Hipólito started working on justice issues in law school, where he led the Minority Law Students Association. From 1997 to 2000, he was the Director of Environmental Programs at the Urban League of Portland. There, he worked on lead poisoning prevention and brownfield revitalization. In 2000, Hipólito joined Hacienda CDC in Portland as the Economic Development Director managing the Hacienda Community Credit Union. In 2001, Hipólito participated in the Environmental Leadership Program. The fellowship involved many conversations about low-income and people of color communities, environmental justice, and the priorities of the environmental movement. Hipólito wondered what would happen if more environmental groups prioritized environmental work that directly benefited frontline communities.

In 2003, he became the Sustainable Development Director for the Hacienda Community Development Corporation in Portland. While working at Hacienda, Hipólito also worked on a native plant nursery business plan.

In 2005, still thinking about his experiences from the Environmental Leadership Program, Hipólito founded Verde. He was the organization’s founding Executive Director until 2018. Hipólito founded Verde because, despite Portand’s strong sustainability movement, frontline communities were not being served. Additionally, he recognized Portland’s frontline neighborhoods “lacked capacity to plan their own environmental futures” (Hipólito, 2023). Hipólito called it a “green divide,” and Verde developed a sustainability strategy as “an anti-poverty strategy and built a frontline community-led environmental movement in Portland” (Hipólito, 2023). Verde uses social enterprise, advocacy, and outreach to serve communities and build environmental wealth.

Hipólito grew Verde’s budget to over $6 million, built Portland’s most diverse environmental organization board, and grew staff from two to twenty-seven. Significant grants from the Kresge Foundation and the Surdna Foundation supported this growth. In 2018, he became Verde’s Director of Special Projects to begin new initiatives. In 2019, Verde started its suma program to address the growing digital divide.

 In 2020, suma became an independent nonprofit, with Hipólito as its Executive Director. suma focuses on community-led technology to increase digital literacy and accessibility to essential resources. Suma works with frontline, low-income, and people of color communities to increase financial independence and quality of life. In 2022, suma launched a mobile platform that connects affordable housing residents with affordable food, utility, and transportation.

Hipólito is a 2023 Camelback Fellow through Camelback Ventures. He is in the first cohort of conscious tech fellows who receive mentorship, education, and capital support.