ASPIRA, Inc. of New Jersey
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ASPIRA was found in New York City by Dr. Antonia Pantoja (1922–2004). In 1961, Dr. Antonia Pantoja and a group of educators and professionals created ASPIRA (Spanish word for “aspire”), to address the exceedingly high dropout rate and low educational attainment of Puerto Rican youth. The ASPIRA Associated is currently the largest nonprofit organization dedicated to Hispanic education in the United States, with nine affiliates in the United State and Puerto Rico.
Dr. Antonia Pantoja was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1922 and studied at the University of Puerto Rico where she obtained a high school diploma in 1942.
Upon graduating from the University of Puerto Rico, she worked as a school teacher for two years in Puerto Rico where she cultivated a profound interest in education and addressing the needs of disadvantaged children.
The ASPIRA Association is an American Nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower the Puerto Rican and Latino community through advocacy, education and leadership development of its youth. We are committed to elevating the self-esteem of all students through leadership development and fostering their personal growth by encouraging lifelong learning.
Carlos Valentin Jr. currently serves as the Executive Director of ASPIRA Inc. of New Jersey. With a professional background in the nonprofit, political, and government sectors, Carlos began working extensively with nonprofit organization starting in the mid–1990’s.
As an advocate for the underserved, a proponent for youth empowerment, civic engagement, and advocacy, as well as effective juvenile justice alternative, Carlos has dedicated his entire life and career to providing opportunities and resources locally and statewide.
Here at ASPIRA we service approximately a hundred adolescents at our Juvenile Delinquency Alternative Initiatives program on a yearly bases, In our after school program located outside our office at our partnered schools Luis Muñoz Marin we service a total two hundred student and lastly at the boxing gym located in our building we service roughly about a hundred youths a year.
We strive to give the BEST support, educational resource for our teachers, students, parents, and community, embracing the notion that it takes a village to raise a child and that learning is a continual process requiring multi-level support.
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