Alejandro Rivera Benitez
Bringing people together through soccer to build healthier, stronger communities.
- Founder and President, Goals for Life
- Community Relations in Health Research
- Opinion Columnist
The dream changed. The game stayed.
Like so many kids in Mexico, I grew up with one dream: to become a professional soccer player. I played from a very young age and gave it everything I had. Then injuries got in the way, and I had to choose between the field and finishing my university degree. I chose my education.
The game had already given me what I needed: discipline, leadership and the habit of working as a team. I have relied on those lessons in every role since.
I built my career in public policy and community work, first in Mexico and then in the United States. In Phoenix, I spent almost seven years at the Consulate General of Mexico, where I created Puerta a Puerta, a network of more than 100 community leaders across Arizona.
That work showed me the gap up close: families with real needs on one side, institutions with real resources on the other, and too often no bridge between them.
Today I see the same gap in health. It starts with families who have lost hope because they cannot get care, or because no one explains it in a language they understand. Closing that gap takes one project that brings everyone to the same table.
I found that project on the road. I have followed soccer around the world, and everywhere I saw the same thing: the game brings people together when almost nothing else can. Soccer is the most powerful tool for social change I know.
That is why I founded Goals for Life: so families find inclusion, support and empowerment through education and sport. It is the first piece of a larger ecosystem I am building around soccer, one that develops talent and strengthens communities across Arizona and North America.
As a kid, I dreamed of playing soccer. Today I build ecosystems of social transformation through soccer.
- Phoenix, ArizonaHome base, serving communities across the state
- Two languagesI work in English and Spanish
- One toolSoccer, for health, education and opportunity
What I believe
Wherever the game has taken me, I have learned the same lesson: a ball knows no borders.
Soccer does not care what language you speak, what faith you practice or where you were born. On the field, strangers become a team. Soccer has put wars on pause. I bring that same spirit to every neighborhood I work in, no matter what the country is going through.
Soccer brings hope.Soccer brings opportunity.Soccer brings families back together.
Our kids face real risks today: harmful substances, unhealthy food, too many hours on screens, and rising depression and anxiety. Soccer is one of the strongest answers we have. It gets kids moving, gives them structure and friends, and puts them around adults who care.
That is why I use the game to bring health, science and resources to families who often do not know those resources exist.
This is not an experiment. It is my work, and I am in it for the long run.
Alejandro Rivera BenitezFounder, Goals for Life
What I do today
Goals for Life
Founder and President, since 2025
Goals for Life is the Arizona nonprofit I founded to use soccer for community health. We organize tournaments and community days where, right next to the field, families get health screenings, vaccines, legal guidance, haircuts and information they can trust.
As president, I lead the vision, partnerships and fundraising. My job is to bring the right allies to the same field: health providers, community groups, sponsors and families.
Mayo Clinic
Community Relations Coordinator, Research, since 2026
I work in community outreach and engagement for cancer research in Arizona. I build partnerships with community organizations, promotores, faith communities and civic leaders across the state.
The goal is simple. Latino families should get trusted health information in their own language, have a real chance to take part in clinical research, and get support to prevent cancer through healthier habits.
Goals for Life in the community
The Promise
Soccer tournament and community fair
Families come for the games and find free resources, health services and information in English and Spanish. Kids stay active, parents get answers, and everyone is welcome.
Thanksgiving Celebration
South Phoenix
Goals for Life is proud to join this free community tradition, now more than 30 years old. Families receive turkeys, kids play soccer, and there is live music, activities and soccer balls for the community.
Goals for Life is a 501(c)(3) and an Arizona Qualified Charitable Organization, so Arizona donors may qualify for the state charitable tax credit.
What I bring to the game
Latino families are at the heart of soccer in Arizona. If you run a club, a league, a federation or a brand, I know how to reach them the right way.
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Trust in the community
I know the community leaders, faith groups and local media that Latino families listen to. That is how an organization gets invited in, instead of advertising from the outside.
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Programs that do good and show it
I build community programs with health, education and service partners, and I measure what they achieve. Sponsors and boards get results they can report, not just photos.
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A bridge to Mexico
Almost seven years at the Consulate General of Mexico taught me how Mexican institutions work from the inside. That experience is an asset for any match, tour or partnership between Mexico and the United States.
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A bilingual voice
I speak to the community in its own language. I have handled press with Univision, Telemundo and Arizona media, and I write opinion columns on soccer and community life.
Where this is going
My next goals are clear: bring the biggest soccer events closer to families who rarely get a ticket, open doors for young players who have the talent but not the opportunity, and grow Goals for Life from Phoenix into a model for cities across North America.
Talk to me about a projectTrack record
- 100+community leaders in Puerta a Puerta, the statewide network I designed and led for the Consulate General of Mexico in Phoenix
- 500+people at the Hispanic Soccer Tournament I organized
- 30K USDraised for scholarships and education, including the Mexican Women Entrepreneurship Program in Phoenix
- 11,000+followers for the Consulate’s bilingual TikTok channel, built from zero
- 30%revenue growth at the Tlalnepantla water utility in Mexico, without raising rates
- 13%revenue growth at the Cuautitlán Izcalli water utility, also without raising rates
Experience
- 2026 to presentCommunity Relations Coordinator, ResearchMayo Clinic, Phoenix
- 2025 to presentFounder and PresidentGoals for Life, Greater Phoenix
- 2020 to 2026Coordinator of Special AffairsConsulate General of Mexico in Phoenix
- 2019 to 2020Consular Protection DepartmentConsulate General of Mexico in Phoenix
- 2018 to 2019Public Policy ConsultantPolitik Progresista, Mexico City
- 2013 to 2016Commercial leadership rolesWater Supply Systems of Tlalnepantla and Cuautitlán Izcalli, Mexico
Education
B.A. in International Relations, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)
Certificate in Water: Scarcity, Excess and the Geopolitics of Allocation, University of Pennsylvania, The Lauder Institute
Research
“Water as a National Security Element between Mexico and the United States, 2009-2015”
Writing and speaking
Opinion, The Daily Independent, October 1, 2026 U.S. vs. Mexico: ‘War’ that ends at final whistle in Glendale Read the columnTopics I speak about
- Soccer as a tool for social development
- Building community and trusted networks
- Understanding the U.S. health care system
- Health equity and prevention in Latino communities
- Mexico and the United States: politics, migration and binational life
- Technology and AI for community impact
Short bio for organizers and media
Alejandro “Alex” Rivera Benitez is a Mexican-American community leader in Phoenix, Arizona. He is the founder and president of Goals for Life, a nonprofit that uses soccer to bring health and opportunity to Latino families. He also works in community relations for health research in Arizona. Before that, he spent almost seven years at the Consulate General of Mexico in Phoenix, where he created Puerta a Puerta, a statewide network of more than 100 community leaders. Born in Mexico City, he works in English and Spanish.
En español
“He recorrido el mundo siguiendo el fútbol y en todas partes aprendí lo mismo: el balón no conoce fronteras. No le importa tu idioma, tu religión ni tu origen. Dentro de una cancha, desconocidos se vuelven equipo. El fútbol da esperanza, da oportunidades y nos devuelve los valores de familia que las pantallas nos han ido quitando. No es una idea que esté probando. Es lo que creo.”
Nací en la Ciudad de México y crecí jugando fútbol con el sueño de ser profesional. Las lesiones complicaron el camino y decidí terminar mi carrera universitaria en lugar de seguir jugando, pero el fútbol ya me había enseñado disciplina, liderazgo y trabajo en equipo. Hoy, desde Phoenix, uso el fútbol para llevar salud, educación y oportunidades a las familias latinas de Arizona.
De niño soñaba con jugar fútbol. Hoy construyo ecosistemas de transformación social a través del fútbol.
Hoy trabajo en relaciones comunitarias en el sector salud, y ahí veo la misma desigualdad: familias que han perdido la esperanza por falta de acceso o por no entender el idioma. Por eso fundé Goals for Life, para que las familias encuentren inclusión, apoyo y empoderamiento a través de la educación y el deporte. Organizamos torneos y ferias comunitarias con recursos gratuitos, servicios de salud e información en inglés y español.
Durante casi siete años trabajé en el Consulado General de México en Phoenix, donde creé Puerta a Puerta, una red de más de 100 líderes comunitarios en todo Arizona. También escribo columnas de opinión en The Daily Independent.
Mis próximas metas son claras: acercar los grandes eventos de fútbol a nuestras familias, abrir puertas a jóvenes que tienen el talento pero no la oportunidad, y convertir a Goals for Life en un modelo para ciudades de toda Norteamérica. Cada aliado cuenta.
Escríbeme Conoce Goals for LifeGet in touch
A grant, a sponsorship, a partnership, a speaking invitation or a press request. Send me a message below and I will answer personally.
¿Una alianza, un patrocinio, una conferencia o una entrevista? Escríbeme abajo y te respondo personalmente.
Phoenix, Arizona. English and Spanish.
This is a personal website. The views here are my own. I do not speak on behalf of Mayo Clinic, the Consulate General of Mexico or any other institution I work or have worked with, and mentioning them does not mean they endorse this site or Goals for Life. Goals for Life is an independent nonprofit organization.