Center’s Andres Hoyos Receives Prestigious Social Work Award
Andres Hoyos (middle) receiving NASW-NYC Emerging Leaders Award
On December 1, Director of Center Wellness Andrés Hoyos, received an Emerging Leaders Award from the New York City Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW-NYC). Hundreds gathered at Jing Fong Restaurant in Manhattan to pay tribute not only to Hoyos, but a host of other influential social workers. Hoyos was joined by his Center colleagues Nicole Avallone, Director of Youth Services, and George Fesser, Director of Center Families.
Through its leadership awards, NASW-NYC recognizes social workers who demonstrate exemplary leadership qualities and a unique commitment to the improvement of social and human conditions, assuring a promising future for the profession and the communities they serve.
Andrés Hoyos is a gay Latino man, originally from Colombia, who has been working in the field of social services since he was a teenager. Hoyos began his career in his native Medellín, where he worked with an NGO to establish the first ever national HIV/AIDS hotline in Colombia.
Center Staff: Nicole Avallone, Dir. of Youth Services (left), Andres Hoyos, Director of Center Wellness (middle), George Fesser, Director of Center Families (right)
Since relocating to New York City in 2000, he has worked on a volunteer basis with several agencies and committees to improve the quality of life for our communities—such as GMHC, the NYC HIV/AIDS Prevention Planning Group, Queens Pride House, the Manhattan Alcohol and Substance Abuse Council, and the Cultural Diversity Committee of Association of Substance Abuse Provider NYS.
Hoyos has been working at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center in NYC since 2003. In 2007, he founded and became director of Center Recovery, the first and only state licensed substance abuse prevention program serving the LGBT community in New York.
Hoyos currently serves as the Director of Center Wellness. Under his leadership, the program has provided vital support social services to tens of thousands of LGBT people.
Andres Hoyos, Director of Center Wellness, at NASW-NYC Awards
In 2009, Hoyos was selected along with 19 other people of color as new leaders of the LGBT movement nationwide, to be part of the inaugural “21st Century Fellows Program,” sponsored by Arcus Foundation, the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund, and the Gill Foundation.
Andres Hoyos, Director of Center Wellness (left) and Nicole Avallone, Director of Youth Services (right)
Hoyos’ commitment to social justice has been infused throughout his work at the Center, his private practice, and most recently, as an Adjunct Professor and Faculty Advisor at NYU’s School of Social Work. The Center congratulates him on this well-deserved honor!