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Local Voices

Armando Camacho named CEO at Opportunity Partners

The Opportunity Partners Board of Directors is pleased to announce the hiring of Armando Camacho as the new President and CEO of Opportunity Partners, a Twin Cities nonprofit organization serving people with disabilities.

Armando is a nonprofit leader with a strong background in human services, education and special education. For the past five years, he has served as President of Neighborhood House, a nonprofit organization helping immigrants, refugees and low-income populations.

Opportunity Partners serves 1,900 people with disabilities each year through employment, residential and training programs that help people live, learn and work more independently.

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Armando will start at Opportunity Partners on Monday, January 13. He takes the reins from Henry Blissenbach, who has served as Interim CEO since June 2013.

“I am thrilled to be joining Opportunity Partners,” Armando said. “This is an innovative organization focused on helping individuals with disabilities live and work in the community and take greater control of their lives. This has been a passion of mine going back to my days as a special education teacher and extending through my years at Neighborhood House.  I look forward to getting to work.”

Opportunity Partners Board Chairman David Bares said Armando will be an exceptional leader for the organization: “I’m excited about his strong interest and experience in working with people with disabilities and his proven leadership skills in both the human services and educational arenas. He will be a great addition to Opportunity Partners.”

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About Armando Camacho

Since 2008, Armando served as President of Neighborhood House, a 115-year old St. Paul nonprofit organization. During his tenure at Neighborhood House, he led a strategic redesign of programs and processes, expanded programming to extend the agency’s geographic reach, and capitalized on the organization’s Wellstone Center facility to increase earned income.

Armando has been named by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce among the top 25 Latinos on the Rise, and he has received awards from St. Cloud State University for excellence in teaching and from the Minneapolis School District for outstanding leadership as a principal. 

Prior to leading Neighborhood House, Armando worked for the Saint Paul Public School District, where he was Assistant Director of Alternative Learning Programs. He was also a principal for the Minneapolis Public School District, where his leadership of Whittier International Elementary School attracted national attention.

Armando attended the University of Saint Thomas and graduated from Saint Cloud State University with a bachelor’s degree in special education. He holds a master’s degree in education and a K-12 Principal’s license from Saint Mary’s University. In addition, he has his Superintendent’s licensure from Mankato State University and a Director of Community Education Licensure from the University of Minnesota.

Armando’s nonprofit board service has included: Greater Twin Cities United Way, MAP for Non-Profits, St. Paul Rotary Club, Children’s Theatre Company and Academia Cesar Chavez.  He is past-chair for the Greater Twin Cities United Way Council of Agency Executives. 

Armando was born in Puerto Rico and came to St. Paul’s historic West Side at the age of six. His wife, Angela Camacho, is an elementary school teacher in the Roseville Area Public Schools and they have two children.   

About Opportunity Partners

Founded in 1953 in Richfield by a group of visionary parents who wanted a better life for their teenage children with disabilities, Opportunity Partners has always focused on the abilities of people. At a time when many people with disabilities were institutionalized, Opportunity Partners provided opportunities for people to learn new job skills and experience the sense of pride that comes from earning a paycheck. 

Today, Opportunity Partners serves 1,900 people with disabilities each year through programs that help people live, learn and work more independently. 

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