Meet Ricardo Ramos | Nonprofit CEO and Founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ricardo Ramos and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ricardo, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
The most important part behind our success is the philanthropic desire our volunteers and I have to help the community. GRACIAS is a “true” non-profit in that everyone involved, including myself, are unpaid volunteers who are dedicating their time and expertise for the main reason of helping empower Latino communities. The lack of salary and employee benefits liberates GRACIAS from the limitations and burdens that every other nonprofit faces. We are truly able to devote 100% of our donations towards our events and programs. It has allowed us to quickly expand and help more people as well as make other companies and organizations work with us towards our mission.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I am not your traditional businessman at all. For starters, I attended Georgia Tech and graduated after just 2.5 years with a Bachelor’s of Science without taking any business class. Since my graduation, I work multiple jobs; I am a full-time EMT for Grady, the CEO of my nonprofit GRACIAS, co-owner of a startup “Connecting Shadows”, and I coach little kids soccer with the nonprofit “Soccer in the Streets”. I am a businessman in that I founded and manage the nonprofit GRACIAS which has now spanned over 5 counties with dozens of volunteers involved after just 7 months since its founding. I am a businessman in that I am co-founding a startup “Connecting Shadows” which is a digital platform connecting premedical students with physicians for medical shadowing opportunities due to the increasing difficulty of finding such opportunities, especially for first-gen students and those from black or brown communities. However, I am untraditional in that I am not fueled by money or profit, but instead by impact. I do not receive any money or financial reward for serving as the CEO of GRACIAS; all my work is done as an unpaid volunteer. With Connecting Shadows, we intend on charging schools for their students to use our service and even then, we only plan on charging the minimum amount needed to cover our administrative and manpower costs; by making it as least costly as possible, we can increase its accessibility to students who would benefit from this service the most. Living in Atlanta is not cheap which is why I work in Grady, but I want people to know that my businesses, especially my nonprofit GRACIAS are fully philanthropic-driven. From during research, from speaking to students, from speaking to parents, and from visiting various parts of metro Atlanta, I have learned the grave necessity that exists for both of my businesses. I am most proud of the impact my nonprofit has already made and excited about all the potential waves both of my businesses will foster as they continue to grow and develop.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Atlanta is incredibly underrated; Atlanta is home to Coca-Cola, one of the most well-known and believed global brands, the birthplace of MLK Jr., an icon to everyone, home to the largest college football home of fame, the site of the centennial Summer Olympic games, and home to the 2nd largest Aquarium in the world. The Georgia Aquarium is first on my list along with other common spots such as Piedmont Park, Ponce City Market, and Stone Mountain. I would also recommend going out of the city to the suburbs of Brookhaven and Duluth which are filled with various cultural eats and shops. If in the mood for tacos, my go-to is Taco Veloz.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to credit my team of volunteers, especially those who have been with the nonprofit since the beginning such as Blanca E Serrano, Atsie Tuma, DavidIssac Marple and Lindsay Estrella. They have been incredible in contributing their own time, resources and expertise despite their busy workload towards the GRACIAS mission. They are helping my vision become a reality, a reality where Latino communities are empowered to truly pursue the American Dream.

Website: gracias-atl.org

Instagram: personal: @ricardor_016 / nonprofit: @gracias_atl

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ricardo-ramos-79b7a4222/

Facebook: nonprofit: @gracias_atl

Other: Email to nonprofit is gracias.atlanta.ga@gmail.com