Time to Reflect & Refresh: Announcing My Sabbatical

Jose Quiñonez, CEO of MAF, announces a three-month sabbatical, sponsored by O2 Initiatives.

I’m taking a sabbatical!

Thanks to a generous grant from O2 Initiatives, I start a three-month sabbatical on December 21st. Since 2007, I’ve had the privilege of building MAF from a neighborhood nonprofit into an organization with a national network of 53 nonprofit partners, providing Lending Circles across 18 states. After overcoming many challenges and achieving much success through the years, I feel that now is the time to take a step back and reflect on all we’ve accomplished — and to envision what’s next for MAF as we continue to uplift credit-building as a force for good, forge new partnerships, and expand to new communities.

I am ever grateful to O2 Initiatives for providing me with the gift of time to reflect and refresh.

Over the next three months, I look forward to traveling and spending time with my family, reconnecting with old friends, and reading hardcover books. I have a stack of books on my nightstand just waiting to be picked up. I can’t wait thumb through their pages.

During my absence, MAF’s Chief Operating Officer Daniela Salas will take the helm as Acting CEO.

Daniela has been a critical force behind MAF’s success since our founding, and I have the utmost confidence in her ability to lead the organization as it embarks on an ambitious plan for 2016. We will continue to move our research agenda forward by studying the impact of Lending Circles on consumers’ financial well-being; we will break new ground in developing technology for our clients to have awesome experiences with Lending Circles; and we will go the extra mile to ensure that our partners have the right tools and training to successfully implement Lending Circles in their communities.

I look forward to returning to my role as CEO in April 2016.

With renewed energy, we’ll continue to build on what’s good and forge ahead in our fight against poverty. Onwards!