Julio Carrillo (pronunciation: Cay-reel-yo) is passionate about bringing strategic business thinking to Georgia’s nonprofit sector and driving measurable impact for organizations addressing issues that affect the stability and success of at-risk youth and families in low-opportunity communities. Named CEO of HOPE Atlanta in April of 2022, he believes that in addition to being the #1 state for business, Georgia can become a model for tackling homelessness and hunger through collective action.

Julio is leading the team with the mindset that no matter the root causes, homelessness, and hunger are humanitarian crises that shouldn’t be considered a “normal” part of society. Yet, these issues are surprisingly widespread. Some 10,000 Georgians experience homelessness daily, while an estimated one in nine face hunger or food insecurity. One in three of those are children. The new strategic plan for HOPE Atlanta will provide an integrated solution to tackle this head through collaboration, innovation, and partnerships across the state.

Prior to HOPE Atlanta, he served as Chief Operating Officer for Families First during the height of COVID. During this challenging time, Julio’s leadership style focused on trust, impact, and accountability resulting in a more agile and stronger organization poised to meet both the immediate and long-term needs of the team and our clients. He helped Families First to continue to serve more than 16,000 families including Hispanic Latino families during Covid-19 with basic needs, access to vaccinations, food, and technology.

In 2006, Carrillo pivoted from supply chain and inventory management roles in the private sector (The Fresh Market and Cesca Logistics) to the public sector by joining Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta. For more than a decade through various operational and programming roles including COO, Carrillo helped its Atlanta staff and 100% volunteer workforce of 3,400 adult mentors to become an example to hundreds of chapters nationwide, showcasing better ways to mentor more children and change the trajectory of their lives.

Impressed with the impact of newly implemented nonprofit technology solutions that significantly enhanced the effectiveness and efficiencies of the Big Brothers Big Sisters agency, in 2017 Carrillo jumped at the chance to oversee the operations of TechBridge, a nonprofit providing creative technology transformations exclusively to nonprofit organizations working primarily in food security, homelessness and workforce development. Carrillo developed the nonprofit’s leadership, launched revenue streams, and helped manage consulting teams in forty-seven states (and India) delivering 1,300 projects and serving clients like Feeding America and Habitat for Humanity.

A recognized change-maker and collaborative leader, Carrillo was selected as a member of the 2016 Leadership Atlanta class where he initiated outreach about domestic/intimate partner violence with the Latinx and LGBTQ communities. In 2017, he was named one of the Atlanta Business Chronicles’ 40 under 40, the editors of Atlanta Magazine have chosen him as one of our city’s most powerful leaders by The Atlanta 500 and most recently he has been chosen by Georgia Trend as one of the Top 500 leaders in the state. He currently serves as a Board member to Leadership Atlanta. Agape Youth & Family Center, Atlanta Victim Assistance, and the GreenLight Fund. Carrillo is a native of Colombia, South America. He earned a Bachelor’s in Business Administration in Spain. He is certified in Strategy and Innovation by Columbia University, City of New York. Carrillo speaks English and Spanish.