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Executive Leadership
Camila Rocha, Chief Program Officer
As Chief Program Officer, Camila Rocha is responsible for working closely with the Program Leads to oversee the delivery of our core programming serving children, young adults, older adults, and seniors with special needs and disabilities.
With almost 20 years of experience in non-profit management, Camila directs programs with high levels of integrity and implements evidenced-based intervention strategies to support the development and well-being of children and adolescents. She has vast experience in grant management, education administration, and program monitoring. Camila holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (Colombia), and a master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling from Nova Southeastern University.
Camila moved to the United States in 2003 and since then she has dedicated her career to working with and supporting at-risk and underserved children and youth in Miami-Dade County. Her passion and dedication have been recognized in the community.
Under her leadership, the Easterseals South Florida Culinary Arts High School Program was awarded program of the year in 2019 by The Children’s Trust. Most recently, Camila was awarded the 2023 Healthcare Champion Advocacy award from the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. The award recognized her many contributions to the health industry, particularly in the advocacy work she does through her position with Easterseals.
Barry R. Vogel, J.D., Chief Administrative Officer
As Chief Administrative Officer for Easterseals South Florida, Barry is responsible for all business functions. Barry is committed to Easterseals South Florida mission of providing exceptional services so that all people with disability or special needs have an equal opportunity to live, work, learn and play in their communities. He joins Easterseals South Florida bringing significant experience in results-oriented non-profit leadership, operations management, person-centered culture, and as an educational administration executive.
Most recently, Barry served as managing director for Florida International University’s Global First Year pathway program for international students in partnerships with Shorelight LLC. Previously, Barry held senior management positions for Johnson & Wales University where he provided leadership for more than three decades in a variety of business, administrative, and student services functions.
Barry’s array of civic involvement has included serving the Miami Dade and Broward community in a variety of volunteer roles including the Financial Stability Impact Council of United Way of Miami Dade, the Beacon Council, Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, past chair of the Greater North Miami Chamber of Commerce, City of North Miami Downtown Action Plan Advisory Committee, Miami Dade County Public Schools Academy of Finance Advisory Committee, West Broward High School Speech & Debate Boosters; West Broward High School Performance Ensemble Boosters, and Boy Scouts of America South Florida Council.
Barry earned the Juris Doctorate degree from the Shepard Broad College of Law at Nova Southeastern University.
Senior Management
Pietro Bonacossa, CFRE, Vice President of Development
As Vice President of Development for Easterseals South Florida, Pietro is responsible for establishing and implementing the infrastructure needed to grow the agency’s impact on the families it serves through individual, corporate, foundation, and special event support. A metrics-driven nonprofit ambassador, Pietro has extensive experience driving revenue-generating mission engagement strategies, cultivating donors and community pillars towards becoming philanthropically invested in reputable South Florida institutions.
Throughout his fundraising journey, Pietro has had the privilege to serve in pivotal advancement roles where he partnered with cross-divisional teams to identify funding priorities, create compelling cases for support, leverage affinity circles, and broker major donor investments – primarily in the pediatric healthcare and higher education sectors.
A native of Florence, Italy, Pietro has lived in Miami for almost 20 years where he has held key fund and business development positions at Nicklaus Children’s Health System, Miami Dade College, Florida International University and Barry University, leading multi-channel community outreach efforts aimed at raising vital public support for programmatic, endowment, research, scholarship, clinical and cultural opportunities. Pietro has served in consulting and volunteer capacities with A Safe Haven for Newborns, the United Way Miami Health Impact Council, the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce (GMCC) Nonprofit Business Committee, and Safeguarding American Values for Everyone (SAVE). He is an active board member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Miami Chapter.
Pietro has a bachelor’s degree in International Trade from Auburn University and an MBA in Marketing from Georgia State University. He also holds a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) professional designation.
Gabriella Contreras, Director of Human Resources
Gabriella brings over 15+ years of experience in human resources and professional services, 10 of which she served in the non-profit health and human services field. Before joining ESSF, Gabriella spent over a decade at CHI Community Health of South Florida. Her professional experiences include executive-level management, compensation and budget review, strategic program management and planning, training/employee development, credentialing and privileging, organizational development, and employee relations. She is a committed member of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce and the CHI Caring Society, as well as a passionate supporter of Zoo Miami, Live Like Bella Foundation, and the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC). Gabriella obtained her BA in Psychology from Florida International University and is certified in Leadership Miami and Foundations of Leadership.
Steven Henriquez, CPA, Interim Chief Financial Officer
Steven J. Henriquez is a Florida Certified Public Accountant with comprehensive experience servicing prominent national and local clientele. He has extensively counseled not-for-profit entities, public corporations, wholesale and retail distribution operations, real estate interests, manufacturing entities, transportation logistics, and telecommunications companies. Holding a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Accounting from the University of Florida, Steven was previously employed with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and Mallah Furman.
Beatriz Hentschel, Head Start/Early Head Start Director
As Head Start/Early Head Start Director Beatriz Hentschel is responsible for the administration, financial management, and supervision of early childhood programs including Head Start, Early Head Start, Voluntary Pre-K, and School-Readiness.
Beatriz is a dynamic professional with over 23 years of experience providing high-quality early learning education for young children in primarily underserved communities. She has extensive experience in managing, mentoring, and coordinating programming across multiple early learning centers and has led large teams of more than 100 employees. Beatriz is an expert in the areas of early childhood curriculum development and implementation, program monitoring and support, budget development and adherence, human development and training, grant writing, NAEYC Accreditation, APPLE Accreditation and community relations.
Beatriz holds a Master of Arts in Education with an emphasis in Early Childhood and a B.S. Degree in Political Science and Public Administration with a minor in International Relations.
