Fidel Vargas

Fidel A. Vargas is President & CEO of HSF, one of the nation’s leading nonprofit organizations.

As President and CEO, Fidel is accountable for championing HSF’s vision and mission; ensuring the delivery of world-class service to every individual who interacts with HSF; safeguarding the organization’s financial health and sustainability; and leading an unrivaled, high-performance team that delivers industry-leading operational excellence and impact.

Founded in 1975, HSF empowers students and parents with the knowledge and resources to successfully complete a higher education, while providing support services and scholarships to as many exceptional students, Scholars, and Alumni as possible. As one of the country’s leading nonprofit organizations, HSF provides a broad range of programs and support services to 25,000+ parents and students annually and has awarded over $726 million in scholarships since its inception.

Before joining HSF, Fidel was a Founding Partner of Centinela Capital Partners, an alternative asset management firm that invested nearly $1 billion in leading emerging private equity and venture capital funds. At the age of twenty-three, Fidel was elected the country’s youngest Mayor of a major city, Baldwin Park, California.

Fidel has served on various public and private sector boards and commissions, including President Clinton’s Advisory Council on Social Security; President Bush’s Commission on Strengthening Social Security; and Presidents Bush’s and President Obama’s Commission on Presidential Scholars. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat, on President Biden’s Commission on White House Fellowships, and the boards of the Charter School Growth Fund, the Latino Donor Collaborative, and the Latino Theatre Company of Los Angeles.

Fidel is an HSF alum and holds an M.B.A. and an A.B. in Social Studies from Harvard University.