Cynthia Ortiz, President with 30 years of experience in the field of nutrition and fitness is a leader in the fight against childhood obesity and formed La Placita (named after her parent’s green grocery store in Northern Liberties from 1954 to 1990). Challenged with obesity and emotional dysregulation as a child she has made it her mission to help families in Philadelphia and across the world learn how to combat the disease of childhood obesity and the growing instances of emotional dysregulation pertaining to diet. She is a certified Child and Brain Development Nutritional Advisor and has had held many fitness instructor certifications such as personal trainer, Pilates, step aerobics and Zumba just to name a few. She is the author of the What’s Eating You Kid? program.
Vincenzo Marquez, Vice President and Treasurer has been on the board for over 6 years. He is a machine data engineer currently working on is master’s degree in artificial intelligence. He is also a fitness enthusiast and has been a student of Jiujitsu for over 10 years.
Patricia Santiago, Secretary has experience in medical coding and has been on the board for over 6 years. She is an expert in middle eastern dance and has taught this style of fitness at Fitadelphia events prior to the pandemic.