In August 2008, Margarita Queralt Mirkil was appointed as the new executive director of La Comunidad Hispana (LCH), an affiliate of PHMC serving the southern Chester County area. Mirkil brings more than 20 years of experience in marketing, communications, program management and strategic planning from the for-profit and corporate sectors. In our Q&A, Mirkil, whose résumé includes Vanguard and MCI Communications, talks about her new position.

How do you define the role
of executive director?

The executive director needs to provide leadership so that the agency can realize its mission, which is to improve the quality of life, health and well-being of low-income Hispanics and other underserved people through advocacy and bilingual programs in health care, education, and social services. For 35 years LCH has provided successful, meaningful, quality programs in the southern Chester County area and this spring (2009), we are moving to a new, state-of-the-art facility that will allow us to integrate our health care, education and social services under one roof. I see my role as helping the agency to define its vision for the next five to 10 years and organize to best meet the needs of the community in the future.

You previously have worked primarily in the corporate world. How did that prepare you for the nonprofit world?

After going to business school, I did pursue a career in the private sector. My background and experience are mostly in product marketing, sales and communications where I honed skills that translate into the not-for-profit world. For example, as a product marketing manager, I managed large cross-functional teams over a three to six month period of time and achieved goals within very tight deadlines without going over budget. In sales, like in fundraising, much of my success was attributed to my communication skills and my ability to educate key decision makers on the value of a given product or service, and then relentlessly follow up until the deal was signed. Finally, my experience in communications is invaluable in everything I will do to help promote LCH to the broader community.

What attracted
you to LCH?

I love that LCH is a bilingual, community-based organization addressing critical human needs on a daily basis. Also the fact that it’s an affiliate of PHMC is a benefit giving us, a small agency, the ability to rely on the support of a large organization. Working at LCH is a wonderful opportunity for me to combine my Hispanic roots, my language skills and my interest in the community with my career goal of leading a small organization. I am really excited to be here!

What do you want to establish
as your legacy at LCH?

It is awfully hard to think about a legacy just now. My long-term vision for the agency is that it will continue to be able to provide services to the Hispanic and underserved communities in Chester County, growing with the needs of the community and expanding into other areas as the demand for services grow.