Plinio Ayala is CEO at Per Scholas. With more than 35 years of experience in workforce development, Plinio has led Per Scholas since 2003 and has been instrumental in many of the organization’s achievements—from evolving its original mission of bridging the digital divide through refurbishing end-of-life computer equipment to leading its accelerating national growth. In the process, Plinio has incubated strong organizational capacities to respond to changing market conditions, pursue entrepreneurial opportunities, and embrace rigorous impact measurements. 

Pilnio was born and raised in the South Bronx, just as it grew into a national emblem for urban poverty and disinvestment. His experience instilled a lifelong passion for creating economic opportunity, and shortly after graduating from Wesleyan University with a degree in American Studies, he devoted his career to building “win-win” solutions to social and economic problems, first at Jobs for Youth and then at SoBro. 

Plinio sits on the boards of Economic Mobility Partners and SoBro. He has also served on the New York State Workforce Recovery Strategy Committee since 2020. He has received numerous honors, including the Bronx Power List 2025 honoree, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Community Leader Award in 2019, Newscorp’s Murdoch Community Hero Award in 2018, and Hispanic Community Leader of the Year by Crain’s New York in 2016.