors Brewing Company and Western Union. “But this for me is a wonderful opportunity to apply my knowledge to something that fills my spirit and fills my soul.”

Lobato describes his arrival at La Luz as “a natural progression.”

That progression from international corporations to community nonprofits began prior to his arrival at La Luz, when Lobato led the International Center for Reciprocal Training (ICRT), an organization he launched that helps Latinx college students transition from study to work through international training.

But Lobato stresses he’s always had an inclination toward the nonprofit world, even during his corporate days, when he’d volunteered for IAESTE Mexico, the international exchange program for student internships.

“I’ve always had an interest (in service) since college,” he said, “when I realized I was privileged in having an education and a family that supported me with the (financial) capital and social capital. Since then I’ve had the strong motivation in giving back to the community.”

Lobato, 61, was born and raised in Mexico; for the last 10 years he’s called Redwood City home. When he’s not at work he likes to spend time outdoors and socializing – two things he’ll find plenty of opportunities for in Sonoma Valley.

“I love to jog through the redwood forests and play tennis,” said Lobato. “I love to read historical novels and be with friends and cook and eat and be with people.”

Lobato certainly found plenty of people to be with last weekend, when he got his first taste of La Luz’s annual fundraising soiree, Noche. This year’s party theme was the Summer of Love, which brought a “Be-In” vibe Aug. 7 to the Sparc cannabis farm on Trinity Road. According to La Luz officials, the groovy event brought in more than just 350 attendees dressed in paisley and bell bottoms – it also raised an estimated $600,000 for the center.

Lobato said the event was a great opportunity for him to meet La Luz’s most dedicated supporters where he “felt their passion and commitment” to helping the Valley’s needy.

“I also felt the warmth, friendliness and welcoming of Sonoma,” Lobato said following the fundraiser. “Support and participation are instrumental for La Luz in delivering its programs and services to the Latinx community.”

La Luz board president Nick Mendelson-Ontiveros told the Index-Tribune that, during the hiring process, Lobato quickly rose to the top of the list of candidates, displaying a rare combination of warmth and graciousness mixed with an analytical mind developed from a career in the private sector.

Mendelson-Ontiveros said he was impressed by Lobato’s quest for work that was more meaningful. “Education has been at the core of what he wanted to do,” Mendelson-Ontiveros said. “And making the pivot to nonprofits and the for-purpose sectors goes to show you’re willing to give up the financial benefit for something that’s more mission-driven.”

Lobato’s first day at La Luz is Aug. 23 – that’s when he’ll really dive in on familiarizing himself with the center’s programming and services. What excites him most, he says, is what he calls La Luz’s “holistic” approach to meeting the needs of the Latinx community.

Lower-income families rising into the middle class doesn’t happen overnight, Lobato said. “It’s generational. So it is important for families to provide their children with the education (to do that).”

La Luz’s approach isn’t about one specific service, he said, “but support in various areas.”

“That holistic approach — that’s how I like to solve issues, looking at all angles and finding solutions.”

See more photos from Noche in the Summer of Love here.

Email Jason at jason.walsh@sonomanews.com.