Conversaciones con ALPFA NJ

In this episode of the Si-Suite Podcast, Vanessa interviews Dr. Ginny A. Baro, an award-winning international transformational speaker, leadership coach, career strategist, and #1 bestselling author of Healing Leadership and Fearless Women at Work .   Dr. Ginny shares her experience and journey as a young immigrant with a BIG dream and her journey with ALPFA NJ, serving as Director of Board Develo...

In today's episode, we explore Zarafshan's unique journey as the daughter of Pakistani immigrant parents, being the first female in her extended family to graduate college, and her passion for community impact. She shares valuable lessons on family, culture, career growth, advice for her younger self, and future goals. Tune in for an inspiring conversation about breaking boundaries, and paying it...

In this episode of the C-Suite Podcast, Vanessa interviews Humberto Lozano, the President of the ALPFA New Jersey chapter and VP in the CFO group at Bank of America. Humberto shares his remarkable journey from growing up in Passaic, New Jersey, to becoming a successful professional in real estate finance. He discusses the impact of his family, teachers, and mentors, including his older brother and...

Hosted by Vanessa Schwippert, this podcast features deep conversations and insights from Latines and allies. Vanessa shares her journey from being a teacher to becoming the host of this podcast and her podcast and serving on the ALPFA board. She discusses the transition from the Si-Suite podcast, her diverse cultural background, and the collaborative efforts of her team members. Tune in to learn f...

Monya Bunch is a seasoned attorney and certified DEI leader, who currently serves as WilmerHale’s Director of Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DEI). Monya’s legal background includes over ten years of private law firm practice, in addition to serving as in-house counsel at a brokerage services firm. In addition, Monya served as an adjunct professor at the Howard University School of Law and the U...

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 feder...

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 t...

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 exce...

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 W...

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, concl...

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 em...

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 practic...

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...

Named one of PRSA’s People to Watch Under 30, Odalys Jasmine is a first-gen Latina who holds up her Honduran flag proudly.  By day, she's a project manager for emerging talent at LinkedIn, where she curates experiences for Black, Latino, and underrepresented talent.  By night, she hosts the Hella Latin@ podcast, which makes space for Latinos to tell their first generation and/or immigrant stories...

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...

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...

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...

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 exec...

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...

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...

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 Manage...

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 syst...

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 o...

Alicia Guevara , CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of NY is the first woman to lead the 117-year old nonprofit. She is an accomplished and proven executive in the nonprofit sector who leads with both head and heart. She has 30 years of experience leading nonprofit organizations, developing talent and leadership, influencing public policy, designing evidence-based programs, driving business and growt...

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 upbr...