Si-Suite

Tonya Robinson serves as Vice Chair and General Counsel – Legal, Regulatory and Compliance at KPMG LLP, is a member of the firm’s management committee, and serves as the Secretary to KPMG’s Board of Directors.

Before joining KPMG in 2017, Tonya served as the Acting General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), overseeing nearly 600 professionals. Prior to her federal agency service, Tonya was Special Assistant to President Obama for Justice and Regulatory Policy at the White House.

Prior to her service at the White House, Tonya was a partner at the law firm WilmerHale LLP where she worked on a range of litigation matters, including the ground-breaking University of Michigan affirmative action cases.

She left Wilmer to work as counsel to then-Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs.

Among her community and philanthropic activities, Tonya serves on the Board of Directors for the National Women’s Law Center.

Tonya holds a B.A. in Public Policy Studies and a Certificate in Women’s Studies from Duke University, a post-graduate degree in African Studies from the University of Cape Town, and has a Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law.

Mimi Carter has taken a career in politics, nonprofits, and agency to create a new normal in consulting that marries purpose with profit. 

She has a deep background in both nonprofit and corporate comms, as well as the ability to scale projects, work with teams and drive to goal when it comes to client mission. She has run and reorganized the PR and digital communications offices of some of the largest nonprofits in DC, such as The Corcoran Gallery of Art, The Epilepsy Foundation of America, and others, but as a PR agency leader, has also led the nonprofit and corporate accounts for organizations like The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Mastercard Foundation, CenturyLink and more. Her favorite projects involve making the complex clear, the unseen seen, and creating campaigns that create value among stakeholders and shareholders, both emotionally and financially. 

But best of all, she's a super-connector. She runs a network of 6000 people called DC Communicators, which continues to attract some of the most influential names in both nonprofit and for-profit comms - from Politico, Illy, and the WNBA to the Red Cross, United Nations, and The Guggenheim. Her favorite topics are purpose and impact communications to create a sense of belonging with the reality of profit. 

Mi Patria aims to improve the quality of life of underserved Puerto Rican communities by taking action against displacement, protecting and expanding affordable sustainable housing to create resilient self-sufficient communities, prepared to sustain emergencies. 

Through our efforts, military veterans and volunteers strengthen their communities and lead positive change. Many veterans are excellent leaders that desire to continue serving their community after their military service. It is proven volunteering has mental health benefits, which assists military veterans to identify a new purpose, and their continued service will forge new paths in their civilian life transition. 

In times of emergency and disaster, Mi Patria shifts primary focus to disaster response and relief efforts.

Learn more

Nestor Solari is Co-Founder and CEO of Sigo Seguros, an insurance technology company providing affordable access to car insurance for immigrant and working class communities. 

The son of Uruguayan immigrants, Nestor earned a BS in Finance from Penn State as the first in his family to attend college. He also earned an MA in International Studies from the Lauder Institute, and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he attended as a Howard E. Mitchell Fellow. Nestor is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, and began his studies at the Universidad ORT in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Before his graduate studies, Nestor worked on over $7.0 billion worth of transactions in Brazil, India, China, Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Paraguay, Bolivia, and Cambodia during his time at Goldman Sachs, Developing World Markets, and Creation Investments. He has conducted business in over 30 countries.

He has spoken at dozens of events about entrepreneurship and building insurance technology, and was named one of the Most Notable Hispanic Leaders in New York by Crain’s Business.

Nestor has dedicated his career and volunteer efforts to helping underserved communities, educating young people, and increasing diversity across the industries in which he works.

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Vanessa Nazario is Corporate Director, Chief Diversity Officer of Memorial Healthcare System.

Vanessa was born in Puerto Rico and raised in Trenton, NJ. She has worked in the field of Community Development, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for over 27 years. In 1996, she joined PNC Bank’s Community Development Department where championed equity and inclusion in throughout her 20-year career, concluding her tenure as VP, CDB Operations. 

In 2017, she began her role as Diversity Director with RWJ University Hospital, where she was responsible for diversity and inclusion and healthcare equity initiatives. Vanessa launched the Hospital’s first Diversity & Inclusion Council and provided oversight for seven Business Resource Groups.  She was also a key leader in the creation of the PROUD Gender Medical Center Program. 

In 2021, she joined Memorial Healthcare System as Director of DEI to create and lead the System’s inaugural diversity, health equity, and inclusion strategy. In June 2022, she was promoted to Corporate Director, Chief Diversity Officer to further MHS’s commitment to DEI.  

Vanessa serves on several committees including Florida Diversity Council’s Advisory Council; Human Resources Association of Broward County’s (HRABC) DEI Committee; Rider University’s Women in Leadership Council; HISPA’s South Florida Advisory Council; and ARC of Broward’s Business Advisory Council. 

She has been recognized by several organizations for her leadership including South Florida Business Wealth’s Diversity Executive Leadership award; DEIB Health Consortium’s Top Healthcare Diversity Officer; Diversity Global Magazine 2022 Top 15 Champions of Diversity; and Hallandale Beach Chamber of Commerce’s 2022 Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award.  

Vanessa received her MBA from Rider University and has a master’s in science degree from Southern New Hampshire University.

Learn more: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessa-nazario-ms-mba-9473735a/

MHS website: https://www.mhs.net

Shout-out: Today's Diversity Leader Shout-out goes to Brenda E. Snipes at Jefferson Health and Monica Diaz, at Royal Caribbean

Music:

Diego Guevara, Global Design Director at Nike leads Performance product creation and strategy. His work as Director of Advanced Concepts focuses on creating the future of Sport by working with athletes and embedding and celebrating diversity, equity and inclusion through product and brand vision.

Diego also serves as Co-Chair of Nike’s ERG Latino & Friends Network, leading the 1,500 member employee resource group representing Nike’s LatinX community.

Because of his love for Design and as part of his commitment to elevate DE&I in corporate America, Diego co-launched LatinX Design Crew, a creative community focusing on developing, celebrating and promoting LatinX talent at Nike.

 Diego was born in Quito, Ecuador and moved to Miami, FL at age 16 and currently lives in Portland, OR with his family.

 Diego recently was appointed as Board Member of IMPACT Immigration, a non-profit that provides psychological evaluations to immigrants and refugees regardless of their ability to pay or background.

Learn more 

Cesar Gonzalez is the Head of Operations for Commercial Banking at Wells Fargo & Company.

Gonzalez leads critical business and lending operations for Commercial Banking and partners closely with leaders across Wells Fargo to ensure an integrated operating environment. He oversees the transformation of operational processes that deliver streamlined, efficient results, and leverages best practices to serve the needs of clients globally.

Gonzalez joined Wells Fargo from Bank of America, where he most recently led enterprise programs focused on optimizing end-to-end processes across all business lines. During his time with Bank of America, Gonzalez led the Commercial Bank Service organization to be the first commercial bank service organization to earn JD Power & Associates’ certification for client satisfaction excellence. In addition, Gonzalez enabled business growth of over 25% while improving the client experience — culminating in the Greenwich Study recognizing Bank of America for providing the best Implementation and Service experience in Asia Pacific.

A certified Six Sigma Black Belt and an active leader in his local community, Gonzalez is the co-chair of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund Advisory Council. He also founded and co-chaired the Chief Administrative Office Hispanic-Latino Leadership Advisory Council at Bank of America, which helped recruit Hispanic talent and enhanced the bank’s brand image with Hispanic-serving institutions.

Learn more about Cesar

D.K. Bartley is the Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer at Moody’s

With a career that has been exemplified by success on many corporate “streets,” Wall Street, Madison Avenue, and Seventh-Fashion Avenue, DK(Bartley) has created a brand emblematic of “Best-in-Class” Talent Acquisition and Diversity & Inclusion practices for some of the world’s most influential companies.

He is currently the Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer at Moody’s, the global integrated risk assessment company. Under DK's leadership Moody’s day-to-day functioning as a business has become even more inclusive, more progressive and a leader among its competitors. 

Prior to Moody’s, DK was previously Senior Vice President & Head of Diversity and Inclusion for Dentsu International, where he managed talent solutions for Dentsu’s largest clients, such as Microsoft, American Express, Facebook, and LVMH. One of his biggest successes was managing the strategic hiring of four hundred-plus diverse advertising professionals for Microsoft, resulting in a sixty-six-million-dollar growth of Multicultural revenue for Microsoft products.

He is a board member of the The American Advertising Federation, and also Urban Word, home of America’s youngest Black Poet Laureate.

DK is certified in Diversity & Inclusion Management from Cornell University ILR, holds a master’s degree in communications from the New York Institute of Technology, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from SUNY Stony Brook.

Learn more about DK

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dk-bartley-4348aa101/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dk.bartley/

Shout-out:

Christina Qi is the CEO of Databento, an on-demand market data platform. She formerly founded Domeyard LP, a hedge fund focused on high frequency trading (HFT) that traded up to $7.1 billion USD per day. Failing to earn a job offer after a Wall Street internship, Christina started Domeyard from her dorm room with $1000 in savings, about 9 years ago. Her fund was a tiny minnow amongst the tigers of the hedge fund world, but after Michael Lewis’s Flash Boys came out in 2014 and HFT firms hid from the spotlight, Domeyard accidentally found itself in the center of the ring. Over the next decade, her company’s story was featured on the front page of Forbes and Nikkei, and quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, CNN, NBC, and the Financial Times as a result of the controversy and fascination with HFT. By a series of accidents, Christina became a voice in her industry, contributing to the World Economic Forum’s research on AI in finance, guest lecturing at dozens of universities, and teaching Domeyard’s case study at Harvard Business School. She is grateful to be able to open up about her mistakes, and to help people turn failures into opportunities. 

No amount of therapy has quashed Christina’s impostor syndrome, but she will always be proud of her non-profit volunteer work. Christina was elected as a Member of the MIT Corporation, MIT’s Board of Trustees. She is Co-Chair of the Board of Invest in Girls, bringing financial literacy education to underserved populations across the US. Christina also sits on the Board of Directors of The Financial Executives Alliance (FEA) Hedge Fund Group, drives entrepreneurship efforts at the MIT Sloan Boston Alumni Association (MIT SBAA), and served on the U.S. Non-Profit Boards Committee of 100 Women in Finance. Although "X Under X" lists are a gimmick, she’ll admit that Forbes 30 Under 30 made a positive impact on her life by giving her a community - friends who dragged her out of bed during the lowest days of her life. Christina holds a Bachelor of Science in Management Science from MIT and is a CAIA Charterholder.

Christina wrote a book about her many hedge fund mistakes, but is hesitating to publish it because she wants to spend her 30’s out of the spotlight. If it ever gets published, you can sign up for a notification by visiting www.christinaqi.com 

Learn more about Christina

Pabel was a Global Account Director for TikTok, making a cool $300K a year plus bonuses. Two months before receiving his $60K bonus, he quit!

Throughout his career, Pabel struggled balancing two jobs...

(1) Employee and (2) Actor.

As an Actor, he would focus on assimilation because he was trained to believe that many parts of his identity were unprofessional.

He details the story of how he decided to leave his tech job to pursue his purpose on an episode of his Spotify Top Ten Podcast, ¿Quién Tú Eres? 

Today, Pabel, a native New Yorker and storyteller, is dedicated full-time to Plurawl, his company on a mission to redefine what professionalism looks like.

Learn more about Pabel

Hady Mendez is Director of Equality at Slack where she is responsible for shaping and advancing Slack’s near and long-term focus on inclusion and belonging, while simultaneously supporting Slack’s work of attracting, growing, and retaining underrepresented talent at all levels. She considers herself a DEIB evangelist, change agent, trusted customer advisor, respected voice and thought leader, and social justice advocate.

With a diverse career spanning over 25 years, Hady has held multiple customer-facing roles in high tech and financial services, served as a leader across various Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), volunteered as an international champion for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women, and served as Community School Director at an elementary school in the South Bronx.

Hady’s academic credentials include a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Information Systems from Manhattan College, plus graduate certificates in eBusiness and eCommerce from NYU and NJIT, respectively. She also holds a Family Development Credential from the University of Connecticut.

Hady’s additional advocacy work has her serving as both co-chair of the Equity Council and a member of the NY Advisory Board at Room to Grow, a nonprofit organization based in the South Bronx. In her free time, Hady is an amateur street art photographer and an avid podcast listener.

Learn more about Hady

Susana Melendez-Valencia is Regional President and Head ofCommercial Banking of PNC Bank for the Texas Border markets. As head of Commercial Banking for the Texas border markets, she leads the combined organization to provide customers and clients with access to a full range of products/services. As regional president she is entrusted to bring PNC’s main street model to life by developing and executing local community strategy and capabilities and drive employee, client and community engagement.

She brings 26 years of banking experience to the regional president position. Susana started her career as a financial analyst and through her support of different markets she has lived in Washington DC, Charlotte, Harlingen, Houston and Laredo.

Active in the community, Susana serves on the executive board for Laredo Area Community Foundation and Laredo College Education Foundation. She is an advisory board member of the School of Business at Texas A&M International University and is chairman of the advisory board for the DD Hachar Charitable Trust Fund. 

Susana has a bachelor’s in business administration in Accounting from Texas A & M University, College Station, Texas.

Mita Mallick is a corporate change-maker with a track record of transforming businesses.  She gives innovative ideas a voice and serves customers and communities with purpose. She is currently the Head of Inclusion, Equity and Impact at Carta. Mita was formerly the Head of Inclusion and Cross Cultural Marketing at Unilever.  She has had an extensive career as a marketer in the beauty and consumer product goods space. Mita is a LinkedIn Top Voice, a contributor for Entrepreneur and Harvard Business Review, and her writing has been published in Adweek, Fast Company and Business Insider.

Mita is also the cohost of the recently launched the Brown Table Talk Podcast, part of the LinkedIn Podcast Network. On the podcast, Mita and Dee Marshall share stories and tips on how to help Women of Color win at work, and advice for allies on how they can show up.

Kristine Santa-Coloma Rohls, Chief Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Officer (CIDEO) leads Slalom's inclusion, diversity, and equity (ID&E), sustainability and impact (S&I), and US People Teams. She is focused on infusing ID&E and S&I into every aspect of the company's business and culture.

Before joining Slalom, Kristine served as a Vice President at Booz Allen Hamilton, leading a $250M portfolio of business, responsible for an organization of 700+ consultants. 

She graduated from the University of Florida and started her consulting career with Andersen Consulting, now Accenture, where she designed and built customer billing systems for large utility companies.  

Kristine is proud to have served as Slalom’s Executive Sponsor for Unidos, a community for team members to engage with Latinx culture and to help set the bar for inclusion and diversity in the workplace.

Kristine lives in Northern VA with her husband and two children and finds joy in participating in various fitness programs for both physical and mental well-being, and watching her kids perform in community theater.  

Enna E. Jimenez, Business Transformation and Quality Leader, Senior Director, IDEMIA is an Award-Winning Change Champion who has over 30 years in multiple industries with expertise in Leadership, Technology and Transformation Management. 

Currently, Enna is the Business Transformation and Quality Leader at IDEMIA, an augmented identity security organization. She received the Quarterly Manager MVP Award in October 2019, for leading change in the company.  

Enna is a Co-Author of Extraordinary Latinas: Powerful Voices of Resilience, Courage & Empowerment, a book elevating the voice of 12 Latina leaders. The March edition of Hispanic Executive magazine featured Enna as one of the 2021 Leading Latinas. She received the Emerging Leaders in Technology and Engineering (E.L.I.T.E.) Award from National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Boston Professionals.

Enna is a member of the Boards of ALPFA National, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern MA, The Pathway Initiative (TPI) and Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Women’s Advisory Board. Enna is one of 92 Hispanics featured in the first edition of Hispanic Stars Rising: A New Face of Power.

Learn more

Ruth Álvarez-DeGolia is a pioneer in the field of ethical fashion, founding and overseeing Mercado Global's growth from a small nonprofit working with a dozen Indigenous women artisans in Guatemala’s highlands to her recognition as an innovator in social enterprise partnering with hundreds of artisans.

Her model connects indigenous communities in rural Latin America that have been impacted by systemic racism and misogyny to sustainable income opportunities with international retailers including Nordstrom, Stitch Fix, Levi’s®, Bloomingdale’s, and Shopbop.  

Ruth was named among the “World’s Best Emerging Social Entrepreneurs” by Echoing Green and appeared on the cover of Newsweek as one of the “15 People Who Make America Great.” 

She has been a speaker at the United Nations, the Clinton Global Initiative, the Global Summit for Women, and the U.S. Department of Labor.

Anna Escobedo Cabral, former U.S. Treasurer, and highest-ranking Latina during the George W. Bush administration, was dealt a rough hand early in life. She described her family as “the poorest of the poor” as their father was unable to work. She is a graduate of UC Davis, received her Masters from Harvard and her law degree from George Mason University.

As former CEO of the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility (HACR), and in several positions supporting the Senate, the White House, and the Smithsonian Institution, she was recognized as a thought leader addressing Latino issues related to cultural heritage, economic growth and education for Hispanic Americans.

Ms. Cabral became the highest-ranking Latina in the George W. Bush administration and was sworn in as the 42nd Treasurer of the United States on December 13, 2004 and served through January 20, 2009 (If you have any dollar bills printed during that time you will see her signature on them!).

Connect with on Anna on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-escobedo-cabral-25861512/

Rashida Hodge, VP, Azure Data and AI / Customer Success for Microsoft is a technologist and executive leader at the forefront of AI and emerging technologies. Dubbed the “Superhero of IBM Watson AI,” Rashida led the commercialization and global launch of IBM Watson and rose to be the highest-ranking African American woman executive.

Originally from St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, her Caribbean upbringing gave her respect for strong communities, mentorship and the power of diversity. 

Rashida earned a BS and MS in Industrial Engineering at North Carolina State University and an MBA from Duke University Fuqua School of Business. 

She was named to Fortune Magazine’s Most Powerful “NextGen” Women in 2018 and 2019 and named to Fortune 40 Under 40 in technology in 2020.

Rashida sits on the Boards of Misty Robotics; Girls Inc.; Duke University Fuqua School of Business Minority Advisory Board; and North Carolina University College of Engineering Foundation.

Ralph de la Vega is Chairman of the De La Vega group, which focuses on investments in entrepreneurial startups. He is the former Vice Chairman of AT&T Inc., and the author of Obstacles Welcome. He is actively focused on helping young people reach their full potential.

He serves on the boards of American Express Company, New York Life Insurance Company, and Amdocs Corporation. He is the former Chairman of Junior Achievement Worldwide and continues to serve on its board of directors. He also served as the Chairman of the 2017 Jamboree for the Boy Scouts.

Mr. de la Vega has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Florida Atlantic University (FAU) and a master’s degree in business administration from Northern Illinois University. He completed the Executive Program at the University of Virginia and received a Doctor Honoris Causa from FAU.

He is the author of the best-selling book Obstacles Welcome: Turn Adversity to Advantage in Business and Life (Thomas Nelson, 2009).

He is a native of Cuba and resides in Florida.

Learn more:

Ilhiana Rojas Saldana is the owner of BeLIVE Coaching & Consulting.She is an Executive & Career Transformation Strategy Coach, a DEI Consultant, a Hispanic advocate, Bestselling Author, and an international motivational speaker. She has 20+ yrs of global executive experience in top Fortune 500 companies in Mexico and US headquarters, leading and coaching professionals and businesses into success.

She was recognized by the NY Journal as one of the top 10 Inspiring women to watch in 2021, and has been featured on NBC, FOX, and CBS affiliates.

In addition to coaching, Ilhiana serves as Chief Development Officer for ALPFA Boston Chapter, VicePresident of the RI Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and Board member of the National Wellness Institute. 

Ilhiana graduated with honors as a Chemical Engineer in Mexico City, and lives in Rhode Island with her husband and two kids.

Learn more Ilhiana

Raquel Tamez is the Chief Inclusion and Engagement Officer at Charles River Associates (CRA). A leader in providing economic and financial expertise to major law and accounting firms, CRA also does consulting work for corporations and governments around the world. Raquel plays an integral role in the firm’s DE&I efforts and initiatives—both in-house and globally—and is essential to empowering its workforce. Her ability to strengthen CRA’s culture allows the firm to better serve its clients and communities.

Prior to CRA, Raquel served as CEO of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE). During her time with SHPE, she expanded SHPE’s national programs, services, and resources to its over 13,000 members across 280+ chapters.

In 2008, Raquel was recognized by the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility with the Hispanic Corporate Achiever Award. She was named among the 2015 Corporate Counsel Trending 40 by Legal Bisnow and voted one of the twenty-five most influential Hispanic lawyers by Leading Latinos magazine. 

In 2020, Raquel represented SHPE as part of the first-ever Hispanic delegation to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Recently, she received the 2020 Ohtli Award from the Mexican government, in recognition of her efforts to empower Hispanic communities abroad. She was invited to serve on the boards of Girls in Tech and St. Mary’s University School of Law. 

A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and St. Mary’s University School of Law, Raquel currently resides in Capitol Hill, Washington, DC. 

Janet Schijns is the CEO and Co-Founder of JS Group, a go to market consultancy dedicated to achieving results. She is the founder of the #digitalnormal movement in the industry driving profitable change in the partner community. 

Janet is a top 10 CEO Disruptor 2021, Top 10 Women in Technology 2020, 2021 (Analytics Insights), Top 50 Technology Influencers 2020, 2021 (Awards Magazine) and was named

Channel Influencer of the year in 2019 beating out a slate of nominees from the top tech firms in the world. She has been in the top 5 influencers every year for the past decade. 

Janet was formerly EVP and CMSO at Office Depot, where she led a major transformation to drive traction in IT services, and prior to that, she was the Chief Channel Executive, Chief Marketing Technologist for Verizon Business. 

Janet is dedicated to the advancement of Women in Technology, founding her not for profit “Tech World’s Half” in 2017 to address the issue of women dropping out of technology. She practices what she preaches having earned numerous industry channel awards, including four 5-Star Channel Program Awards.

A native of the Garden state, she now resides in Florida with her husband Roy and has two children. In her spare time, she enjoys the beach and Star Wars.

Valentina Kordi, Certified Mindset & High-Performance Coach is an International Motivational Speaker, TEDx speaker and an author. She has 10 years of experience as an Executive & Business Coach having coached executives from multinational companies such as Microsoft, Novartis, Coca-Cola, Nissan Motor Corporation, Unilever and Sephora. Her book "Success is a mind game" is a best-seller.

 Valentina studied Business Administration in Newport University of California, holds a Master’s degree in Human Resource Management from City Unity College, is a Ph.D. Candidate Doctor of Philosophy in Conscious Business Ethics at the University of Sedona and is studying for a MSc in Integrative Psychotherapy. She is a Harvard Business Review Advisory Council Member, an International Coaching Federation (ICF) member and Affiliate Coach member of Institute of Coaching McLean/Harvard Medical School.

 In 2020, she was listed in ICAP Group’s Leading Women of Business in Greece and recently was awarded with the International Women of Courage 2021 Award from the International Human Rights Advisory Council, a member of the United Nations Global Compact, which is dedicated to Mother Teresa.

Cid Wilson is President & Chief Executive Officer of the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility (HACR). CID brings more than 20 years of corporate finance and Wall Street equity research experience and works closely with corporate board members, Hispanic organizations, and corporate partners to increase the representation of Hispanics at all levels. 

CID has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, and Bloomberg TV. He was on the cover of Black Enterprise Magazine; featured in MONEY Magazine; and most recently, shared the cover of LATINO Magazine with the Chairman and CEO of General Motors Company, Mary Barra.

In September 2009, President Barack Obama appointed Wilson to the National Museum of the American Latino Study Commission that proposed to the President and Congress construction of a new Smithsonian Museum on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. 

He graduated from Ohio State University with a degree in economics, and is a proud Dominican American, with Bergen County, NJ roots. 

Shout-out: Today's Diversity Leader Shout-out goes to...

Ramon Laguarta, CEO of PepsiCo

Indra Nooyi, former CEO of PepsiCo

Julie Sweet, Chair and CEO at Accenture

Tim Ryan, US Chair and Senior Partner at PwC

Marvin Ellison, Chairman, President and CEO at Lowe’s Companies, Inc.

Ken Frazier, former CEO of Merck

Oscar Munoz, former CEO of United Airlines

Janet Foutty, Executive Chair of the Board, Deloitte US

Anne Chow, CEO of AT&T Business

Brian Cornell, Board Chairman and CEO at Target

Sol Trujillo, Co-Founder LATTITUDE

Monica C. Lozano, President and CEO, College Futures Foundation

Aida Alvarez, Board Chair Emerita of the Latino Community Foundation

George Herrera, Member Board of Directors, Travel & Leisure

Nelson Diaz, Director at PECO, an Exelon company

Maria Contreras-Sweet, Administrator at US Small Business Administration

Maria Salinas, President and CEO, Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce

Janet Murguia, President and CEO at National Council of La Raza

Jonathan Echeverria is the Chief Operating Officer - Technology Infrastructure for Bank of America. He leads the group responsible for managing business operations inclusive of economics, financial execution and expense management, portfolio management, strategic business planning, data governance, reporting and analytics.

Jonathan actively supports Bank of America’s Hispanic Leadership Advisory Council and sits on the executive advisory board for the Hispanic Organization for Leadership Advancement in NY. In addition, Jonathan serves on the HITEC (Hispanic IT Executive Council) Board of Directors.

Jonathan holds a B.S. in Computer Engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He resides with his wife and young daughter in Connecticut and enjoys running, golf, skiing and tennis.

Sandy Torchia is the National Managing Partner, Advisory at KPMG. She is responsible for advancing KPMG’s Advisory strategy - driving growth and innovation as well as developing a diverse and inclusive culture.

Sandy was named to the Hispanic Information Technology Executive Council (HITEC) Top 100 list of the most influential and notable Hispanic professionals in the technology industry. In addition, she was named as a Corporate Trailblazer by ALPFA as one of the 50 Most Powerful Latinas. She was also named to Crain’s New York Notable Women in Accounting & Consulting list. 

Sandy is a recognized community leader, including service on the New York Advisory Board of Back on My Feet, a nonprofit organization that promotes self-sufficiency of homeless individuals through running. Sandy currently serves on the Audit Committee for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and is on the Board of the KPMG Foundation.

Alexia Clayborne, J.D. (she,her), is the Director, D&I and Accessibility, Marketing & Consumer Business for Microsoft. She believes that team empowerment is critical to organizational success, as is an anti-racism lens that actively works on undoing systemic racism, and a company-wide approach that combats ableism. She is a federally certified French translator and interpreter, three sport varsity athlete and martial artist. Alexia is a champion for Autism awareness, a cause which is near and dear to her heart as the mother of a beautiful non-verbal child on the spectrum. 

Sylvia Acevedo is an entrepreneur, investor, business leader, and rocket-scientist. Passionate about building, scaling and leading market transitions. Startup mindset; global outlook. Devout believer in the power of transformation and disruption to change and improve lives, communities, organizations – and the world.

Author of Path to the Stars: My Journey from Girl Scout to Rocket Scientist, which details Sylvia’s personal journey from the dirt streets of Las Cruces, New Mexico, to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the top executive tiers of Apple, Dell, IBM and other U.S. technology leaders.

Ms. Acevedo served as Chief Executive Officer of the Girl Scouts of the USA from May 2017 to August 2020, and as interim Chief Executive Officer from June 2016 to May 2017. She was a board member from 2008 until 2016. One of the most enduring non-profits in the world, Girl Scouts supports more than 2.5 million girls worldwide and generates more than $800 million annually through its iconic cookie program to support local Girl Scouting.

Chair of President Obama’s White House initiative for Educational Excellence for Hispanics in early childhood leadership. Driver of the Administration’s Early Childhood Dual Language Education Policy.

National speaker on Education, STEM, cybersecurity, demographic trends and leadership.

Ms. Acevedo currently serves on the Qualcomm Board of Directors.

Alex J. Cisneros is the SVP of Revenue Generation and Analytics at Red Roof. Alex has 23 years of work experience of which 15 has been in the hospitality industry. He received a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Rutgers University and a master’s degree in Management from Fairleigh Dickinson University. 

From May 2014 – November 2019, he was Vice President of Revenue Generation, Wyndham Destinations in Parsippany, New Jersey. Alex led a team of 100+ multi functional team members and was responsible for the end-to-end revenue generation process which included Revenue Management, Marketing, Analytics, Customer Experience and Distribution. His main goal was to drive market share and to develop proprietary analytical tools. 

Prior to joining Wyndham, he worked for AT&T, NJ TRANSIT and Delta Services Group where he gained extensive operations research, revenue management and advanced analytical experience. A native of Ecuador, Alex is based in New Jersey and has 2 kids, Michelle and Matthew. 

Theresa Torres has held Diversity and Inclusion leadership roles at several companies including; ADP, Verizon, Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers.   At Lehman Brothers, Theresa led Campus Recruiting, establishing her division as the premier diversity hiring organization within the company. She was an integral member of the firm’s Employee Resource Group leadership, establishing strategies across recruitment, retention, business development and social responsibility outreach within the Latinx community.  

Joining Merrill Lynch as a Director with the Global Markets/Investment Banking team, Theresa led initiatives for the promotion readiness of diverse professionals. At Verizon, as Director of Workforce Performance, Theresa oversaw the company’s Employee Resource Groups, diversity and inclusion metrics, reputational and engagement surveys and diversity partnerships.  She later took on responsibility for University Strategy and Employment Brand at Verizon where she was charged with building an Enterprise-wide recruitment strategy, delivering compelling employment branding, and creating Verizon’s first Enterprise Leadership Development Programs across Finance, Marketing, Engineering, Information Technology, HR and Supply Chain.  

Following her tenure at Verizon, Theresa joined ADP as Senior Director of Campus Recruiting where she was responsible for designing and operationalizing a fully integrated approach to University and early career hiring.  

Most recently, Theresa served as a Senior Director, Global Advisory Services at Diversity Best Practices where she advised member companies on Inclusion best practices and strategies.  

Theresa has been actively involved in development and education within the Latinx Community having served on the boards of ASPIRA of New York, 100 Hispanic Women and as President of the ALPFA New York and New Jersey Chapters. Theresa holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Behavior from Concordia College.     

Ralph Monte, a Principal at KPMG, has over 25 years of information systems audit and advisory experience and a comprehensive understanding of the benefits and risks that can arise from the use of IT and systems as well as experience in the design of relevant controls and security solutions. He is the KPMG short Hills Office Advisory Office Leader, a National Board Member for the KPMG Hispanic Latino Network, and serves on the Board of Ronald McDonald House New York. 

Fabian Garcia, President, Unilever North America leads a portfolio of iconic brands including Dove, Hellmann’s, Breyers, Vaseline, Lipton, and Knorr.  As President and a member of the Unilever Leadership Executive team, Fabian helps drive Unilever’s mission of making sustainable living commonplace through a number of strategic initiatives including overseeing Unilever’s purpose-driven brands, industry-leading sustainable packaging development, and an inclusive company culture that makes Unilever an employer of choice.   

Esther Aguilera is President and CEO of the Latino Corporate Directors Association (LCDA), which convenes Latino directors and executives at the highest levels of corporate leadership who share the mission: to increase the number of US Latinos on corporate boards. She’s a proven leader who brings a 30-year record of successfully executing strategic business plans to drive organizational effectiveness, growth, and impact. In her current role, she influences some of the most powerful companies by bringing together accomplished executives at the pinnacle of corporate governance to advance diversity in the boardroom.  

She has worked in leadership positions with the Nation’s most accomplished leaders from Corporate America, the U.S. Congress, the Executive Branch, and the not-for-profit sector.  Drawing upon this unique cross section of experiences, she is a sought-after thought leader who has delivered numerous speeches and presentations for diverse audiences.

She is recognized as a social entrepreneur and turnaround specialist, leading scale-up, innovative change, and managing high-performance teams. In her last role, Esther led the growth of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) for 11 years as its President & CEO, where she spearheaded programs that transformed the life trajectory of hundreds of young Latinos across the country.

As Chief People and Inclusion Officer at the National Basketball Association, Oris Stuart is responsible for leading the combined Human Resources and Diversity and Inclusion groups.  He oversees diversity and inclusion strategies for the NBA, WNBA, NBA G League and NBA 2K League, and supports the growth and development of the NBA’s global workforce.

With a focus on people, culture, inclusion and innovation, Oris aims to increase the representation of people of color and women in leadership roles and positions across the league.  He leads the NBA’s Global Inclusion Council and efforts to grow the league’s network of Black-, women- and diverse-owned suppliers. 

Oris has 20 years of experience as a business executive in the diversity and inclusion and talent management fields.  Prior to the NBA, he spent two years as a Senior Partner with Korn Ferry, an executive search and talent management firm, where he led its Inclusion and Diversity practice. 

Oris graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in electrical engineering and holds an MBA from Duke University.  He serves on the Board of Directors for the National Black MBA Association and is a member of the Executive Leadership Council, a national organization that empowers African-American corporate leaders.

Claudia Romo Edelman has more than 25 years of experience leading marketing and advocacy for global organizations including the United Nations, UNICEF, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the World Economic Forum. 

Since 2017, Ms. Romo Edelman has served as the Founder and CEO of the We Are All Human Foundation, a New York-based global non-profit organization devoted to advancing the agenda of diversity, inclusion, and equity, focused on unifying the U.S. Hispanic community and promoting sustainability and purpose-driven activities. 

Ms. Romo Edelman holds a Degree in Communication from the Universidad Intercontinental and a Masters of Political Communications from the London School of Economics. Ms Romo Edelman is part of the Board of the American Latino Museum; the Hispanic Society of America; and KIND (Kids in Need of Defense). 

Ms Romo is the Editor-at-large of Thrive Latina, part of Arianna Huffington’s Thrive Global platform. She writes for various media organizations including The Guardian, Ad Age, Ad Week, Al Dia, Forbes. 

Ms. Romo is the recipient of numerous awards, including People Magazine’s 25 Most Influential Latinas, ALPFA’s 50 Most Powerful Latinas and has also published two books on the power of Hispanics. She enjoys traveling, sports and speaks 6 languages. 

Learn more about Claudia and Hispanic Star here:

Originally from Puerto Rico, Jennifer Lopez-Reed moved to the US to complete her Master's Degree in Chemical Engineering at Purdue University before enjoying a long, successful career with Eli Lilly and Company, first in manufacturing and quality and then on the business side. She is currently Lilly's Sr. Director of Global Recruiting and Talent Acquisition.

With over 18 years' experience in the pharmaceutical industry, Lopez has led several projects as a Six Sigma Black Belt, managed two sites including Lilly's first acquisition, and managed major company transformations. 

In parallel she has also found success in Dancing (as a former NFL Cheerleader) and Fitness (currently as a Zumba Education Specialist). 

Jennie serves on the Board of Directors of Genesis Research, a global value demonstration company. In 2020 she was selected as Eli Lilly’s Working Mother of the Year.

Finally, she enjoys making intentional fun memories with her family, including her children Izzie & Ethan — who are the why and the fuel for everything she does.

Michele Meyer-Shipp was named MLB's Chief People & Culture Officer by Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr. in August 2020. In this capacity, Meyer-Shipp oversees all of MLB’s human resources activities, including talent processes and programs, workplace culture, and diversity and inclusion. Meyer-Shipp also manages all off-field office operations.   

Meyer-Shipp joined MLB from “Big 4 Accounting Firm” KPMG LLP, where she has served as Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer. While at KPMG, she led all firm programs and initiatives relating to workforce, workplace, and marketplace diversity and inclusion. In addition to overseeing a host of human resource-related initiatives in this role, she consulted with clients on building diverse and inclusive workplaces. 

Previously, Meyer-Shipp worked for Prudential Financial, serving as Global Chief Diversity Officer for five years, and for the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, where she was Global Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer. Prior to those roles, she spent over a decade practicing employment law in both the public and private sectors, counseling clients on driving equitable talent and workplace practices.   

Meyer-Shipp has served on many industry and association tasks forces and committees, including Twitter’s Diversity Advisory Council, Working Mother Media’s Multicultural Advisory Board, National Organization on Disability, and Rutgers University’s Student Affairs Executive Advisory Council. She also has been a Contributor to Yahoo! Finance News.   

Meyer-Shipp has received numerous awards and accolades for her professional accomplishments, including most recently being recognized among the “Top 100 Women of Influence” by Diversity MBA. Meyer-Shipp is a graduate of Rutgers University and Seton Hall University School of Law, and she is certified as a senior human resources professional by the Society of Human Resources Management.  

Damian Rivera serves as ALPFA’s CEO since September 2018. Prior to ALPFA, Damian Rivera was a Managing Director in Accenture’s Resources Utilities practice for 21 years where he started his career as a coder in their Technology Practice.  While at Accenture, Damian focused on Customer Care Transformation work for utilities including helping clients with strategically pivoting to digital capabilities as they look to improve customer engagement. Damian has performed Digital Transformation Strategy and Implementation, Customer Information System builds, Utility Customer Analytics as well as Customer Care operations work. Through these engagements he worked on all project phases including Strategy Development, System Implementation, Business Process Definition as well as Operations.  

Damian holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering from Rutgers University – College of Engineering and MBA from Columbia University specializing in Social Entrepreneurship.  Damian’s focus on social entrepreneurship would come as no surprise to people who know him. In addition to his client roles he served as Accenture’s Managing Director responsible for North American Hispanic American Employee Resource Group from 2011 - 2017. In this role he led the strategic direction across the US engaging in internal career progression as well as local market activities focused on improving the local community in which the ERG is based. Damian also served as the Office Diversity Advocate for Metro New York, which focuses on improving employee engagement across all of Accenture’s Metro New York based resources.  

Damian also serves on the National Board of Directors of Per Scholas, whose mission is to “Break the cycle of poverty by providing technology education, access, training and job placement services for people in underserved communities”. In 2018, Damian was listed in Latino Leaders Magazine, as a member of their Top 101 Most Influential Latinos list. In 2019 Damian was selected to serve on the Young Alumni Board of Columbia Business School. In addition to his non-profit and diversity work, Damian is an angel investor having invested in tech start-ups with a social purpose mission.  

Damian is married to his high school sweetheart Idanis, and has 2 children, Damian Francisco, 18, and Ilanis, 15. When not working, Damian enjoys watching his son run track, and watching his daughter’s artistic talents in photography. Damian also enjoys triathlons, having completed the NYC Triathlon 10 years in a row, and completed a charity bike ride from Toronto to Niagara Falls.