Alex Olivares

Rafael (Alex) Olivares received his undergraduate degree in clinical psychology in 2004 from the Catholic University of Santo Domingo. Since that time, he has worked in various social service and mental health settings. His work with various populations includes the chronically mentally ill and ungovernable/truant and runaway youth.

In October of 2009 he became the Program Director for Human Trafficking Services for Catholic Charities and together with his team, provided services to over 250 victims of human trafficking in the SWFL region. During that time period, he was elected as the first Chairman of the Southwest Florida Human Trafficking Coalition, a position which he held until February of 2013. During his time with the coalition, the organization expanded out to various counties and hosted various symposiums on Human Trafficking in our local area.

He obtained a master’s degree in clinical Mental Health Counseling from Hodges University. Between 2014-2017 he functioned as the Coordinator for the Florida Gulf Coast University Resource Center on Human Trafficking as well as the Program Director of the Human Trafficking Services, Substance Abuse Counseling and Positive Youth Development programs for Catholic Charities, District II. He is also a current board member for the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence and the Coalition for a Drug Free SWFL. He has been the CEO of The Center for Progress and Excellence since December 2018 (before that he functioned as the agency’s Executive Director and Grant writer).