“100 Latinas” -Foreword by Elizabeth Nieto from Spotify -Annual List of Most Influential Latinas

FOREWORD

by Elizabeth Nieto

Elizabeth leads Global Head of Equity & Impact at Spotify. She was born and raised in Argentina. Elizabeth is committed to her work in non-profit organizations that support access to developmental opportunities for young underserved talent and teenagers at risk.

WHEN I was asked to write the foreword for the 2021 Most 100 Influential Latinas, I was honored and nervous. I checked the previous editions to remind me who has contributed to this before me. The authors of the last two years were, Sylvia Acevedo, CEO of the Girls Scouts of the USA and one of my favorite role models, and my friend and idola Nina Vaca, CEO of the Pinnacle Group. A burst of imposter syndrome shook my whole body, wondering why I said yes to this request. It was late into the evening, when the rest of my family submerges in their own personal screen time before bed, a bad habit that has deepened in our pandemic time, and I started to write the words below on my phone. Taking risks has been the driving force of my career, so why stop now? I am not Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Gabriela Mistral, Juana de Ibarbourou, Adela Zamudio, Rosario Castellanos, or Julia de Burgos, whose poems and writings illuminated my education in Buenos Aires. I am not Julia Alvarez, Lorna Dee Cervantes, Gloria Anzaldua, Cherrie Moraga, Claribel Alegria, Ana Castillo, Elizabeth Acevedo, Ariana Brown, Yesenia Montilla and many others with strong voices for justice and equity that threaded musical verses and stanzas to shape my love for the written word.

One Hundred Latinas Leaders

When I see the faces of our Latinas Leaders They represent our abuelas and our hijas, our tías and our madres Their dreams and our accomplishments Their sacrifices and our success Our achievements and their hope. Latinas are immigrants, documented and undocumented Latinas are the daughters of Spanish colonizers that arrived in Florida in 1513 Afro Latinas, Indigenous Latinas, Latinas from European ancestry, Chinese Peruvian Latinas, All of us showing off every color of the palette in our skin, our hair and our voices. When I see the faces of our Latinas Leaders They represent the long and dedicated path for that academic recognition Their commitment to amplifying the voices of our community through public service Their perseverant legacy as they advocate for others The pursuit for excellence. We birth, we seed, we plow We laugh, we cry, we wonder why We give all we have and sometimes more We listen to “the old country” stories and we imagine the new world novelas We sing tangos, bachatas and now reggaeton We dance salsa, cumbia and carnavalitos. When I see the faces of our Latinas Leaders I discover what it takes to be confident The hard work needed to find that seat at the table And when there are no chairs for us We build new tables and bring our sisters along. Latinas are leaders and philanthropists Latinas are mentors and family chefs Latinas are creators and entertainers Latinas are builders and entrepreneurs Latinas are dreamers When I see the faces of our Latina Leaders, I smile, knowing I am in good company.

To the 100 Latinas Leaders recognized this year, I am humble to be part of this cohort with you I appreciate those who have come before me, they have shown me the duty I have as a professional immigrant in the U.S. to be a positive role model. You are the bastions of health care, finance, technology, science, sports, politics, journalism and much more. You drive revenue, you architect and build culture, you create impact. ¡Felicitaciones!

100

LATINAS

Stories, we all carry one. Not only are we inspired by them but we inspire through them. We present this year’s “100 Latinas”. These women continue to influence through their leadership and inspire those around them.

Partner Maestro

BEATRIZ ACEVEDO

CEO & Co-Founder

SUMA Wealth

Beatriz has dedicated her career to empower and open doors for the next generation of Latinx leaders. Beatriz started her career in media at a young age, first on radio and later in television. Her work earned her three Emmys, one MTV music award, and a media correspondent award, among many others. She later became a tech media entrepreneur as the Co-founder and President of mitú, the leading digital media brand for young Latinos in the U.S. she sits on numerous boards and is an advisor on Mayor Eric Garcetti’s tech council as well as on Annenberg’s foundation tech initiative, PledgeLA. Beatriz recently co-founded LA Collab, a Hollywood initiative to double Latino representation in Hollywood in front and behind the camera by 2030. SUMA Welath was founded with the vision of closing the Latinx wealth gap by providing financial education via digital content, fintech tools, and experiences that are both highly engaging and in culture. ARCILIA ACOSTA

President & CEO / Founder & CEO

CARCON Industries and Construction / Southwestern Testing Laboratories (STL) Engineers

Arcilia Acosta is an entrepreneur, nationally recognized speaker, philanthropist and mother. She is the president and CEO of CARCON Industries and Construction, a full- services construction firm. She is also the Founder and CEO of Southwestern Testing Laboratories (STL Engineers), a geotechnical engineering and construction materials testing firm. In May 2017, Arcilia was elected to the board of Magnolia Oil and Gas Corporation and in July 2018, she joined the board of ONE Gas Incorporated (NYSE:OGS). In 2014, Arcilia was inducted into the National Women’s Business Hall of Fame. She is a graduate of Texas Tech University and Harvard University Business School- Corporate Governance Program. In March 2016, Texas Governor Greg Abbott appointed Ms. Acosta to the Texas Higher Education Coordination Board.

ESTHER AGUILERA

President & CEO

Latino Corporate Directors Association

Esther Aguilar is a social entrepreneur and turnaround specialist, leading scale-up, innovative change, and high-performance teams. She led the growth of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) for 11 years as its President & CEO. Previous positions also included serving as a principal at the Dewey Square Group, senior advisor to the Secretary of the US Department of Energy, executive and legislative director of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), and a policy analyst at the National Council of La Raza (now UnidosUS). She has worked in leadership positions with the nations most accomplished leaders from Corporate America, the U.S. Congress, the Executive Branch, and the not-for-profit sector. Esther writes on the subjects of board diversity and organizational effectiveness, and is a guest columnist in numerous publications. PRISCILLA ALMODOVAR

President and CEO / Managing Director and Co-Head of Real Estate Banking

Enterprise Community Partners / JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Priscilla Almodovar is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Enterprise Community Partners, Inc. Across its 40-year history, this company with 1,200 employees, has invested $61 billion in communities nationwide to address rental housing solutions, racial equity initiatives and access to capital products. Almodovar is a former Managing Director at JP Morgan Chase, where she led national real estate businesses for their commercial bank which focused in commercial real estate and community development. Previously, she was the President and Chief Executive Officer of New York state's housing finance and mortgage agencies. Prior to that, Almodovar was a corporate partner at a global law firm. She serves on the boards of VEREIT (NYSE: VER), a diversified real estate operating company, and Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital, LLC, a private commercial and multifamily mortgage banking company. She has also served as the co-chair of the New York State Health Innovation Council, an advisory body of the New York State Department of Health. Ms. Almodovar received her J.D. from Columbia University School of Law and her B.A. in Economics from Hofstra University.

SVP of External Affairs , Chief Sustainable Officer

Corteva

Anne is a widely respected global food and agriculture leader and has forged a highly successful and diverse career in the public, not-for-profit and corporate sectors. Anne served as President and CEO of the American Egg Board (AEB), the marketing arm of the U.S. egg industry. Before joining the AEB, Anne served as the Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Agency (AMS) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Anne has also served as Vice President, Global Public Policy, Corporate Affairs at Kraft Foods. While at Kraft Foods, Anne was selected as the first woman to Chair the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF). Prior to Kraft Foods, Anne was the Senior Vice President at the National Foreign Trade Council; Deputy Assistant Secretary at the International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce; Environmental Attaché to the U.S. Embassy, Mexico City coinciding with the NAFTA negotiations and Senior Regional Counsel at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region V, Chicago, IL. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, The Chicago Network, an elite organization of Chicago’s leading professional women as well as a Fellow, National Association of Corporate Directors. She recently served on the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s Council on Agriculture, Small Business and Labor.

CRISTELA ALONZO

Comedian, Actress, Writer & Producer

Cristela Alonzo is a stand-up comedian that made TV history in 2014 by becoming the first Latina to create, write and star in a network TV sitcom named “Cristela”. Cristela was also the first Latina to star in a Disney Pixar movie when she starred as Cruz Ramirez in “Cars 3.” Cristela also served as one of ABC’s “The View’s” most popular guest hosts and has a one-hour stand-up special (“Lower Classy”) currently streaming on Netflix. Aside from comedy, Cristela focuses on advocacy work, fighting for issues that range from immigration, universal healthcare and lower income communities with numerous organizations including Special Olympics Texas, People for the United Way, Planned Parenthood, LUPE (La Union del Pueblo Entero) and serves as advisory board member for Define American. Cristela is based in LA and will have her first book to be released in 2019 by Atria Books under Simon & Schuster.

Vice President of Film Production

Marvel Studios

Victoria worked her way up through the industry, beginning as a PA and then working four years at the VFX powerhouse Digital Domain. She served as VFX producer on a number of films, including Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven, Tim Burton’s Big Fish, Andrew Adamson’s Shrek and Marvel’s Iron Man. She won the Visual Effects Society (VES) Award for outstanding supporting visual effects/motion picture for Kingdom of Heaven. Eventually, she joined Marvel as the company’s executive vice president of visual effects and post production, doubling as co-producer on Iron Man, a role she reprised on Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger. In 2011, she advanced to executive producer on the blockbuster hit The Avengers In her current role she serves as EVP, Production, for Marvel Studios as well as serving as producer on a number of important films. She was listed as one of Hollywood Reporter’s 2017/2018 Women in Entertainment Power 100 and was the 2015 honoree for the Muse Award for Outstanding Vision and Achievement from the New York Women in Film & Television. She was also the first woman to be presented with the Harold Lloyd Award from the Advanced Imaging Society. In 2017, she was the first woman to be honored with the Visionary Award at the 15th Annual VES Awards for her advancement of unforgettable storytelling through visual effects. She is currently at work on “Spider-Man: Far From Home”.

LINDA ALVARADO

President & CEO

Alvarado Construction, Inc.

Linda Alvarado has 35 years experience in large multi-million dollar commercial development, government and institutional general contracting, construction management, design/build, and program management contracts. In keeping with breaking non-traditional roles, Linda Alvarado made history as the first Hispanic (male or female) owner of a major league baseball franchise. As a co-owner of The Colorado Rockies her role is also significant as it marked the first time that any woman was involved in a bid for ownership of a Major League team. In 2003 Alvarado was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame and had previously been honored as the recipient of the Horatio Alger Award. Alvarado was honored in New York along with U.S. Attorney General, Janet Reno and poet laureate, Maya Angelou, as a recipient of the prestigious Sara Lee Corporation Frontrunner Award for exemplary achievement and leadership. Her success in business and active community involvement led to her recognition as a trailblazer in her field.

PATRICIA ARVIELO

CEO & Co-Founder

New American Funding

Patty is an award-winning entrepreneur and the co-founder/President of New American Funding. A first-generation Latina, she leverages more than 36 years of experience in the mortgage industry to lead the company’s sales and operations efforts. In addition, Patty created the company’s Latino Focus and New American Dream initiatives to improve the home lending experiences for Latino and African-American homebuyers. Patty is also a popular keynote speaker for mortgage events across the nation. She is on numerous committees, including for the Mortgage Bankers Association, the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP), and the Housing Counseling Federal Advisory Committee (HCFAC). She frequently visits Washington, D.C. to lobby for the industry and homeowners. Ernst & Young recognized Patty as 2016 EY Entrepreneur of The Year® Orange County. VANESSA M. BENAVIDES

SVP Chief Compliance & Privacy Officer

Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. and Hospitals

Vanessa is responsible for planning, oversight, and coordination of activities to drive effective compliance with regulatory requirements and policies across Kaiser Permanente markets. In collaboration with leadership across the organization, she leads the development of strategies to embed ethics and compliance into the core design and operations of the organization and foster a work environment where employees and physicians do the right thing to protect our members, patients, and the communities we serve. Benavides has dual reporting directly to Kaiser Permanente’s chair and chief executive officer and the Audit and Compliance Committee of the Boards of Directors. She is a member of the National Executive Team. Benavides joined Kaiser Permanente in 2015. Prior to that, she was chief compliance officer for Tenet Healthcare. Before joining Tenet, she served as legal counsel for Caremark Rx. Benavides is also a member of the board of directors of The Trevor Project, the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ youth. Benavides also served on the national board of directors of the Human Rights Campaign. Benavides holds a law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law, where she served as articles editor for the Iowa Law Review. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Vanderbilt University.