Henao Honored Among Long Island’s “40 Under 40”

Felipe Henao, Ed.D., has been named to Long Island Business News’ “40 Under 40” list, which recognizes outstanding members of the local business community. He and the other award winners were honored at an in-person event on December 14.

For more than 20 years, Long Island Business News has celebrated outstanding members of the business community on Long Island who, in terms of age, are 40 or younger. These future leaders have already begun to distinguish themselves in business, government, education, and the nonprofit sector, and have a proven track record of career success, are involved in mentoring and promoting their professions, and give back to their communities.

“The secret to success requires finding your why, failing forward, and persevering,” Henao said. “Understanding your passion and values are key drivers, as are the needs to work hard, learn and continuously grow. Success is the result of patience, manifestation, and investment of time and effort, but those must be in combination with kindness, compassion, empathy, and tolerance.” 

Henao was inspired to continue his education and work in higher ed by the many mentors who helped him as a student. “I encourage all students to focus on relationship building and to finding a mentor on campus,” he said.

In addition to overseeing the Offices of Student Life, Residential Life, and Military and Veteran Affairs, Henao co-chairs New York Tech’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force and co-leads the First-Generation Task Force and Bear Bytes initiative. Additionally, he was recently accepted as a content expert for Complete College America, focusing on addressing student basic needs. As part of this, he is working on a project to address student success primarily for adult learners at Historically Black Colleges.

Read about the 2021 honorees in a special section of Long Island Business News.