For more than 20 years, Senior Wish Manager Carlos Inostroza has helped bring more than 1,500 wishes to life with Make-A-Wish Arizona. Along the way, it’s been the moments of hope, strength, and joy he’s shared with children and families that have defined his career.  

The reason he’s stayed the same after all these years.  

“The people and the mission,” he says. “Our mission is unbeatable. How can you not love bringing joy and happiness to kids that are going through something so difficult?” It’s what has guided his work from the beginning and continues to anchor it two decades later. 

When Carlos first stepped into his role at Make-A-Wish Arizona, the work followed a very different rhythm. “I had a flip phone, a fax machine, and a computer that was so obsolete we had to go into the office if we needed anything,” he recalls.  

At the time, the chapter granted fewer than 200 wishes a year. Today, Carlos has witnessed the incredible growth of the organization firsthand.

“Everybody that works for Make-A-Wish is so dedicated to the mission,” he says, “not only staff, but volunteers and everybody who is in touch with Make-A-Wish.” 

Over the years, the tools and the scale of the work have changed, but the mission has not.

For Carlos, the measure of a wish isn’t the destination or experience, but what comes after — the moments families carry with them long after the wish is granted. 

“The most memorable thing is hearing from families how impactful a wish has been,” he says. “Not just for the wish kid, but for the entire family.” That impact, he adds, reaches even further. “We bring joy not just to families, but to volunteers and staff, too.”  

Twenty years in, the joy still finds him — in the families who return to say thank you, and in the ones just beginning their wish journey.