It doesn’t matter whether you’re a stay-at-home mom or a world-famous celebrity, relationships are the foundation of human existence. From the moment we are born, they impact our identity, culture, and legacy. As we grow older, these relationships change shape, but remain crucial to who we are. Many of these play a pivotal role in defining our personal strengths and weaknesses. They are our bridges, our connections, and our commonalities; they make us who we are.
Pete Pallares also keeps the understanding of relationships at his heart and considers it to be a major trait to be a successful leader. And keeping this understanding as his foundation, Pete established the Center for Social Dynamics (CSD), an organization providing services to those with developmental delays, including autism, in the state of California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Idaho and Hawaii.
Pete has developed intervention programs for a diverse variety of patients, ranging from high-functioning children to those who are extremely impacted. His areas of expertise include deconstructing and evaluating cultural factors within an environment or an individual’s life experience. Pete also has a foundation, the Pedro Pallares Autism Foundation, and his work on social equality and diversity has garnered national attention for his leadership and efforts on these issues.
As a member and presenter for a variety of organizations dedicated to autism treatment and awareness, Pete has also collaborated on significant autism research projects performed by the Department of Public Health and Kaiser Permanente, among other organizations. Pete’s company has also been recognized by Inc 5000 and SFBT as one of the fastest-growing firms in the United States over the previous five years, and he has been nominated for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year.
The Will to Help People
Pete was born and raised in Barcelona, Catalonia, and moved to the United States when he was 18 to pursue a basketball scholarship at the University of Hawaii. He was inspired to help others who were experiencing academic challenges after being diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD himself at an early age. The young basketball player discovered a strong enthusiasm for helping youngsters with developmental delays and disabilities after a brief professional career in the sport. He made the decision to assist people to the best of his ability in order to improve their lives by providing them with a fresh perspective on living.
Pete worked for two large companies, Kaiser Permanente and Easter Seals Bay Area, before establishing Center for Social Dynamics in 2012. During the initial days of founding the Center for Social Dynamics (CSD), as an entrepreneur, Pete faced the lack of working capital and selling equity as the early major roadblock. Another major hurdle that Pete had to overcome was the regulatory environment. He says, “Scaling the company across states, finding and investing to develop the right team, and continuing to stay loyal to my beliefs was a fine learning and validating experience.”
However, despite the challenges, Pete persevered in the face of adversity by motivating himself to be strong and positive. As a result of his efforts, Center for Social Dynamics (CSD) developed tremendously, providing assistance to individuals with developmental delays and autism spectrum disorders from all ethnic backgrounds, all cultures, and all languages.
And today, as the President and CEO of Center for Social Dynamics, Pete Pallares carefully looks after the company’s expansion and development plans. His other essential responsibilities include ensuring that the firm’s purpose and vision are implemented; that the organization always maintains high levels of performance with all parties, reviewing objectives and leaders, as well as analyzing risks. “I make sure my executive and upper management teams are accountable and best suitable to do their job,” he explains. “I create expectations as well as goals and focus on scalability and growth of the enterprise.”
Pete started CSD to improve the industry and its space as it is a common trait in every entrepreneur to try to make things better. And he is quite proud that the initial version of the organization is still current — to improve people’s lives from different cultures and backgrounds by providing the best care possible. The only difference that Pete now realizes is that his organization has now turned much bigger.
An Entrepreneurial Spirit
While the foundational bricks of CSD were laid back in 2012, Pete has always been very entrepreneurial. He always had a great awareness of why something didn’t work, and he always had visions and ideas about how to raise services and care for people. He knew that he could improve anything he was involved in regardless of its size or the level of difficulty.
Being familiar with his own personality allowed Pete to incorporate his beliefs into his leadership of believing in and making an effort to be true to himself. And that’s why in Pete’s dictionary, an influential leader must have a strong dose of integrity and character. He/she must possess strong communication skills and learning agility. And most of all, that leader must be surrounded by people that can advise him/her properly and has an equal amount of empathy and courage.
For aspiring and emerging leaders, Pete’s advice carries the same trend as well. He wants them to love the journey they have put forth their steps on. They will also need a solid and purposeful reason why they are going on this journey. “If the reason why they are doing something of this magnitude is not led by passion, the chances to fail increases dramatically,” says Pete.
And when the missteps come, this understanding, the sense of doing right by yourself will help them find the energy to get back on track fast and keep moving things forward.
Services of CSD
The members of CSD, including the programs, strive to offer individualized, professional, evidence-based, behavioral and developmental services to each patient, as well as provide peace of mind to caregivers who have loved ones in their care.
Here’s how Pete Pallares describes the uniqueness of the organization: “We work with a particular population that, like everyone else, deserves all the opportunities in the world to succeed and enjoy a healthy and happy life. We are here for them, Always! We stand out from the crowd because we have created something unique with unique people and a unique ideology.”
CSD is devoted to the following goals, with the knowledge that every individual is unique and requires a unique set of services:
- A wide range of personalized and adaptable services tailored to the specific requirements of each family.
- Sensitivity to the distinct cultures, beliefs, and generational dynamics that exist within each family.
- A multidisciplinary, evidence-based strategy that ensures participants receive the appropriate therapy and are attaining the intended objectives.
- Play-based learning that prepares children to flourish in their particular living environment.
- Structured instruction utilizing visual cues not only aids in the learning process, but also aids in the development of learning skills.
The Pedro Pallares Autism Foundation
PPAF is a 501(c)(3) charity organization whose goal is to aid persons with autism across the world. This organization focuses on providing educational scholarships for professionals in the field of autism and advancing research while simultaneously creating infrastructures to serve populations who are in need throughout the world.
Through strategic partnerships, programs, and initiatives, PPAF collaborates with dedicated individuals, organizations, and government agencies to provide fresh, dynamic, and impactful solutions that positively transform the lives of people on the autism spectrum and the professionals who interact with them.
Support for Tomorrow
Pete’s futuristic vision for CSD is clear; to continue providing esteemed services and care for those in need across the west coast of the US, keep growing organically and inorganically and keep on developing the future leaders of this industry and communities. On the personal side of things, Pete concludes with a joke that he will be someplace where he can continue to be useful.
