Diego Abente migrated to the U.S. with his family in the late 1970s when his parents were fleeing violence and persecution in their home country of Paraguay. Growing up in the states, Abente’s parents encouraged him to compare the opportunities afforded to them with those his family in Paraguay had to struggle to obtain. This experience forged a deep sense of responsibility and purpose to pay back and pay forward the fortune this country bestowed on him and his family.
It’s why he has dedicated his entire career to public and nonprofit service. This service continues in his role as the president and CEO of Casa de Salud where he combines his immigrant story, passion for service and 20 years of nonprofit management experience to lead a results-driven team of staff and volunteers.
Casa de Salud is a community healthcare clinic that provides access to primary healthcare for the immigrant community in St. Louis. Its mission is to facilitate and deliver access to high-quality primary and mental healthcare to the region’s under and uninsured, with a focus on newly arrived immigrants. Casa de Salud employs bilingual, culturally sensitive staff who partner with volunteer doctors, therapists, nurses and other medically licensed providers to deliver culturally competent care, serving up to 5,000 individuals a year with more than 15,000 services.
During his time at Casa de Salud, Abente has led the organization through the pandemic and increased the funding more than two-fold. “As Casa’s CEO, he led the organization through the pandemic, helping it not only survive but thrive in the transition to telehealth,” said his staff. “He also worked to reestablish and strengthen community partnerships with local and state government, area healthcare providers and immigrant service providers to connect and deliver resources into the community.”
In addition, since his arrival to the organization in 2020, Abente has almost doubled Casa de Saluda’s balance sheet to $1.7 million, attracting the organization’s first national funder and creating an investment portfolio to maximize Casa’s cash reserves.
His efforts have earned him recognition as a diverse leader by the St. Louis Business Journal and Abente was awarded the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in building a diverse and thriving region.
“In the non-profit space, we often face unexpected problems and challenges and have limited resources available to address these obstacles,” said Abente. “My passion for observing and describing problems, assessing available options, thinking creatively and responding quickly is my superpower.”
For his unending commitment to serving the community with creative solutions, Abente has been named a Titan 100.
