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Presenters
Some of the country’s most successful Latinas and nationally recognized experts, speakers and personalities from the corporate, government, non-profit and media sectors facilitated the 2008 Executive Leadership Training and Mujer Awards Conference’s events
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N. Cornell Boggs
Cornell Boggs is chief responsibility and ethics officer for
MillerCoors. He is responsible for ensuring we live up to our commitment to
respect our consumers, our communities and our planet. Previously, Cornell was
chief legal officer and group vice president of public affairs at Coors Brewing
Company, where he was responsible for legal, government affairs, corporate
communications, alcohol responsibility and water and natural resources. Before
joining Coors in 2005, Cornell served as vice president and general counsel for
Tyco Plastics & Adhesives. Earlier in his career, he also handled and
directed legal affairs for Anheuser-Busch, Intel Corporation and Monsanto
Company. Cornell earned both his undergraduate degree and law degree from
Valparaiso University in Indiana. He also served a two-year appointment to the
U.S. Department of Justice honors program. |
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Yoli Casas
For over 22 years, Yoli has brought her passion, education
and experience to coaching triathlons and endurance athletics. She has a
Master's in exercise physiology and applied kinesiology and currently works at
the University of Colorado as a research assistant in the area of exercise,
aging and cardiovascular health, particularly in postmenopausal women. Her
competitions include: world long distance duathlon in Zofinger, Germany, world
long distance triathlon in Nice, France) 19th place; and the national age group
championships held on Hilton Head
Island. She competed in over 10 international marathons and in the world long
distance duathlon championships in 1994. From 1985 to 1996 she had the title of
Elite/Professional Endurance Athlete in running and in the triathlon Yoli has
her Expert Level II Triathlon Coaching Certification and Race Director
Certification and has helped over 1000 athletes of all levels through the
years. This year is her 13th season as the program designer and head coach for
Team CWW Triathlon, (Voted best women’s triathlon club in the nation by
USAT). Yoli’s coaching philosophy:
coaching is about making it fun, believing, teaching, compassion,
encouragement, patience, support (lots of it)…listening…just being there
thought the athlete’s journey. Her coaching interest is helping people through
their life challenges by incorporating athletics into their lifestyle and helping
women of all levels and ages achieve their athletic goals and in the process
empower them to believe in themselves. |
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Marieli E. Colon-Padilla
Marieli is Vice President of Fleishman-Hillard, Inc. Marieli, a former Girl Scout and Gold
Medal Award recipient, is a marketing, communications, and public affairs
consultant with expertise in reaching Latino/Hispanic consumers, community
based organizations, and business and civic leaders. She brings an interesting
combination of professional skills and experiences due to her work in the
nonprofit, public and private sectors and her commitment to public affairs. She
earned her Bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, in Business Administration in
Marketing from Universidad del Turabo in Puerto Rico. Marieli completed a Leadership
for the 21st Century: Effective Change Through Public Policy and Management
Executive Certificate Program from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at
Harvard University. She is a graduate of the NHLI Class of 2006. |
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Adriana Comellas-Macretti
Adriana Comellas-Macretti manages State Farm’s relationship
with its Goodwill Ambassador Julie Stav and several Hispanic partner
organizations. She also works with the Human Resources department in helping
them with their strategies in recruiting, retention, and development of
multicultural associates. Until recently Adriana was part of the Multicultural
Business Development Group where she helped develop strategies and tactics for
recruiting bilingual agents and associates. Prior to this role Adriana had responsibility
in the development of the company’s marketing strategy and tactics for the
Hispanic market. She joined State Farm in March 2000 in Miami, Florida, where
she was the Emerging Markets Coordinator for five counties in Florida. Before
working for State Farm Adriana was a banker for 15 years, her last role being
Comptroller of Banque Paribas in Miami-Dade County. Her responsibilities were
to oversee all the operational activities of the bank i.e. tellers, accounting,
audit, loans, and the bank’s investment portfolio. Prior to moving to
Bloomington Adriana was appointed by Florida Governor Jeb Bush and served as a
Florida Commissioner on Community Service. She also served on the Miami-Dade
County Commission on the Status of Women and was a three term President of the
League of Women Voters in Miami-Dade among many other community activities.
Adriana became a member of the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Senior Executive
Corporate Advisory Board (SECAB) and the Business Advisory Council for the National
Hispanic Council on Aging (NHCOA). She was selected in 2004 as a member of the
Leadership Illinois Class. She is an Advisor to the Board, Past Chair and
founding member of the Hispanic Employee Resource Organization (HERO) one of
State Farm’s Employee Resource Groups. She is an alumna of the NHLI Class of
2003 and became a NHLI Board Member in 2005. |
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Chef Fernando Desa
A new member of La Gran Familia Goya, Chef Desa is primarily
responsible for the research and development of new products and recipes for
inclusion on www.goya.com and its related publications. Capturing the
traditional tastes and methods that have been handed down through generations,
he works to retain the flavors that epitomize Latin American cuisine while
incorporating new techniques that can be easily duplicated by the home chef.
Fernando’s ability to fully explore the potential of new products epitomizes
the brand’s commitment to authenticity and refined Latin American cuisine. A native of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico,
Fernando is deeply rooted to culinary excellence and references his mothers’
expertise as a teacher of International Cuisine at the University of Puerto
Rico (UPR) as a primary inspiration for his pursuit of cooking as a career.
While studying biology at UPR, Fernando was employed as a Chef at the Capriccio
Restaurant, as well as Pastry Chef for the highly rated Horned Dorsett
Primavera Resort in Rincon, Puerto Rico. In 2001, Fernando obtained his degree
in the Culinary Arts from the prestigious Johnson & Wales University. Prior
to joining Goya Foods, he honed his talents as Chef d’Partie at the Greenbrier
Resort in West Virginia before assuming the role of R&D Chef and Executive
Sous Chef for Kettle Cuisine in Massachusetts. Fernando is a proud member of
the Institute of Food Technologists, the American Culinary Federation, and the
Research Chef Association. In his role as Executive Chef for Goya Foods,
Fernando draws upon his varied experiences in the culinary world to inform his
work in product development as well as participating in food demonstrations and
televised appearances on behalf of the company. Fernando resides with his wife Cristina in Rutherford, New
Jersey. |
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Barbara J. DesMarteau
Barbara is the Director of the Adams County Community &
Economic Opportunity Department that includes the Workforce & Business
Center, Community Development, and Head Start. The Community & Economic
Opportunity Department is one of nine cabinet level departments directly
reporting to the Board of County Commissioners. Barbara is an appointed
official, and serves at the pleasure of these elected officials and the County
Administrator. Through her department, she also oversees county wide boards
that are appointed by the County Commissioners. Before joining Adams County,
Barbara served as the Executive Director of the Mi Casa Resource Center for
Women, a nonprofit community-based organization. Additionally, Barbara managed
human services programs for the Arizona Department of Economic Security,
Community Services Administration. Barbara completed the Senior Executive
Program for State and Local officials at Harvard University, John F. Kennedy
School of Government. She has completed the International Career Advancement
Program at the University of Denver and the Head Start – Johnson &
Johnson Fellows Program at the Anderson School of Management at UCLA. Barbara
currently serves on the Adams County Economic Development Board and the Audubon
Colorado Board of Directors. Barbara attended graduate school at the University
of Kansas, and has a BA in Sociology from Fort Hays State University in Hays,
Kansas. Barbara is a NHLI alumna
of the Class of 1994. |
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Monica Diaz
Monica is the Diversity Director at Merck & Co where she
leads the Global Constituency Groups (GCG), the design and development of
strategies for cultural and organizational change to enhance inclusion, global
talent management, customer focus and strategic alliances. Monica is
responsible for identifying and leveraging synergies across diverse groups,
developing strategies to address vital differences in specific constituencies,
while developing internal and external relationships in support of Merck’s
diversity and inclusion strategy. Monica’s experiences include leading roles in
Global Talent Management, HR Operations, Organizational Development and all
other functional HR areas in the U.S. and Latin America. Monica has 20 years of
experience in HR, applied in the Pharmaceutical, Apparel and Staffing Services
fields. She holds an MA degree in Industrial/ Organizational Psychology and BA in
Psychology from the University of Puerto Rico. She is a member of SHRM, HBA and
other female executive associations. |
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Laura Drain
Laura is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the
Alcanzando Metas Foundation and Founder/President of the Hispanic Professional
Women Association (HPWA). HPWA has the mission to raise awareness of the many
skills and talents of Hispanic women around the USA, to contribute to the
growth and development in work and life. Today the association has 14 chapters
in U.S., one in London, Paris, France, Ecuador, Peru and Mexico City.
Alcanzando Metas Foundation helps young Hispanic/Latino high school women
succeed in the 21st century. During the 2008 Republican National Convention she
was selected to be a delegate from the state of Virginia and is also the
co-chair of Latinas for McCain. |
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Ingrid M. Duran
Ingrid is Co-Founder and Principal of D&P Creative
Strategies, a company that she and partner Catherine founded to increase the
role of corporate, legislative and philanthropic efforts in addressing the
concerns of Latinos, women, and gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT)
communities. Prior to starting D&P, Ingrid was President and CEO of the
Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, where she expanded on an already
extensive professional network that included members of Congress, elected
officials and Fortune 500 executives. Ingrid’s passion for social justice was
sparked at the young age of 5, when she began attending farm worker rights
rallies with her parents and participating in voter registration drives in her
hometown of Los Angeles. Following a tour in the U.S. Marine Corps, where she
developed critical leadership skills, Ingrid worked for six years on Capitol
Hill, serving under the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives, working on
the House Banking Committee under the leadership of Rep. Henry B. Gonzalez,
Chairman and Rep. Gene Green as a Legislative Aid. Through these positions, she
became well versed in the intricacies of the legislative and committee
processes. Ingrid also ran the Washington, DC office of the National
Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, where she was
responsible for representing Latino community interests to Congress and the
Administration. She was tapped by President Bill Clinton to serve on the
President’s Advisory Committee on HIV/AIDS, and was appointed by the Secretary
of Veterans Affairs to the Minority Veterans Advisory Board. In 2000, she
became the first gay Latina to serve on the Human Rights Campaign Board of
Directors, and is also currently Chairwoman of NHLI and a board member of the
Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) Boards. Her efforts as a
strong and steadfast advocate for the GLBT and Latino communities have garnered
her numerous honors, including the 2003 Premio Dignidad Award from LLEGO. Both Hispanic
and Poder magazines have named her among the Nation’s 100 Most Influential and
Powerful Hispanics, and the former has recognized her as a Latina of Excellence
in 2004 and 2005. She is a graduate of Park College, where she earned a B.S. in
Organizational Management. She is a graduate of the Executive Program at
Harvard’s JFK School of Government, Corporate Governance Program of Harvard
Business School, the NHLI Executive Program Class of 2002, and of the Center
for Creative Leadership. |
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Ysabel Duron
Ysabel is an award-winning journalist with more than 30
years in television broadcasting. In 1997 she was inducted into the National Academy of Television Arts
and Sciences’ “Silver Circle” for her meritorious work as a journalist. She is
a weekend anchor of “KRON 4 Weekend Morning News”. She won a team Emmy at
WMAQ-TV for breaking news coverage of the Laurie Dann School shooting. Since
joining KRON 4, Ysabel has garnered public acclaim with two award-winning series:
“The Child I Never Held” and “Life with Cancer.” Ysabel also worked at KTVU-TV
in Oakland where she won her first Emmy in 1974 for her reporting of the Patty
Hearst kidnapping. She was honored again in 1982 while working as a
reporter/anchor at KICU-TV in San Jose where her four-part series “Trouble with
Teachers” won the John Swett Award for Media Excellence, the highest award
given by the California Teachers Association. Her journalism interests have
taken her to Mexico, Chile and Argentina as a board member of the International
Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF), working to create a network of Latina
journalists. A native of Salinas, California, Ysabel received a BA in
Journalism from San Jose State University. She was named one of America’s top
100 Hispanic Women in Communications by Hispanic USA Magazine. She is president
of the board of Las Isabelas, a unique Santa Clara County nonprofit that
provides support services to Latinas with breast cancer, targeting low-income
Spanish-speaking women. Ysabel is also a board member of Ballet San Jose of
Silicon Valley. In June 2007, she was voted one of the 100 Most Influential
Latinos in Silicon Valley. She was also honored with an individual award as the
Most Influential Latino in Media. Ysabel is a 1990 NHLI Fellow. Visit her
website: www.latinascontracancer.org. |
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Lucrecia Farfan Ramirez
Since 1999, Lucrecia has worked as a Researcher and
Principle Investigator in the Nutrition Education Training Academy at the
University of California, Davis, Center for Youth Development. She is also a
Visiting Scholar for the Department of Public Health and Global Health. Her
areas of expertise are: translation, cultural sensitivity training and
presentations on the food habits of Mexico, Central and South America. Lucrecia
has experience in multicultural training for the staff of Livermore Crisis
Center, multicultural social interaction, SERIES training for the University of
California Cooperative Extension, and multicultural framework for 4H
Publications, and the 4H Curriculum Council Statewide. She is also the creator
and author of numerous educational materials for Chinese and Southeast Asian
communities. She has co-authored publications that deal with the migrant worker
community and nutrition in early childhood as well as in low-income
communities. She graduated with a BA in Social Welfare/Public Health as well as
her Master’s in Health from University of California, Berkeley. Lucrecia obtained her Master’s in Public Administration
from California State University at Hayward. She is a graduate of the NHLI Class of 1993. |
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Maribel Ferrer-Gil
Maribel is Senior Vice President at Fleishman-Hillard and
Co-Chair of FH Hispania. She has extensive experience developing and managing
national strategic Hispanic public relations programs. She has managed Hispanic
public relations programs on behalf of corporate and government clients, and
has expertise in consumer marketing communications, media relations, brand
reputation, and consumer education platforms. Maribel has worked managing
public relations programs that have earned industry recognition including PR
Week’s Multicultural Campaign of the Year, Texas Public Relations Association
Silver Spur, Silver Anvil, and a PRSA Houston Excalibur Award. Before joining Fleishman-Hillard in
1999, Ms. Ferrer worked in the advertising industry and was a business reporter
with El Nuevo Dia in her native Puerto Rico. She earned a Master of Science
degree in journalism from Boston University and also holds a Bachelor’s degree
in comparative literature from the University of Puerto Rico. She lives in
Miami with her husband and son. |
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Emily Gantz McKay
Emily is president and founder of Mosaica: The Center for
Nonprofit Development and Pluralism, a multicultural nonprofit organization
that provides tools to community-based nonprofits, national organizations,
foundations and grantmaker collaboratives, planning bodies, coalitions, and
collaboratives to build just, inclusive, and thriving communities and
societies. Emily places special focus on organizations serving communities of
color, multicultural and intergroup initiatives, immigrant- and refugee-led
organizations, and AIDS groups. She is the author of numerous self-help
materials on topics such as nonprofit governance, strategic planning, financial
management and oversight, resource development, and evaluation. She has done
work with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Israel, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Croatia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. She spent 16 years on the
senior staff of the National Council of La Raza, the largest constituency-based
Hispanic civil rights organization, serving as Executive Vice President, Senior
Vice President for Institutional Development, and Vice President for Research,
Advocacy, and Legislation, among other roles. Emily is a Board member of the
Academy of Hope (an adult education organization) and the Hispanic Link
Journalism Foundation. She has served on the boards of AVODAH: The Jewish
Service Corps, NHLI, Mary’s Center for Maternal and Child Care, the Southeast
Asia Resource Action Center, Refugee Women in Development, Inc., and the New
Bosnia Fund. She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Stanford University, holding a
BA and MA (in Communication with emphasis on professional journalism,
communication research, and race and ethnic relations). Her honors include the
I. Pat Rios Award from the Guadalupe Center in Kansas City, Missouri (1988),
the NCLR President’s Award, the Milagro Beanfield Award from Ayuda (2004), and
an Unsung Heroes award from the U.S. Conference on AIDS. Emily is listed in Who’s
Who in America, Who’s Who in the World, and Who’s Who of American Women. She
has been married for more than 40 years to Dr. Jack A. McKay, a research
physicist turned community activist. |
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Jeanne Goldie
Jeanne is a nationally recognized expert in the area of
affordable housing in the financial services industry. She is currently the
Regional Diverse Segments Manager for Wells Fargo, and has over 15 years of
startup and turnaround experience in both the public and private sector. She
has been recognized by the White House for her work in helping minority and low
income families to become homeowners and has also won national awards from HUD
and the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials. Jeanne has
expertise in HOPE VI redevelopment and Mixed-Income, Mixed-Use community
development. Jeanne has been published in national magazines and academic
journals including an article on “Preserving Affordable Homeownership
Opportunities in Rapidly Escalating Real Estate Markets” which was published by
the American Bar Association’s Journal of Housing and Community Development and
has been cited in many other articles. She holds an MS degree in Economic
Development from Georgia State and a BBA in Accounting from Emory University. |
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Eva Maria Gómez, RN, MSN
Eva is a Pediatric Nurse with 15 years of experience and an
NHLI Alum from the class of 2005. She is a Staff Development Specialist at
Children’s Hospital Boston. In her current role she is in charge of
coordinating the Student Career Outreach Opportunities Program, the hospital’s
Lattice Program for entry into Nursing, and the Multi-Cultural Nurses Forum.
She is also a member of the Diversity and Culturally Competent Care Council and
has helped establish a mentoring program for nurses at Children’s Hospital
Boston. She was recently appointed to be a part of Boston College’s Nursing
Diversity Advisory Board. She is a former president and founder of the North
Carolina Chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses. In 2006 she
was honored with the Southeast Region Nursing Excellence Award for Community
Service from Spectrum Magazine. For 10 years she served the Latino community in
North Carolina before relocating to work at Children’s Hospital Boston. Eva has
a Master’s in Nursing Education from the University of North Carolina
Greensboro. She continues to work in the Boston area to promote diversity in
the nursing profession and to advocate for programs that will sustain the
provision of culturally sensitive and appropriate care for all populations. |
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Roger Guzman
Roger is Senior Manager for Hispanic Markets for
Wal-Mart. In this role he is
responsible for the relations Wal-Mart has with over thirty Hispanic/Latino
community organizations at the national and local level. Prior to Wal-Mart, Roger spent eighteen
years at State Farm most recently as Staff Assistant in the PR/Marketing unit
of Corporate Communications and External Relations. He also spent 12 years in
Human Resources and two years in Claims all with State Farm. Roger was very
active in the Hispanic community in Bloomington, IL prior to his relocation to
Bentonville. He was a board member
of the Hispanic Outreach for Western Avenue Community Center, a board member of
the local Girl's Scouts council, a member of the University of Illinois
Extension Office Advisory Board, and a member of the Hispanic Families
Workgroup in the community. He
currently sits on the board of Parents Step Ahead, a Dallas-based program
established to recognize, educate, enable and empower parents to take a
proactive role in the education and personal development of their children.
Roger also taught Hispanic culture and basic Spanish for staff members of organizations
who received funding from United Way in McLean County. Roger received his
Bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in Secondary Education from the
University of Puerto Rico in Cayey, Puerto Rico. He is married and has two young adult sons attending
college, and one teenage daughter attending high school. |
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Millie Herrera
Millie founded The Miami Group that provides business and
strategic marketing consulting services to businesses, nonprofit organizations,
and political campaigns. Prior to founding The Miami Group, Millie was Product
and Marketing Manager at Amadeus North America, Project Manager and Business
Systems Analyst for American Bankers Insurance Group and Centrust Bank, both in
Miami, Florida, and Dresser Industries in Dallas, Texas. She began her
professional career in technology as a programmer-analyst at GPI Grupo de
Proyectos in Caracas, Venezuela; and later at City National Bank of Baton
Rouge, Louisiana. Pursuing her passion for community involvement and public
policy advocacy, Millie has over 12 years of successful issue advocacy and
political consulting experience. She became active in the Miami-Dade County
Democratic Party in 1995, where she served as Deputy Director until 1997. She
was a charter member of the Miami-Dade Chapter of the Democratic Hispanic
Caucus of Florida, and was elected its first president. Millie was a Florida delegate to the
2000 DNC Convention, and a member of the 2004 DNC Platform Committee for the
Florida delegation. She was elected Alternate delegate for Florida to the 2008
DNC Convention. Millie served in public office on the Kendall Community Council
12 from 2003 to 2006, and was Vice Chair for the 2005 term. She also served as
Secretary of the Board of Directors of Union Positiva, a nonprofit organization
focused on HIV/AIDS prevention and outreach for the Hispanic community. She serves on the Community Advisory
Board of the Girls Advocacy Project, an intervention program for girls detained
in the juvenile justice system, and is a volunteer Guardian Ad Litem in
Miami-Dade County since 2003. Millie earned a Bachelor of Science degree in
Management Information Systems in 1983 from Southern Illinois University, in
Carbondale, Illinois; and a Master in Business Administration degree in 2001
from Florida International University, in Miami, Florida. She currently
co-hosts and produces “Democracia Al Día”, a weekly Spanish language
progressive radio program, at 7:00 pm every Thursday at Cadena Azul 1550 AM in
Miami, Florida. Millie is a 2004 NHLI Fellow. |
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Dr. Sandra Madrid
Dr. Madrid is Assistant Dean for Students and Community
Development at the University of Washington School of Law. Her responsibilities
currently include overseeing
student recruitment, admissions, and financial aid. She also serves as Dean of Students.
She received her Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of Washington and B.A. from
Colorado State University – Pueblo. Dr. Madrid is currently on the
Executive Committee of the Association of American Law Schools’ Section on Minority Groups;
immediate past chair of both the Board of Directors of NHLI and Board of
Directors of the United Way of King County. She serves on the Board of
Directors of the Seattle Art Museum; YWCA of Seattle and King/Snohomish
Counties; Judicial Screening Committee of the King County Bar Association;
Northwest Minority Job Fair Advisory Board; Puget Sound Minority Clerkship
Advisory Board; and the Washington State Minority and Justice Commission. She
has served on numerous boards and commissions over the years. She has chaired six boards, three at the
national level. They include: NHLI; National Council for International
Visitors; and the Law School Admission Council Minority Affairs Committee.
Local boards she has chaired include: United Way of King County; Leadership Tomorrow;
KUOW/KCMU; and was a founding member and First Chair of the Washington State
Hispanic Bar Association, now known as the Latina/o Bar Association of
Washington. Dr. Madrid is active with her public service commitments and after
six years, recently stepped down from the National Board of Directors of the
Girl Scouts of the USA. Over the last 18 years, she has served on over 40
boards, commissions, or task forces, including but not limited to: Leadership
Tomorrow; World Affairs Council; Seattle Foundation; American Red Cross,
Seattle/King County Chapter; Teachers Recruiting Future Teachers; KING-5 TV
Community Advisory Board; Washington Council on Crime and Delinquency; Society
of Hispanic Professional Engineers; and many more. She has received numerous awards
and in May 2007 she gave the commencement address at her alma mater, Colorado State University – Pueblo. |
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Judy Majors
Judy is a Senior Program Manager with the Fannie Mae Office
of Diversity and Inclusion and is responsible for working with lenders and
nonprofit diverse trusted advisors to create homeownership and housing
education and awareness programs for low income and minority families. She
works with lenders including Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and
CitiMortgage linking them to organizations that provide guidance and counseling
to multi-cultural families. Judy also managed the Faith-Based Initiatives in
the Multicultural Outreach area of Fannie Mae, launching 175 faith-based
partnerships nationwide, providing home counseling and education to over 60,000
individuals. Since joining Fannie Mae in 1996, Ms. Majors has implemented and
directed innovative initiatives including the Fee for Service Initiative,
Minority Homeownership Initiative, Women-Headed Households, Welcome
Home—Immigrant Initiative, Hispanic Homeownership Strategies, Reverse
Mortgages, Rent to Home, Homestyle Renovation and Environmental Mortgages. Ms.
Majors launched Multicultural Lender Partnerships with national lenders
totaling over $15 Billion in mortgage financing commitments for minority and
immigrant families. She is a
member of the Mentoring Circle Group and an advisor to the Hispanic Employee
Resource Group. Prior to joining Fannie Mae, Judy was Vice President of
Strategic Product Development at Prudential Home Mortgage. She holds a Master’s
in Business Marketing from the University of Maryland University College,
Graduate School and a Bachelor’s in Financial Management from the University of
Maryland, College Park. She has completed the UCLA Latino Leadership Executive
Training with the Anderson Graduate School and the Executive Education Program
with Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government. She is an Alumni of the NHLI Class of
2008. |
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Dr. Milagros (Millie) Mateu
Dr. Mateu, a skilled facilitator and organizational
development consultant, is a seasoned educational leader. She has a successful track record
creating and implementing education, training and development programs in the
United States and Latin America. During her career she has progressed through two universities and four
government agencies assuming higher levels of responsibility at each stage.
Most recently as a University Program Manager at NASA, she created and
administered multi-million dollar programs that the agency funded to over 40
Universities. Hispanic Magazine named her among the 100 Most Influential
Hispanic Americans Educators. As a U.S. Department of Justice representative in
Latin America, she oversaw the creation of programs to train high-level law
enforcement officials in emerging democracies in the use of democratic law
enforcement procedures. As the Regional Training Officer for the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) she established the New England Region’s first
computer-based instruction center and created numerous training programs for
managers. She received the prestigious FAA Director’s Annual Honorary
Achievement Award for her achievements in workforce development. Dr. Mateu
directed Bilingual Programs at Montclair State College. Her consulting practice
offers a full service approach that assists organizations in achieving
strategic goals, managing projects to obtain results and implementing workforce
development initiatives that produce new levels of employee performance. Dr.
Mateu earned a Master’s in Education from Columbia University, a Master's in
Educational Administration and Policy Leadership from Fordham University and a
Doctorate in Education and Human Development from George Washington University.
Additionally, she is a graduate of Harvard Employment and Training Institute,
and 1997 NHLI Fellow. |
Olivia V. Meza
Olivia was appointed by Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano to
the State's Board of Executive Clemency in February 2004. She has over 30 years' experience with
the criminal justice system as a senior federal court executive, a specialist
in Indian Country and sex offenses, a pretrial services officer, and a
probation officer in Arizona, Maryland and California. Olivia served as Chief
of Pretrial Services for the U.S. District Court in Arizona where she
administered a multimillion dollar budget and managed 60 supervisors and
officers statewide, working directly with federal judges, U.S. Attorney,
victims and families, and defendants. She introduced cutting-edge software for
supervision of federal defendants charged with computer-based sex offenses, and
leadership training programs and professional staff development. She served as
a juvenile probation officer in Maricopa and Yuma Counties, and taught at
Arizona Western College. She has volunteered with Maricopa County Justice
Courts as a mediator, assisted at the Chrysalis Shelter for Victims of Domestic
Violence, at St. Vincent de Paul, and the Salvation Army. She formerly served on the Ninth Circuit
Judicial Committee on Employee Diversity. Olivia is a member of the Arizona
Dispute Resolution Association. She earned a Master of Science degree in Family Life and Child
Development, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology, from Arizona State
University. Olivia is a fellow of
NHLI’s Class of 1994. |
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Victoria Negrete
Recognized nationally for her marketing savvy and her
unrelenting drive in championing the Latino consumer buying power, Victoria
oversees strategic development and client relations for The Cartel Group, a
marketing communications entity she founded in 1994. As a multi-Effie award winner, she is
often described as an expert in consumer sociology who has studied the U.S.
Hispanic market for over 25 years. As a passionate leader focused on women and
minority initiatives, Victoria is a board member of numerous education-oriented
organizations such as HACU, Palo Alto College, and Frost Bank. She is a former
member of the NHLI Board of Directors. To
learn more about the Cartel Group, go to www.thecartel.com. |
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Elizabeth (Betsy) Orlando
Elizabeth (Betsy) graduated with honors from Mount Vernon
College with a major in U.S. policy and politics. She was awarded a Juris Doctorate from the University of
Akron and is admitted to the Ohio State Bar. She is a member of the Ohio State Bar Association, the
United Nations Association, and an officer in two Toastmasters Clubs. Working
in a joint university and city venture, she served as a mediator with the City
of Akron’s Prosecutor’s Office. Before joining the U.S. Department of State,
Betsy was a Court Advocate for victims of domestic violence and children of
sexual abuse with VIBS on Long Island. Since 1992, Betsy has been a member of
the Foreign Service and has traveled to over 160 countries. Since 2006, Betsy
has worked at the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and
Scientific Affairs in Environmental Policy as an International Affairs Officer
for multilateral negotiations. Currently, her focus is on domestic policy as
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) coordinator. She serves as the
Environmental Impact Study (EIS) project manager of the $5 billion Keystone
Pipeline Project and the Enbridge Oil $2 billion Alberta Clipper oil pipeline
expansion projects. She completed two environmental assessments for Frontera
Juarez gas pipeline in El Paso, Texas and Southern Lights LsR oil pipeline in
North Dakota and Minnesota. Betsy coordinates State’s NEPA program, and reviews
programs and issues affecting other federal agencies including Department of
Homeland Security’s Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative and border country
projects with possible environmental impacts in the U.S. She serves as Vice
President of the Georgetown Hill Daycare Board and on the Advisory Board of
Stop the Silence, a nonprofit organization to prevent and treat child sexual
abuse and is a recent alumna of the California Agricultural Leadership
Fellowship and the Washington Energy Seminar. Over the last two years Betsy has
mentored over 700 minorities in public speaking, meeting high level officials
and negotiations. She currently is a State Department Hometown Diplomat and
acts as an Alumni Ambassador for the University of Akron School of Law. Betsy
has written a book of poems and essays entitled A Field of Flowers: Poems and
Essays from A Diplomat’s Journey. She has also written for The Stars and
Stripes (European edition), The Washington Times, The Connection Magazine,
Suffolk County News, and embassy and consulate newsletters around the world. |
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Denise Y. Perez
Denise completed her first triathlon (Tri for the
Cure-Denver) in the summer of 2006 and to date has done numerous triathlons,
duathlons, 10k races and 5k races. As a result, she was determined to share the
gift of health through fitness with her fellow Latina sisters; therefore,
Denise started the Hermanas Triathlon Team in 2006 while participating in the
National Hispana Leadership Program under the guidance of Head Coach and
Program Developer Yoli Casas. Denise is a Senior Aide to Denver City Councilman Paul Lopez, and has
been involved in politics since she was elected into the student council in the
third grade. In 2008, five Hermanas participated in the Orlando, Disney World
Danskin, and to date, 65 women have committed to training with the Hermanas
Triathlon Team. She is a 2006 NHLI Fellow. |
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Nereida (Neddy) Perez
Nereida is the Founder and CEO of the Association of
Employee Resource Groups (AERGonline). The organization focuses on providing
companies and employee network groups with consulting services and resources
that help their affinity/employee network groups support corporate diversity
initiatives. Prior to her current role she served as the Chief Diversity
Officer to KPMG LLP, one of the Big Four accounting firms. She was responsible
for developing and guiding the firm’s U.S. diversity efforts. Neddy also has
more than 19 years experience in leading and implementing Human Resources and
Diversity initiatives at the national and international level for corporations
like Sodexo, Royal Dutch/Shell, and United Parcel Service. Aside from
her experience in the U.S., she has worked in the United Kingdom, the
Netherlands and Latin America. In 2008, she was named to the Workforce
Diversity Experts Panel by the Society of Human Resources. She also serves on
the executive board of NHLI, Gifts InKind International, the Hispanic
Association of Colleges & Universities, the Asia Society, the Women of
ALPFA advisory board and has worked with ASCEND’s Corporate Board. She is a
nationally recognized speaker on diversity and has been inducted into Houston’s
Hispanic Women’s Hall of Fame. She holds a bachelor’s degree in public
relations from the University of Florida and a Master’s degree in human
resources management and international business from Nova Southeastern
University. She is a 2000 NHLI Fellow. |
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Michaeline Perez Guzman
Michaeline is Vice President of Operations for McDonald’s
USA, LLC. She started her
McDonald’s career in 1980 as a crew person in Southern Florida. After
graduating from High School, she became a shift manager while going to college
in South Florida. She decided to continue her career at McDonald’s as she moved
up the ranks in Operations. In 1988, she was given the opportunity to move into
the Human Resources Department. Her HR career spanned over 11 years where she held various positions in
Latin America, South Florida, Oak Brook and St. Louis. In 1996, she took the
leap to move into the Latin America Zone. She continued her career in HR and
held the position of HR Director for Central America and the Caribbean,
including Puerto Rico. In her role as HR Director she was part of several new
country openings such as El Salvador, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Ecuador and the
Dominican Republic. She established the HR Dept. for the Division and lead
teams in more than 19 countries. In 1999, she returned to operations where she
also held several positions in Venezuela, Colombia and Panama. Most recently,
Michaeline served as the Vice President of Corporate Restaurants in the Central
America Region, prior to which time she served as the Market Manager for Panama.
Previously, she served as the Director of Operations for Colombia and worked in
Operations in Venezuela. Additionally, Michaeline served as a Pioneer member of
the Board of Directors for the Ronald McDonald House Charities Chapters in
Panama and Costa Rica where she helped establish the charity, create campaigns
to build awareness and raise funds for children’s hospitals. These classrooms
were designed to expose hospitalized children to education, music, arts and
games as part of the work to provide them with a place away from home that
allows them to explore and share activities with other children. |
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Dr. Sandra A. Rivera
Dr. Rivera is Assistant Director of U.S. International Trade
Commission’s Office of Economics where she implements strategic, fiscal and
long range planning, and hiring and other trade research projects focused on
advising Congress and the Office of the United States Trade Representative on
the impact of potential trade agreements. Her recent work includes “Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon: What is the Impact of China’s WTO Accession on India’s
Trade,” an IMF Working Paper and “What Is the Impact of China’s Growth on
India: An Economy-wide Analysis”. During her tenure as a Visiting Scholar at
Purdue University’s premiere think tank, the Center for Global Trade Analysis,
she led efforts to develop its 10-year strategic plan. From 1994-2003, Dr.
Rivera has had a progressive career an International Economist and later,
Project Leader, Office of Economics’ Research Division. After being a 1998 Fellow
in the International Career Advancement Program, Dr. Rivera was recruited to
work as the Director of the Free Trade Area of the Americas Affairs, Office of
the United States Trade Representative. Dr. Rivera earned her Ph.D. in
International Economics from University of Kentucky, Master’s from University
of New Mexico and Bachelor’s from William Smith College. She has remained very
active in mentoring and volunteer activities in the DC Metro area including the
Hispanic Youth Symposium; Area Governor, Toastmasters District 27; and as a
Public Speaking trainer for NHLI’s Latinas Learning to Lead Program. In 2008,
she trained over 750 African American and Latino youth on public speaking. Dr.
Rivera is a board member of Stop the Silence, an international nonprofit
organization dedicated to stopping child sex abuse (www.stopcsa.org). She has
been an invited speaker on both international economics and leadership issues
in dozens of conferences, colleges and universities, nationally and in Latin
America, Europe, and The Hague. Dr. Rivera is a 2001 NHLI Fellow. |
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Christine Valdes
Christine Valdes was born in New Jersey and is the daughter
of two immigrant parents. She is
married and the proud mother of two sons. She started her entrepreneur
experience 23 years ago with a party supply business in New Jersey. Shortly
after relocating to Florida in 1989, she began her career in the mortgage
industry. She obtained her Mortgage Brokerage License from the Bob Houg School
of Real Estate and Mortgage. While working as a Mortgage Loan Officer,
Christine quickly realized that there was a need to educate her clients with
the proper options and resources available in lending. In her case because of
her Hispanic background she catered to the Hispanic community. In 2000, this led
her to host Comprando La Casa de Su Sueños a weekly program on a local Hispanic
radio station in Tampa. In the same year while working for a mortgage company,
her knowledge and experience lead her to become a co-owner. In 2004, she was
recruited by Wells Fargo to be the Regional Diverse Segment Manager for the
west coast of Florida, the Panhandle and parts of Alabama. Due to her success
and experience her market has now been expanded to cover the South East coast
of Florida. With her almost 20 years of sales and management experience as well
as her passion to help people, the position at Wells Fargo was the perfect fit.
Most recently, she appeared as a guest on the Julie Stav Show, a national
syndicated radio show regarding all aspects of finances. Since being at Wells
Fargo, she continues her outreach not only to the Hispanic community but also
to low-to-moderate income and ethically diverse consumers wanting to attain the
American dream of home ownership. |
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Magda Yrizarry
Magda Yrizarry is Vice President for Workplace Culture and
Compliance in Corporate Human Resources for Verizon and is responsible for
strategic human resources issues and policies relating to diversity, ethics and
workplace programs. Prior to her current assignment, Magda was Executive Director
of Public Policy and Strategic Alliances for Verizon and was responsible for
Verizon’s key national stakeholder relationships and outreach efforts with
multicultural communities, senior citizen and disabled constituencies
throughout the United States. Magda joined Verizon in 1990 as Manager of
Educational Relations, overseeing corporate responsibility and educational
initiatives, as well as volunteer programs like the New York State Mentoring
Program, School-Based Management and Junior Achievement. While in New York,
Magda served as a trustee and president of Community School Board 9 from 1996
to 1997 and as a member of the Board of Education Committee on Bilingual and
Special Education from 2001 to 2002. Magda represents Verizon on LULAC’s
National Education Service Centers Board and the Corporate Advisory Board of
the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility. She is a founding member
of 100 Hispanic Women, Chairperson of ASPIRA of New York and Executive Board
member of the ASPIRA Association. Magda holds a Bachelor of Science and
Master’s Degree from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY and has completed the
executive training program at Harvard University. She is a graduate of the NHLI
Class of 2001. |
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