Biography
Ayrén Velazco Díaz is the Director of Grants and Program Development at Care Resource, where she is responsible for researching, identifying, securing, and managing public and private funding to support health center programs. In this role, she works to ensure that programs are strategically aligned with funder requirements and public health priorities at the local, state, and federal levels, while remaining responsive to community needs.
Born and raised in Cuba, Ayrén joined Care Resource in January 2015 as a Medical Case Manager for the Project AIDS Care (PAC) Waiver program. In 2017, she transitioned to the Grants and Program Development department, holding roles such as Contracts and Program Development Associate, Grants and Program Development Coordinator, and Grants Manager. Ayrén’s contributions have been crucial to the team’s success in securing major funding awards.
Before joining Care Resource, Ayrén taught at the University of Havana in Cuba for ten years. She worked as an Assistant Professor and later became Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies.
She founded the Cuban Scientific Journal of Communication Sciences. She also worked as a scientific editor for UNESCO in Havana and for CIESAS in Mexico. In addition, Ayrén has been a research fellow and visiting professor at universities in Spain, Portugal, France, and Venezuela.
Ayrén is a Certified Grants Management Specialist (CGMS) and an active member of the National Grants Management Association (NGMA), the American Public Health Association (APHA), and the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC). She holds a BA in Journalism and an MS in Communication Sciences from the University of Havana and is fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, and English.
Ayrén’s work is inspired by the belief that healthcare is social care. She focuses on developing programs that address health-related social needs and drive system-level changes to ensure access to care and support services.
