Ricky Ricardo Villa is the founder and director of Casa Sur Hacienda, a community-centered hub in San Diego’s South Bay dedicated to social impact, community building, and cross-cultural collaboration.

Born in Mexico City into a humble family of nine siblings, our leader Ricky grew up with values rooted in perseverance, unity, compassion, and the belief that education and community support can transform lives. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Mass Media Arts and began his professional path at El Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes and Radio Educación, later expanding his experience into the Broadway and show business industry.

In his twenties, Ricky moved to New York City, where he spent 20 years working across diverse fields—including HSBC Bank, Prudential Financial, Re/Max Today, New York University, and the fitness and wellness industry at Equinox, New York Sports Club, and DanceSport. During this time, he also performed as a Latin and Ballroom dancer at the renowned Lincoln Center Midsummer Festival.

Before relocating to California, Ricky completed a master’s degree in Bilingual, General, and Special Childhood Education. He served as a Case Manager and Special Education Teacher across New York City’s public and private school systems, further developing his commitment to community impact, education, and inclusive development.

Inspired by Intentional Communities, Ecovillages, and Artist-in-Residence programs in New York and Vermont, our founder envisioned Casa Sur Hacienda as a multidisciplinary space for art, culture, wellness, professional development, and social impact—especially supporting underserved groups, immigrant communities, nonprofit initiatives, and cross-border collaboration.

Today, through Casa Sur Hacienda, Ricky leads and co-produces community gatherings, cultural events, team-building retreats, fundraising initiatives, artist residencies, and professional workshops. He also supports nonprofit organizations with strategic planning, outreach campaigns, and community engagement programs. Ricky is an active member of BNI La Mesa, the Chula Vista and National City Chambers of Commerce, and the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, and volunteers with Cause San Diego and the Corazón de Vida San Diego Chapter.

Through his leadership, Casa Sur Hacienda continues to grow as a bilingual, binational, inclusive space committed to community empowerment, social impact, and sustainable community building in the San Diego South Bay region.

Ricky Ricardo Villa’s Positive Leadership in the Community

Ricky Ricardo Villa’s leadership is grounded in humility, empathy, and an unwavering belief in the power of human connection. As the guiding force behind Casa Sur Hacienda, his mission is to cultivate a space where every individual in the San Diego South Bay can feel a true sense of belonging, be supported, and participate in meaningful community building.

Driven by this purpose, Ricky has transformed a quarter-acre property into a dynamic hub for collaboration, creativity, and community impact. Through nearly 100 gatherings—including fundraisers, cultural celebrations, wellness retreats, educational workshops, team-building experiences, and business networking events—he has united nonprofits, small businesses, and civic leaders around shared values and collective growth.

His leadership extends far beyond event coordination. Ricky is recognized for mobilizing people toward social impact and meaningful change. Under his direction, Casa Sur Hacienda has elevated causes supporting immigrant families, Ukrainian relatives of prisoners of war, orphanages in Tijuana, teens navigating social-emotional challenges, women entrepreneurs, minority-owned businesses, mental-health initiatives, and families experiencing grief.

Ricky’s ability to bring diverse groups together reflects his integrity, resilience, and lifelong commitment to equity, unity, and inclusive community development. His leadership demonstrates how one individual’s humble beginnings and clear purpose can spark connection, belonging, and lasting transformation.

What Motivates Ricky Ricardo Villa’s Vision

What Motivates Ricky Ricardo Villa’s Vision

Ricky is driven by a profound “why”: advancing social justice, equity, and community support through genuine human connection. His personal journey—shaped by a large family, immigrant heritage, bilingual education and decades of experience across multiple industries—fuels his commitment to building spaces where people can grow, collaborate and thrive together.

Through Casa Sur Hacienda, our founder’s vision is to establish the first bilingual, binational community hub in the South Bay, uniting local and cross-border organizations for social, educational, cultural, wellness and economic inclusion. His focus is not only on events, but on community building, team building and long-term community impact.

Ricky views Casa Sur Hacienda not simply as a venue, but as a movement for visibility, empowerment and belonging—a place where financial, social and emotional barriers are intentionally removed so people from all backgrounds can participate fully. This often includes providing accessible or free-of-charge space for nonprofits, underserved groups, cultural leaders and organizations seeking visibility and impact.

Ricky’s motivation—both for continuing this work and for being nominated—comes from humility and hope: a deep desire to uplift the community he serves and to demonstrate what becomes possible when integrity, inclusivity, collaboration and compassion guide every step of the journey.