A special Q&A s

Executive Vice President, Chief Information and Technology Officer

McKesson

Flores is responsible for the company’s technology initiatives including software, infrastructure, application development tools and processes, operations, and cybersecurity. She also guides the overall direction for the company’s healthcare technology products and data and analytics. Prior to McKesson, Flores served as CIO at Johnson Controls (JCI) where she was responsible for information technology, cybersecurity and analytics. Previously, she spent 22 years at Abbott in several leadership roles including chief information officer. She also led Global Business Services, Abbott’s back office services, through an extensive transformation. The Greater Milwaukee Women’s Fund recognized Flores as a 2019 Futurist Leader for her strong commitment to diversity and inclusion. She also serves on the board of the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and is a member of the CIO Strategy Exchange (CIOSE).

MICHELLE FREYRE

Senior Vice President, Global General Manager, Clinique

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.

Michelle is responsible for guiding the brand’s overall strategic vision, including innovation, product development and marketing, and all facets of consumer and digital engagement. She works closely with members of the global Clinique leadership team to continue brand momentum by driving consumer relevance globally and connecting emotionally with consumers throughout their beauty journey. Previously, she worked at Johnson & Johnson, where she had a 20-year career holding various leadership roles within its Consumer Health Products division, most recently serving as President, U.S. Beauty. In this role, she was responsible for the company’s portfolio of beauty brands at the time, including Neutrogena, Aveeno, Clean & Clear and RoC, and led the successful performance of many brands. Notably, she successfully transformed the image of Johnson & Johnson Beauty with a fully re-imagined Celebrity Talent & Influencer Strategy, diversifying the talent portfolio to reflect a more integrated approach. Michelle is passionate about talent development and has a proven track record of fostering workplaces that embrace inclusion and diversity.

LILI GANGAS

Chief Technology Community Officer

Kapor Center

Lili works to create new and more inclusive tech innovation ecosystems regionally & nationally. Her work is centered at the intersection of technology, racial justice, and action driven partnerships to tackle pressing social and economic inequities of underrepresented communities. Her areas of focus and interest include tech advocacy themes such as closing the Broadband Access & Adoption, Future of Work(ers), Responsible Technology, and Ecosystem Building as they relate to new models with cross sector partners. Lili believes that it is critical that we help prepare and upskill communities of color for the future and encourage going beyond being consumers to also being creators and owners. Previously, Lili was an Associate Principal at Accenture Technology Labs Open Innovation team, based out of Silicon Valley, focused on partnerships and programming to connect startups to Fortune 500 clients. She was also a founding member of the Innovation Services team at Booz Allen specializing in crowdsourcing, prize challenges, and open data solutions at the federal level.

CEO & Co-Founder

Boston Impact Initiative & Amplify Latinx

Betty Francisco is a seasoned business executive, investor and community leader. She is known as a powerful convener and changemaker, unapologetic about advancing Latinx and new majority leaders. Boston Magazine named her as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Boston in 2020 and 2018, and the Boston Business Journal named Betty as one of the 2020 Power 50 – Extraordinary Year Extraordinary People. Betty is the CEO of Boston Impact Initiative, a social impact investment fund that invests integrated capital to close the racial wealth divide in Eastern Massachusetts. She is also the co-founder of Amplify Latinx, a social venture that is building Latinx economic and political power by significantly increasing Latinx civic engagement, entrepreneurship and leadership representation in Massachusetts. Most recently, she was the General Counsel at Compass Working Capital, a financial services nonprofit that supports families with low incomes to build assets and financial capabilities. She serves on the Boards of Directors of The Boston Foundation, Nellie Mae Education Foundation, Beth Israel Lahey Health, and Roxbury Community College.

JOHANNA FUENTES

Head of Global Communications, Studios and Networks Groups

WarnerMedia

Johanna is responsible for the company’s communications strategies globally. She works closely with the CEO and senior management to ensure the company’s messaging reflects its core values and advances its business interests. Johanna and her staff are also responsible for the company’s corporate media relations, public positioning, executive communications, crisis management, corporate responsibility and philanthropy on a global basis. As Warner Bros.’ senior-most communications executive, she works cross-divisionally—including with the company’s film, television, videogames, consumer products, home entertainment and studio operations businesses, as well as DC, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and TCM (Turner Classic Movies)—to ensure alignment and consistency of messaging. She also serves as the primary communications liaison between Warner Bros. and parent companies WarnerMedia and AT&T. Johanna took this role after a decade leading public relations strategy at Showtime Networks Inc., where she served as Executive Vice President, Communications. During her tenure, Fuentes was responsible for the execution of all global media relations initiatives enhancing the corporate and programming interests for Showtime Networks, Pop TV and Smithsonian Channel. She also served as the company’s communications liaison with parent companies CBS Corporation and ViacomCBS.

ELISA GARCIA

Chief Legal Officer

Macy's Inc.

Elisa is an accomplished C-Suite executive and attorney with over 30 years of experience advising management and boards of directors. Through her broad based experience in all aspects of international business and corporate law, Garcia has guided her clients through a myriad of business, governance and legal issues, government investigations, mergers and merger integration, international acquisitions and investments, debt refinancings, domestic and international labor issues and legislative and regulatory matters. She has worked through activist campaigns, CEO succession, Board refreshment and has developed ERM and ESG strategies and reporting. She is recognized for her well grounded yet creative approach to problem solving.

Activist

Black Lives Matter

Alicia is an activist and writer. She is the co-creator of the Black Lives Matter Global Network, Special Projects Director at the National Domestic Workers Alliance, and Principal at the Black Futures Lab. In 2009, Garza served as the Executive Director for People Organized to Win Employment Rights (POWER) for the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2011, Garza was also board chair for Right to the City Alliance (RTTC) in Oakland which fought gentrification and police brutality. In 2013, Garza along with Opal Tometi and Patrisse Cullors officially created the Black Lives Matter Movement.

Co-Founder and CEO

CIEN+ AND CULTURINTEL

After a successful corporate career including a 10-year tenure at Johnson & Johnson, Lili co-founded CIEN+ and CulturIntel. Her firm, headquartered in New York City with offices in Colombia and Mexico, is a recognized expert in big data market research, business consulting and cross-cultural marketing helping Fortune 500’s to successfully tap into diverse markets and turn cultural trends into profits. She is a regular TV commentator seen on Fox News, Fox Business and CNN en Español, and has been featured by Forbes, CNN Money, The Huffington Post, The NY Daily News, MM&M, among others. Lili serves as a board member of the Harvard Women's Leadership Board, National Board of Directors of the YMCA USA, mentor to the Stanford Latino Entrepreneur Leaders Program and was appointed by Governor Cuomo as a member of the New York State Council on Women and Girls and was appointed in 2018 by Mayor Bill de Blasio as a Member of the NYC Technology Leadership Advisory Council.

RACHEL GONZALEZ

EVP General Counsel and Secretary

Starbucks

Joining Starbucks in April 2018, Rachel handles legal and regulatory affairs, global security, and ethics and compliance, in addition to acting as counselor to the board of directors and executive leadership. She is part of the executive leadership team, reporting directly to Kevin Johnson. In her previous role at Sabre Corporation, Gonzalez led a global team responsible for human resources, corporate communications, legal strategy, regulatory affairs, corporate compliance, and government affairs. She joined Sabre in 2014 as Executive Vice President and General Counsel. Prior to joining Sabre, Gonzalez served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary with Dean Foods in Dallas, Texas. Previously, Gonzalez was Senior Vice President and Group Counsel with Affiliated Computer Services. Earlier in her career, Gonzalez was a partner with the law firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, where she focused on corporate finance, mergers & acquisitions, SEC compliance and corporate governance. Rachel serves on the board of Dana Incorporated, where she serves on the audit committee as well as the nominating and corporate governance committee. She holds a law degree from the Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley, as well as a bachelor’s degree in Comparative Literature with high honors from the University of California, Berkeley.

SANDRA HERNANDEZ

President & CEO

California HealthCare Foundation

Prior to joining CHCF, Sandra was CEO of The San Francisco Foundation, which she led for 16 years. She previously served as director of public health for the City and County of San Francisco. She also co-chaired San Francisco’s Universal Healthcare Council, which designed Healthy San Francisco. It was the first time a local government in the US attempted to provide health care for all of its constituents. In February 2018, Sandra was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown to the Covered California board of directors. In December 2019, she was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom to the Healthy California for All Commission, which is charged with developing a plan to help California achieve a health care delivery system that provides coverage and access through a unified financing system. She also serves on the UC Regents Health Services Committee and the UC San Diego Chancellor’s Health Advisory Board. Sandra practiced at San Francisco General Hospital in the HIV/AIDS Clinic from 1984 to 2016 and was an assistant clinical professor at the UCSF School of Medicine. JACQUELINE GUICHELAAR

Senior Vice President & Group CIO

Cisco

Jacqueline is spearheading the creation of a digital architecture to accelerate Cisco’s digital enterprise transformation. She is responsible for running and transforming the technology infrastructure, digital platforms, enterprise security, and business applications that enable Cisco’s global workforce to excel and be productive. Prior to joining Cisco, Guichelaar was the Group Chief Information Officer at Thomson Reuters, where she led a technology organization in support of the company’s digital strategy. She was named winner of a Gold Stevie Award in the Woman of the Year – Technology category in 2020, as part of the 17th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business. She is Co-Executive Sponsor of the Cisco – Cristo Rey Work Study program, ensuring high school students from underserved communities in San Jose are exposed to the latest Information Technology best practices and opportunities, and a board member of Covenant House California, which helps homeless and trafficked youths 18-24 have access to shelter, food, clothing, and education.

MIRIAM HERNANDEZ KAKOL

Global Head of Management Consulting

KPMG

As global head of the Management Consulting practice, Miriam plays a significant, strategic role in building and executing its strategy, and continuing the business’ double-digit growth momentum. As part of this role, she is responsible for swiftly driving initiatives and programs that impact KPMG’s relevance in the marketplace and ability to drive new solutions – thus enhancing trust and accelerating growth. Before this role, she led the US firm’s Global Customer and Operations practice, which is focused on delivering industry-specific solutions for the front and middle office challenges of Fortune 500 clients. In this role, she oversaw a team of more than 2,000 partners and professionals. Miriam also serves as a Global Lead Partner for the world’s largest telco company in the US, overseeing more than 300 partners and professionals serving the client globally. Her industry experience was born and bred at Telcordia, where she rose up through the business, gaining expertise in networks, technology and call centers. She became the VP and General Manager, leading the customer care and billing units with full P&L responsibility. Here too, she grew the businesses she managed multifold, with responsibility for both the US as well as an expansion to Latin America. Miriam’s ability to architect and deliver solutions to critical challenges has helped her build organizations and client accounts that become integral components and revenue drivers of the business.

U.S. Representative R-WA 3rd District

Beutler was first elected to Congress at the age of 31 to represent Southwest Washington’s 3rd District. Both Democrat and Republican presidents have signed Jaime’s legislation into law, helping her earn the ranking as Washington state’s most effective Member of Congress. She is also the first Hispanic in history to represent Washington state on the federal level. She co-founded the bipartisan Maternity Care Caucus, the first of its kind in Congress, and has been a champion for maternal and child health. Most notably, Jaime successfully spearheaded legislation that was signed into law to address maternal mortality, the largest step Congress has taken to prevent moms from dying during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum. Jaime earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from the University of Washington. She worked on the congressional staff of U.S. Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Spokane), and then served as State Representative from Washington state’s 18th Legislative District from 2007 until being elected to Congress in 2010.

Vice President, Policy & Philanthropy

Americas for Twitter

Jessica Herrera-Flanigan is an executive with extensive experience working on corporate affairs, public policy, crisis management, regulatory, legal, and social impact in the technology, media, security, sports, and government contracting sectors. Before Twitter, she was the Executive Vice President, Government & Corporate Affairs, Univision and President of the Univision Foundation. She also worked as a partner with the strategic consulting firm Monument Policy Group, where she led the firm's technology, media, sports, and crisis communications practices. She was the first Latina to head up a Congressional Committee, serving as the Staff Director & General Counsel of the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security in its early days. She also spent several years at the Justice Department as a cybercrime prosecutor and taught criminal and cybersecurity classes at various universities. She currently serves as the Chairwoman of the Center for SafeSport and also sits on the Boards of the Peabody Awards, Twitter Foundation, Hispanic Federation, and Regis University. She is a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School.

LINA HIDALGO

County Judge

Harris County, TX

Lina is the county judge for Harris County, Texas. She is the first woman and the first Latina to be elected to the position of Harris County Judge. Lina was born in Colombia and grew up in Peru and Mexico, where her parents were offered job opportunities, before emigrating to America in 2005. Lina is a proud product of Houston-area public schools and, as her parents dreamed, was the first in her family to attend college in the U.S. She graduated from Stanford University with a degree in political science the same year she became a U.S. citizen. Lina has dedicated hundreds of hours to our County’s most vulnerable communities—from her time at the Texas Civil Rights Project to serving as a Spanish-English medical interpreter at the Texas Medical Center and supporting immigrants in search of lost loved ones. Over the past few years and while pursuing a joint degree in law and public policy at NYU and Harvard, Lina conducted research on criminal justice policies and coordinated with advocacy groups and governments to push for criminal justice reform. Before that, Lina worked throughout Southeast Asia to promote transparency and accountability by supporting journalists, bloggers and artists. She helped create and fund a program to bring Stanford students to public policy positions and has served the immigrant and incarcerated communities at any opportunity and in various states.

CYNTHIA HUDSON

Senior VP and Managing Director

CNN en Español and Hispanic Strategy for CNN

Cynthia oversees all aspects of CNN's Spanish-language media businesses, including newsgathering, editorial content, programming, production, operations and personnel, of the CNN en Español 24/7 television news networks, CnnEspañol.com and CNN en Español Radio. In first quarter 2019, Hudson inaugurated CNN Radio Argentina, a radio network available in 120 cities and 23 provinces throughout Argentina. In April, she launched CNN en Español's multi-platform anti-discrimination campaign called Proyecto Ser Humano (The Humanity Project).In 2011, Hudson launched CNNEspañol.com and refocused resources to develop CNN en Español's top Spanish-language News Social Platforms on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. In addition, she expanded the radio business to include affiliates in the US Hispanic Market, Latin America and Europe. Hudson's community efforts include being a Director on the board of The National Epilepsy Foundation and acting as a Director and now Vice President of the University of Miami Alumni Association. Cynthia is also on the Advisory Council of the Hispanic Society Museum & Library of New York and part of the Board of Director for the Nicklaus Children's Hospital Foundation. MARIA HINOJOSA

Founder, Senior Anchor & Strategic Advisor

Futuro Media Group

For 25 years, Maria Hinojosa has helped tell America's untold stories and brought to light unsung heroes in America and abroad. In April 2010, Hinojosa launched The Futuro Media Group with the mission to produce multi-platform, community-based journalism that gives critical voice to the voiceless by harnessing the power of independent media to tell stories that are overlooked or under reported by traditional media. As the anchor and executive producer of the long-running weekly NPR show Latino USA, and as anchor of the Emmy Award-winning talk show Maria Hinojosa: One-on-One from WGBH/La Plaza, Hinojosa has informed millions of Americans about the fastest growing group in our country. Previously, a Senior Correspondent for NOW on PBS, and currently, a rotating anchor for Need to Know, Hinojosa has reported hundreds of important stories—from the immigrant work camps in NOLA after Katrina, to teen girl victims of sexual harassment on the job, to Emmy Award-winning stories of the poor in Alabama. Throughout her career, Hinojosa has helped define the conversation about our times and our society with one of the most authentic voices in broadcast. Hinojosa is the author of two books including a motherhood memoir, Raising Raul: Adventures Raising Myself and My Son. She was born in Mexico City, raised in Chicago, and received her BA from Barnard College.

CAROLINA JANICELLI

Managing Director JPMorgan Chase

Carolina helps run JPMorgan Chase’s new Community Impact Team, leading the implementation of local strategies for the firm’s $30Bn Path Forward Commitment to advance racial equity. In her role, she works across the firm’s lines of business to develop strategies based on community input and needs, ensuring impact and progress toward the goal of reducing the racial wealth gap. Her experience in investment banking covering Latin American companies, and two decades spent in private banking, provide Carolina with a deep understanding of the drivers of value and wealth creation; key components of economic equity. Carolina serves on the Corporate Board of Advisors of UnidosUS and the board of Lineage Project, which brings trauma-sensitive mindfulness practices to young people in need in New York City. She is also a member of the Arts of the Americas Circle at the Americas Society/ Council of the Americas. She has been recognized on ALPFA’s list of 50 Most Powerful Latinas in Business and has recently been named by Latino Leaders magazine among The Top 100 Most Influential Latinas in 2020. She is also on Crain’s New York inaugural 2020 list of Notable Women in Financial Advice.

Head of Digital Marketing & eCommerce

Avocados from Mexico

Through the span of her 20-year+ marketing career, Ivonne has played leadership roles in multiple corporations representing multi-billion brands, as well as in top advertising agencies such as Lintas, McCann Erickson Worldwide, and The Richards Group, working with well-known brands in almost every category. In 2014, she joined Avocados From Mexico as the Head of Digital Marketing, and in four years has built the organization’s digital practice from the ground up, based on the principles of digital transformation. She leads the innovation agenda for Avocados From Mexico, and under her leadership, the company has been named among the top 100 Best Workplaces for Innovators by Fast Company (2020); among the top 50 Most Innovative Companies (2021), and Top #1 among the top #10 most innovative companies in the Branding Category (2021).

CEO

Voto Latino

María Teresa co-founded a grassroots political organization with actress Rosario Dawson called Voto Latino. Their organization was designed to encourage and empower younger generations of Latinx voters and advocate for inclusive political participation. Using media and technology as a central tool, Voto Latino creates innovative digital campaigns and programming to increase voter registration and civic engagement in Latinx communities. She has served as the President and CEO of the organization since its inception, with the ultimate goal of “franchising as many people as possible to make sure we have a healthy, robust and transparent democracy.” In 2014, María Teresa launched the VL Innovators Challenge which granted up to $500,000 to technological projects that proposed innovative ways to help the Latinx community. Kumar is also a recognized media commentator, speaker, and writer for national publications, and her work has been profiled on HBO’s Celebrity Habla and PBS’s Undergraduates. Additionally, Kumar serves on the boards of the Latino Leaders Network, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and EMILY’s List.

MARIA LENSING

SVP and CTO, Engineering, Infrastructure & Operations

McKesson

Maria is responsible for developing McKesson’s technology stack vision, strategy and architecture, which are fundamental to the business portfolio for data and digital technologies. Her responsibilities also include a strong focus on engineering design and operational excellence to optimize performance levels. With extensive and consistent leadership experience, Maria is focused on empowering McKesson through the technology platform that her team develops and sustains. Prior to McKesson, Maria served as Vice President of Healthcare Solutions at AT&T Business, where she was responsible for developing and delivering integrated technology solutions to fuel large-scale digital transformations in the top 1500 healthcare companies worldwide. During her 11-year tenure at AT&T, she held leadership roles of increasing responsibility, including serving as the chief of staff to the CEO for AT&T Business, where she oversaw all operations and business planning for this $70B business unit. She also worked at Rockwell Collins, where she was responsible for global IT operations and solution delivery across all business segments. Maria has a long legacy of engineering, sales and leadership success built on a foundation of innovation. She is also a director for the Hispanic IT Executive Council (HITEC).

DIANE E. LOPEZ

Vice President & General Counsel

Harvard University

A magna cum laude graduate of Mount Holyoke College, Lopez received her J.D. from Columbia University Law School, where she was an editor of A Jailhouse Lawyer’s Manual, a publication of the Columbia Human Rights Law Review. Following graduation she joined O'Melveny & Myers where she remained for eight years, concentrating her practice in commercial litigation. At Harvard she assists the University on a variety of commercial transactions, with a focus on ways the University can protect and manage its intellectual property assets. She advises on health care, privacy, and student affairs issues, on concerns involving the use of human subjects and animals in research, and on issues involving third-party access to research data. Lopez has spent significant time on legal and legislative matters related to human embryonic stem cell research. She is a member of the University's Incident Support Team, which coordinates the University's response to major crisis events. She is a former Trustee and Treasurer of the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston. SANDRA LOPEZ

Vice President

Intel

Sandra is responsible for partnering with the sports and media industry to provide the future fans with the next generation of immersive media experiences. In her role, her team is focused on leading the business, marketing, and business development efforts of Intel Sports. Lopez is also the co-chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on VR/AR/ XR. Previously, she led and managed the fashion wearable business for Intel’s New Technology Group. Earlier in her Intel career, Lopez held various roles within corporate marketing, including director of new business marketing and consumer marketing. Over the course of her career, Lopez has received numerous recognitions, including “Top Ten Influencers in Technology” (SportsPro), “Top 100 Women in Technology” (Technology Magazine), “Most Powerful Women in Tech” (National Diversity Council), “Top Women in Media” (Cynopsis), “Top 10 Latina Executives” (LatinaStyle), “Most Influential and Notable Hispanic Professionals in Information Technology” (HiTec) and “Game Changer” (Sports Business Journal). Prior to joining Intel in 2005, Lopez held various positions at Adobe Systems Inc., Macromedia, Computer Associates International Inc. and several other technology companies. Lopez earned a B.S. in Economics and Textiles and Clothing from the University of California at Davis. In addition, she attended the Stanford’s Executive Accelerator Program in 2016. As part of contributing to the community, she is focused on building the next generation of women leaders.

MONICA LOZANO

President & CEO / Board Director

College Futures Foundation/ Apple, Target, Bank of America

As president and CEO she works in partnership with organizations and leaders around the state to ensure education pathways are aligned seamlessly for college attainment. She is committed to the vision that California’s low-income students and students of color should have equitable access to bachelor’s degrees and a better life. In January 2021, Apple announced Monica as a member of their board. Prior to joining College Futures Foundation, Lozano spent 30 years in media as editor and publisher of La Opinión, the largest Spanish-language newspaper in the US, helping shine a light on issues from infant mortality to the AIDS epidemic. She went on to become chairman and CEO of La Opinión’s parent company, ImpreMedia.

President & CEO

Argent Associates Inc.

Betty spent over 20 years in Corporate America, primarily in the telecommunications industry, before leaving to launch Argent Associates Inc., in 1998. During her corporate career, she held national and international assignments in technical support, sales, human resources and quality management and control. Named as one of the TOP STEM 100 Executives in the nation, Ms. Manetta believes true business success is interdependent upon the success of the community. She takes her commitment to continuous learning and social responsibility seriously. Ms. Manetta is a champion of ethnic minority, women and small business education and engagement. She served on President George W. Bush’s President’s Export Council, where she advised on international trade matters and their impact on small, women and minority businesses and chaired the sub-committee of Technology and Innovation. Betty is committed to continuous learning and social responsibility. She is a champion and advocate of minorities, women and youth around STEM Initiatives. She serves on numerous boards at the local state and national level.

Chief Operating Officer

Cisco

Maria is responsible for the company’s operations and transformation, as well as building high-value experiences for its customers, partners, and employees. Martinez oversees Cisco’s Strategy Execution, Customer Success, Renewals, Customer & Partner Experience, Security & Trust, Supply Chain, IT, Services, and Transformation functions. A transformational leader and engineer at heart, Maria has more than 35 years of leadership experience from a variety of technology sectors including software, services, hardware and networking technology. Martinez has received several distinctions for her leadership, most recently being named as a Technology Visionary on ALPFA’s (Association of Latino Professionals for America) list of 50 Most Powerful Latinas. She holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Puerto Rico and a master's degree in computer engineering from Ohio State University.

ERICA MASON

L&E Litigation Partner

Akerman LLP

Erica Mason is a seasoned litigator and advisor. As national and regional employment counsel for her clients, she routinely defends employment claims before state and federal courts and agencies across the country, including, successfully litigating five sexual harassment class actions against the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and dozens of class and collective actions against privately-represented individuals and groups. Clients also value Erica’s proactive and practical approach to identifying preemptive HR strategies that will increase employee job satisfaction, minimize risk, and reduce overall litigation spend. Numerous organizations have named Erica a top labor and employment attorney in Georgia and nationally, including nine consecutive years by Georgia Super Lawyers and three consecutive years by Best Lawyers in America, and she is a nationally sought out thought leader on a wide array of legal and non-legal issues. MEREDITH MENDES

Chief Operating Officer, Principal

Gresham Partners, LLC.

Meredith is Chief Operating Officer, Principal and a member of the firm’s Operating Committee. She is responsible for leading investment operations, finance, client operations, technology, business process improvements, administration, facilities and compliance. Meredith is focused on providing strategic quality support services, scalable platforms and process improvements to advance the firm’s differentiated investment solutions and wealth management services. Meredith spent the past 15 years as Executive Director and COO of the global law firm Jenner & Block, where she managed and mentored teams. Meredith earned a bachelor’s degree from Brown University, an MBA from University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business and a JD from Harvard Law School, and she is an Illinois-licensed certified public accountant. Meredith is a member of the board of directors of Kronos Worldwide, Inc., NL Industries, Inc. and Quanex Building Products Corporation, she serves in independent advisory roles to other companies and she is Vice Chair of the Chicago Academy of Sciences / Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum.

ALICIA MENENDEZ

Television Commentator, Host & Writer

Alicia Menendez anchors MSNBC’s “American Voices with Alicia Menendez” Saturday and Sunday nights from 6 to 8 p.m. ET. She is also the author of “The Likeability Trap” and host of the “Latina to Latina” podcast. Menendez joined MSNBC in October 2019. Prior to joining the network, Menendez served as a correspondent on “Amanpour & Company” on PBS and formerly hosted a nightly news and pop culture show on Fusion called “Alicia Menendez Tonight.” Her reporting and interviews have appeared on ABC News, Bustle, FusionTV, PBS and Vice News. Born and raised in New Jersey, Menendez has been called “Ms. Millennial” by The Washington Post, “journalism’s new gladiator” by Elle, and a “content queen” by Marie Claire. Menendez is on Twitter at @AliciaMenendez. CLAUDIA MIRZA

Co-Founder and CEO

Akorbi

Claudia Mirza has led the company’s impressive evolution from a language translation company to a global provider of multilingual business solutions, including interpretation, staffing, contact centers, learning services, and localization. Under her leadership, the company has flourished to become an award-winning, fast-growing, international company with a 5-year growth rate (from 2012-2016) of 1,267%. Claudia is a published author in key industry publications, a sought-after speaker, an inventor with patents pending, a mother of two, a mentor, and a philanthropist. She was recently invited to participate in a roundtable discussion with the Trump Administration at the White House to advocate on behalf of women-owned small businesses. Claudia’s success and business savvy have garnered her interviews by leading business media such as Forbes and Fortune.

Senior Director of Coalitions Media

The White House

Jennifer Molina is a bilingual political communications strategist with experience running national, state, and local advocacy campaigns. She previously served Latino Media Director for Joe Biden For President and as Communications Director for the California League of Conservation Voters and it's Education Fund. Jennifer worked on the Hillary Clinton for President campaign as the Constituency Media Director in Nevada where she was instrumental in mobilizing the state’s diverse electorate to elect Democrats up and down the ticket. Prior to joining the campaign, Jennifer held various roles at the Center for American Progress (CAP) and its Action Fund. She led CAP’s state media strategy and ethnic media program.

Partner

Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP

Christine Montenegro, partner at Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP, is one of the leading Latina lawyers handling high-stakes litigation in the nation. Notably, she played an integral role in developing a unique litigation strategy for Harbinger Capital Partners, a majority shareholder of LightSquared, in its lawsuit against Dish Chairman Charles Ergen. Christine represents investment and hedge funds, financial institutions, and corporations in commercial disputes, securities fraud, RICO, antitrust, constitutional law and defamation. A strong advocate for the advancement of women lawyers, Christine spearheads the firm’s Women’s Initiative Committee, which mentors and advises women professionals on career and professional development opportunities.

JESS MORALES ROCKETO

Co-Founder

Care in Action, Supermajority & She Se Puede

Jess is the Director of Civic Engagement for the National Domestic Workers Alliance and the Executive Director of Care in Action, where she spearheads political advocacy campaigns for the 2.5 million domestic workers in this country. She is the Chair of the Families Belong Together Coalition, the campaign to end family separation and detention, and a co-founder of Supermajority, a new women's political action group. Jess is an alumna of Hillary for America, the AFL-CIO, Obama for America, the Democratic National Committee, Rebuild the Dream, and the New Organizing Institute. In 2019, Jess was honored in the first TIME 100 Next , a list of rising stars who are shaping the future. MARISA MORET

Director of Strategic Partnerships & Chief of Staff for the Global Policy & Communications Team

Airbnb

Marisa has over 25 years of experience as a lawyer, advocate and strategic advisor to businesses, entrepreneurs and government officials. In this role, she is responsible for overseeing the 200+ person team who manage multidisciplinary media and policy campaigns. Prior to joining Airbnb, Marisa served as Chief of Staff to San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera for over a decade. The office is considered one of the leading municipal law offices in the nation. Earlier in her career she was an equity partner with the Nossaman law firm and associated with the Radcliff Frandsen and Girardi & Keese firms. Marisa has held numerous leadership positions including board level roles at the California Coastal Conservancy and St. Mary’s Medical Center Foundation. She currently serves on the Advisory Boards of Latinas in Tech, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (SF), and the US Spain Council. Marisa has been recognized as a Leading Latina by Hispanic Executive, a Trail Blazer by Forbes Magazine and Top Corporate Executive by Latina Style Magazine. Marisa is a graduate of Georgetown University and UCLA’s School of Law.

ILEANA MUSA

Managing Director, Co-Head of International Wealth Management

Morgan Stanley

Ileana Musa leads the segment and strategy that focuses on Morgan Stanley’s International Client Advisors and international clients to ensure they have access to solutions, research and thought leadership to support their financial goals and legacy. She is a trustee on the Morgan Stanley Foundation Board. She sits on the Girl Scouts National Board (GSUSA) and on the advisory boards of the Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA) and Florida International University Honors College. Ileana received her BBA, with a concentration in finance, from the University of Miami and an MBA in finance from Florida International University. She was recently named to the Red Shoe Movement 2021 Hall of Fame. She was named one of the Top 20 U.S. Offshore Women Leaders 2020 by Citywire, one of the Top 100 Most Influential Latinas in 2020 by Latino Leaders, was selected to the 2019 MAKERS class of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management and given the 2019 Latina Trailblazer Award by Latino Justice. Additionally, Ileana was named to ALPFA’s 2020 Most Powerful Latinas in Corporate America list for the fourth year in a row. VERONICA MUZQUIZ EDWARDS

CEO

InGenesis, Inc.

Veronica is the CEO of InGenesis, one of the largest workforce solutions companies in North America and an organization that does business with nearly half of the Fortune 100 companies. In 2017 she was elected by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to serve as chair and head of the U.S. Delegation for the ISO Technical Advisory Group developing global healthcare management standards. Edwards’ focus on organizational excellence led to her selection to the 2017 Baldrige Fellows Program. She serves as a Regent for The Texas State University System and the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW). She is a graduate and Distinguished Alumna of Texas State University. She earned Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) degrees from UIW, where she was also recognized as a Distinguished Alumna.

Global Head of Equity & Impact

Spotify

Elizabeth joined Spotify in March 2021 to lead Equity and Impact, responsible for Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging, Campus & Diversity Talent Acquisition, Sustainability and Social Impact. Before Spotify, Elizabeth was Amazon’s Global Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, working closely with the most senior leaders of the organization in designing and implementing the DEI strategy. Before joining Amazon, Elizabeth was the Global Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer at MetLife since 2012. From 2010 to 2012, Elizabeth was the Global Head of Talent, Learning and Diversity for Marsh, Inc. Before joining Marsh, Elizabeth spent almost 20 years with Citigroup, for more than 10 years in global talent management, diversity & inclusion roles and as an HR business partner. She managed global and regional learning organizations working extensively in Europe, Latin America and Asia. 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. She is currently a board member at The Opportunity Network, A Fair Shake for Youth and All Stars Project. Elizabeth earned her Master’s degree in Educational Sciences from the University of Buenos Aires. In 2017, she was recognized by El Museo del Barrio (NYC) for her philanthropic. In 2018, Crain’s NY inducted Elizabeth in the Notable Women in Finance list.

ELLEN OCHOA

Board Director

Service Corporation International, Mutual America, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and Chair at National Science Board

Ellen Ochoa was the Director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX from 2013 until her retirement in May 2018. She became the first Latina to go to space when she flew on a nine-day mission aboard the shuttle Discovery in 1993. She has flown in space four times, logging nearly 1,000 hours. She currently serves on several boards including as Chair of the National Science Board. Prior to her astronaut career, Ochoa was a research engineer and holds three patents for optical systems. She received a B.S. in Physics from San Diego State University, and both an M.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. She is honored to have six schools named for her and has been inducted into the National Academy of Engineering, the Astronaut Hall of Fame, the California Hall of Fame, and the International Air & Space Hall of Fame.

RAMONA ORTEGA

Founder & CEO

My Money My Future

Ramona is the founder of My Money My Future Inc.| Mi Dinero Mi Futuro, a comprehensive on-line financial planning platform and daily newsletter dedicated to empowering Latinas to manage their money with confidence and build wealth in the Latino community. MDMF’s culturally unique approach makes financial matters personal, accessible, and applicable for millions of Latinas. Ramona was recently named one of the most Notable Women in Personal Finance by Crain's Business. Ramona has been an Entrepreneur in Residence with Azlo and is a sought after thought leader in fintech and financial inclusion. She is on the board of Village Capital, Camino Financial and Los Angeles Community Health Council. Prior to founding MMMF, Ramona was a Wall Street attorney and worked on complex securities litigation and corporate matters in private practice and at the SEC and U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Ramona is a contributor to TechCrunch and is working on a book called No Shame in the Money Game: A Broke Girls' Guide to Building Wealth.

U.S. Representative D-NY 14th District

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a third-generation Bronxite, educator, and organizer serving the 14th district of New York in the Bronx and Queens. Ocasio-Cortez grew up experiencing the reality of New York’s rising income inequality, inspiring her to organize her community and run for office on a progressive platform with a campaign that rejects corporate PAC funds. Alexandria attended Boston University and graduated with degrees in Economics and International Relations. During this period she also had the opportunity to work in the office of the late Senator Ted Kennedy. Her role in Senator Kennedy’s office provided a firsthand view of the heartbreak families endured after being separated by ICE. These experiences led the Congresswoman to organize Latinx youth in the Bronx and across the United States, eventually, she began work as an Educational Director with the National Hispanic Institute, a role in which she helped Americans, DREAMers and undocumented youth in community leadership and college readiness. Since her swearing-in to Congress in January of 2019, Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez has remained committed to serving working-class people over corporate interests and advocating for social, racial, economic, and environmental justice, often creating controversy among the stablishment leaders for her statements and high tone comments.

GINA OROZCO MEJIA

Vice President, Gas Engineering and System Integrity

SoCal Gas

Gina Orozco is vice president, gas engineering and system integrity for Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), Sempra Energy’s regulated California utilities. Gina oversees gas engineering and system integrity, and has responsibility for engineering support, programs, operations training, asset management, research and development, geographic information systems and operations technology functions. Previously, Orozco was vice president of gas distribution responsible for providing leadership to a team of approximately 2,300 employees at SoCalGas and SDG&E responsible for gas distribution operations, maintenance, construction, resource management, local engineering and planning. Since joining SoCalGas as an engineering intern in 1990, Orozco has held a variety of increasingly responsible roles in engineering, field services, system operations, environmental, international development and labor relations. Orozco has a master’s degree in business administration from Claremont Graduate University and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from California State University, Los Angeles. She currently serves on the board of directors for Adventist Health White Memorial Medical Center Charitable Foundation and the California State Parks Foundation. Orozco also is on the Drucker Industry Advisory Board and is an alumna of the Southern California Leadership Network and Leadership California.

YVETTE OSTOLAZA

Chairman-Elect / Board Director

Sidley Austin LLP / Lionsgate Entertainment

Yvette is a member of Sidley’s Management and Executive Committees, the managing partner of the Dallas office, global co-leader of the Litigation practice and a member of the firm’s COVID-19 Task Force. She litigates matters in U.S. state and federal trial and appellate courts on behalf of global clients. She coordinates and tries proceedings in a variety of arbitration venues, serves on the Roster of Neutral Arbitrators for the AAA for commercial litigation matters and on the CPR Panel of Distinguished Neutrals as an arbitrator for the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution. She served as the Vice Chair, Ethics and Investigations Subcommittee of the ABA Corporate Governance Committee.Yvette is involved in the coordination and argument of appeals in courts across the U.S., which includes the U.S. Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals, the Texas Supreme Court and the Fifth District Court of Appeals in Dallas. Yvette has advised many Board Special Committees, including Southwest Airlines, Fossil, Key Energy and NPR. Some of her clients include SM Energy, Sally Beauty, HMS Holdings, Michaels, Best Buy, Sterigenics, Forterra, SAExploration and JPMorgan.

Partner

MiLA Capital

Carmen Palafox is a Partner at MiLA Capital, a seed-stage Venture Capital firm in Los Angeles focused on funding tech you can touch. She was Vice President at Dimensional Fund Advisors where she scaled operations into LATAM, Canada, and Europe going from $75 Billion AUM to $300 Billion AUM. Carmen believes in the power of capital markets to spur growth and innovation. She enjoys coaching entrepreneurs on finance and strategic planning. Carmen was awarded the Rising Star Award from the Los Angeles Latino Chamber of Commerce. She was spotlighted by the NVCA as a Rising Star in VC and featured by LA Magazine as 1 of 13 of LA’s Powerful Women. In 2019, Carmen spoke on Bloomberg TVs Top Tech Trends to watch. Carmen is also on the founding team of LatinxVCs. Carmen holds a BA in Economics from the University of Southern California, an MA in Sports Management from the University of San Francisco, and an MBA from Berkeley-Haas.

SONIA PEREZ

President of the Southeast States

AT&T

Sonia Pérez is responsible for developing the overall strategic direction of AT&T’s corporate initiatives throughout her region of Louisiana, Kentucky and North Carolina. She is committed to engaging the ecosystem of state, local and federal government in creating Smart Cities to solve challenges by deploying 5G broadband speeds so that all customers will have the opportunity to benefit from a connected environment. Based in Baton Rouge, Sonia serves as an Independent Director for Sanderson Farms, Inc., and on the executive committees of The University of Texas Foundation, the Louisiana Board of Regents and The National WWII Museum. Also among her proudest distinctions is the 2006 El Abrecaminos Award from the Texas Mexican American Legislative Caucus and a1996 presidential appointment to the Advisory Council of the Border Environment Cooperation Commission, a binational organization supporting the sustainable development of environmental infrastructure on both sides of the U.S./Mexico border.

Senior VP, Chief Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability Officer

The Coca-Cola Company

Bea leads an integrated team across public affairs and communications, sustainability and marketing assets to support the company’s new growth model and path to become a total beverage company. In this role, Bea aligns a diverse portfolio of work against critical business objectives to support brands, communities, consumers and partners worldwide. She continues to oversee the company’s sports and entertainment assets, including iconic partnerships with Olympics, Special Olympics and FIFA. Since 2011, Bea served as The Coca-Cola Company’s first Chief Sustainability Officer, where she developed and led progress against comprehensive global sustainability commitments with a focus on water stewardship and women’s economic empowerment. Prior to leading the company’s sustainability efforts, Bea served as CMO for Coca-Cola North America, where she built brands by developing some of the company’s most historic relationships, including American Idol and NASCAR. She began her career at The Coca-Cola Company in 1996 and held various roles in brand management and field operations before becoming CMO. Bea serves on various boards including The Coca-Cola Foundation. She also serves on the corporate boards for Primerica and Grainger.

BELINDA PESTANA

Partner

Ernst & Young

Belinda is a tax partner with the Ernst & Young LLP Financial Services practice and leads the Business Tax Services practice for the Americas. She has more than 26 years of experience working with some of the largest global firms and affluent individuals on a wide array of tax matters. She has helped international banks, investment banks, asset management firms, private equity funds and related management companies with business-critical tax strategy and planning needs. Belinda is a passionate advocate for diversity and equality and is an active member of the firm’s Global Diversity & Inclusion Committee. In 2017 and 2018, Belinda was recognized by Fortune magazine as one of the Top 50 Most Powerful Latinas in America.

ANA PINCZUK

Chief Development Officer

Anaplan

Ana drives Anaplan’s Product Management and Engineering teams responsible for Anaplan’s product plans, software and technology engineering, and cloud platform. Prior to this role, Ana was President and General Manager for HPE Pointnext, HPE’s $7B+ services business until August 2018. Previously, Ana was the Chief Product Officer at Veritas where she was responsible for driving a $2.5B products organization/ Prior to joining Veritas, Ana spent 15 years at Cisco where she held various roles including SVP, Global Services Sales, Services COO and SVP, Global Services Support. Ana also spent nine years in the Cisco Development Organization driving Engineering groups, including Cisco’s high-end routing platform and IOS product management and software development. Ana started her career at AT&T Bell Laboratories as a systems engineer and held numerous roles there, including Vice President responsible for deploying AT&T’s Internet backbone. Ana is on the board of Aptiv (APTV) and KLA (KLAC). She is also a member of the International Women’s Forum, Anitab.org Board of Trustees, Cornell Computer and Information Sciences Advisory Board, and Carnegie Mellon Engineering Advisory Board. LAURA QUINTANA

VP of Corporate Affairs & General Manager

Cisco Networking Academy

Laura focuses on social responsibility, delivering ground breaking initiatives that prepare students to participate in the digital workforce and connects them with career opportunities. Her strengths in scaling and accelerating impact helped her and her team to double the size of the Networking Academy over the past 3 years; it now benefits more than 2.1 million students annually throughout 180 countries. As a 20-year veteran of Cisco, Laura leads a global organization of teams based in 50 countries, including strategy, product management, product development, global field, and operational services teams. Prior to her current role, Laura and her team successfully completed Cisco’s multi-year commitment to the Jordan Healthcare Initiative. She collaborated with the Government of Jordan and was instrumental in driving tele-medicine, clinical collaboration, and tele-radiology projects that enabled quality healthcare services and benefited over 175,000 patients.

Founder & President

Justice for Migrant Women / The Latinx House / Poderistas / Alianza Nacional de Campesinas

Mónica is dedicated to ending gender based violence in the workplace and achieving gender equity. She has been specifically engaged in direct service and advocacy on behalf of farmworkers, Latinas and immigrant women. She also has a long history promoting women’s leadership and political power, including leading LatinasRepresent, the only national non-partisan initiative focused on increasing Latina representation and participation in public leadership positions. She created the first legal project in the US focused on addressing sexual harassment and other forms of gender discrimination against farmworker women in 2003. In 2014, she founded Justice for Migrant Women, a national advocacy and technical assistance project focused on representing female farmworkers and other low-paid immigrant women who are victims of workplace sexual violence.

JULISSA REYNOSO PANTALEÓN

Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff for the First Lady

The White House

Julissa Reynoso is Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff for Dr. Jill Biden, the First Lady of the United States of America. In her role, she also serves as the co-chair of the White House Gender Policy Council. Before being appointed to the Biden-Harris Administration, Julissa was a litigation partner at the law firm of Winston & Strawn. She also was on the faculty of Columbia Law School and Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs. Reynoso served as trustee for New York-Presbyterian Hospital and for Columbia University, and was on the Board of Directors of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law, and the Truman National Security Project. During the Obama-Biden Administration, Reynoso served as U.S. Ambassador to Uruguay and as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere in the U.S. Department of State. Reynoso clerked for Judge Laura Taylor Swain of the Southern District of New York, and is a graduate of Harvard University, the University of Cambridge, and Columbia Law School. Reynoso grew up in the Bronx, New York City.

Executive Vice President, General Counsel, North America

Mastercard

Pilar is responsible for all legal, regulatory, government, and franchise affairs in Master- Card’s North American markets. Prior, she was senior vice president, global public policy, and regulatory strategy counsel. In that role, she led MasterCard’s advocacy on public policy and regulatory matters with governments and other relevant stakeholders across Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America, managing a global team across these markets. She also worked extensively on trade policy matters with the U.S. and other governments, focusing on WTO matters, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and other regional trade agreements. Pilar began her tenure at MasterCard as region counsel in the Latin America and Caribbean Region. Before joining MasterCard, she worked as in-house counsel in other sectors and was based in Miami and Buenos Aires. Pilar began her legal career as an associate at the law firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, working in the New York and London offices on international capital markets and syndicated finance matters. Pilar is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on the Board of Directors of The United States Council for International Business, The World Affairs Forum (Fairfield/ Westchester Chapter), and on the National and Louisiana Boards of Appleseed, an organization dedicated to advancing social justice through pro bono legal work by effecting change at the policy level.

ALEIDA RIOS

Senior Vice President of Engineering

BP

Aleida serves on BP’s global operations executive leadership team and sponsors the company’s Supplier Diversity Council and Gulf of Mexico Women’s Leadership Council, which supports gender diversity and promotes networking and career development opportunities. She is also a member of BP’s leadership council for the Million Women Mentors program, encouraging employees to mentor girls and young women who are interested in pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and math. Aleida began her career at BP as an intern in the oil fields of West Texas, and later went on to work at the company’s world headquarters in London as the executive assistant to the group head of safety and operational risk. Throughout her 25-year career at BP, Aleida has held a variety of leadership posts in operations and engineering. Prior to her current role, Aleida was vice president of operations for the company’s North American onshore business, which spanned seven states and included nine operating centers, 1,300 employees, more than 10,000 operated wells, and 1.5 billion cubic feet of daily natural gas production.

ELENA V. RIOS

President & CEO / Trustee

National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA) / The New York Academy of Medicine

Building a career in health policy research and administration as well as medical school recruitment, Rios has held numerous appointments in both fields. She has served on the UCLA School of Medicine Admissions Committee and California State Bar Examiners Committee, and has been appointed to a series of government-led research initiatives including the White House National Health Care Reform Task Force, in 1993. In 1994 Rios was named advisor for regional and minority women's health at the U.S. Department for Health and Human Services, served on the advisory committee for health and science recruitment (part of the President's commission on educational excellence for Hispanic Americans) and was also a delegate to the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1998, Dr. Rios became president of the National Hispanic Medical Association (an organization she helped found in 1994) and CEO of Hispanic-Serving Health Professional School, Incorporated. MARIA RIVAS

Chief Medical Officer, SVP Global Patient Safety, Medical Affairs and Evidence and Value Development / Member Board of Directors

EMD Serono, Inc / Medidata Solutions

Rivas is a pharmaceutical executive, experienced corporate board director, and US- trained, board-certified endocrinologist. At S&P 500 and international companies, Rivas has started-up, led and transformed high-performing global teams of up to 2000 medical, research, safety, and compliance professionals in over 90 countries. She has launched several blockbuster medicines in numerous therapeutic areas and managed budgets of $0.5- 1 billion dollars/year. Rivas’s work has enriched the products’ value propositions throughout their lifecycles, impacted patient outcomes, and enhanced the reputations of their respective companies.

Special Advisor to the CEO

HP Inc.

Kim currently serves as a special advisor to the CEO of HP, Inc. She is a seasoned public company executive with a track record spanning technology, health care, and consumer products. She has experience shaping and driving business and go-tomarket strategies, negotiating and integrating major acquisitions, and navigating complex corporate governance, compliance and regulatory issues. Most recently, she was President, Strategy and Business Management and Chief Legal Officer at HP. In this role she led corporate strategy and business development, customer support, procurement, real estate and workplace functions, as well as sales operations and enterprise transformation. Rivera also led HP’s worldwide legal organization, including all aspects of legal, governance, ethics and compliance, and government affairs. Rivera was appointed to the Thomson Reuters Board of Directors in 2019, and the Cano Health Board of Directors in March 2021. She also currently serves on the Boards of the American Leadership Forum of Silicon Valley and the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity. She is a graduate of Duke University and Harvard Law School.

CLAUDIA ROMO EDELMAN

Founder

We Are All Human

Claudia is Mexican-Swiss diplomat. She is a Global Mobilization Expert and a Latina Social Entrepreneur, a Marketer for social causes, advocate and catalyst for change. She is the Founder of the We Are All Human Foundation, the Hispanic Star, and Global GoalsCast. She has more than 25 years of experience leading marketing and advocacy for global organizations including UNICEF, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations, and the World Economic Forum. She has launched hundreds of successful campaigns and initiatives including the SDG Lions, Product (RED), and the Sustainable Development Goals. She speaks 6 languages. Claudia is an inspiring speaker and media contributor; and an activist for equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Co-Founder & Managing Director

Ulu Ventures

Miriam Rivera is co- founder and managing director of Ulu Ventures, a top seed stage venture fund in Silicon Valley focused on IT startups. Ulu drives better VC returns using decision analysis which helps reduce cognitive bias. Previously, Miriam was vice-president/deputy general counsel at Google, joining as the second attorney. Her work to simplify contracts helped Google scale from $85m to $10b in 5 years. Miriam earned AB, AM and JD/MBA degrees from Stanford; was a trustee at the university and currently serves on Stanford’s Lead Council and the Stanford Law School Venture Fund. She has been honored with the Stanford Medal, awarded to fewer than 1 percent of alumni. Miriam is on the investment committee of Acumen Fund America, is a Kauffman Foundation Board member and an advisor to the Launch with GS Advisory Council, a Goldman Sachs initiative to reduce the investing gap for Black and LatinX founders.

MARIA ELENA SALINAS

Independent Journalist, Producer, Contributor, Philanthropist

CBS News

Maria Elena is a Spanish-language news anchor and journalist. She was previously a co-anchor of Univision's nightly newscast, Noticiero Univision, and the network's news magazine, Aquí y Ahora. She has interviewed heads of state and national leaders around the world, including every president of the United States since Jimmy Carter. In 2007, Salinas co-hosted the first Spanish-language presidential forums for Democratic and Republican candidates on Univision. In addition to her role as a broadcast journalist, Salinas is also a radio commentator and a syndicated columnist. Her writing appears in Spanish and English in more than 55 newspapers across the United States. Salinas is a founding member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. She serves on the board of directors of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund and the International Women’s Media Foundation. Her work has earned the top awards presented in broadcasting, including multiple Emmys, a Peabody, Gracie Awards, the Edward R. Murrow Award and the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Television Political Journalism.

TANYA SARACHO

Screenwriter & Founder

Vida, Ojalá Productions

Tanya has been a showrunner since 2018, on the Starz series "Vida". She has also written for shows such as HBO's "Looking," "Girls," and "Devious Maids." Tanya now has a newly created production company, Ojalá. JULIETA SCHUSTER

Vice President, Family Care, CIO

Procter and Gamble & PGVentures

Julieta is Business Technology an IT executive with multinational experience for over 19 years at Procter & Gamble. Her international experience with Procter & Gamble covers working in Venezuela, Latin America; Toronto-Canada, Frankfurt-Germany and Cincinnati, OH- USA. In her current role, Julieta is the division CIO for Global Feminine Care, Family Care and P&G Ventures businesses. Julieta is responsible for all aspects of Information and Digital Technology, Data & Analytics and Information Security for Procter and Gamble’s Global Feminine Care, Family Care and P&G Ventures. Julieta also serves as IT sponsor for Hispanic Community at P&G and plays a critical executive role in the Corporate Hispanic Leadership Team and in the IT Women Leadership Team. Julieta holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Universidad Simon Bolivar, Caracas, Venezuela.

Chief Strategy & Trust Officer

Forcepoint

Myrna serves as a strategic business and technology driver of the company’s enterprise vision, strategy and programs to protect people, critical data and IP both within the company and for thousands of Forcepoint customers around the globe. She also serves as a global leader and champion for both the development and execution of strategic initiatives that continue to propel Forcepoint forward as the industry leader for user and data protection worldwide and global enterprises’ trusted cybersecurity partner of choice. Before joining Forcepoint, Myrna served as the Chief Operating Officer in Digital Hands. In this role she was a critical leader in securing the company's first capital round of funding and building the company’s world-class leadership team. Prior to Digital Hands, Soto was a Partner at ForgePoint Capital (Formerly known as Trident Capital Cybersecurity). As a security and information technology veteran Myrna held senior leadreship roles and lead Fortune 500 companies including American Express, Comcast and MGM Resorts. Myrna serves on the Board of CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) Spirit Airlines ( NYSE:SAVE) and Popular Inc (NASDAQ:BPOP) operating under the names of Banco Popular and Popular Bank.

PILI TOBAR

Deputy Communications Director

The White House

Pili is a Guatemalan-American political advisor who serves as White House Deputy Communications Director in the Biden administration. Tobar previously worked as the deputy director of America's Voice and as an aide to Senator Chuck Schumer. In July 2020, she joined the Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign as communications director for coalitions.

Supreme Court Justice

United States Supreme Court

Sonia Sotomayor made history on August 6, 2009, when the U.S. Senate confirmed her nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. Appointed by President Barack Obama, Sotomayor became the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice. She is the third woman to become an associate justice of the Supreme Court. During her tenure on the Supreme Court, Sotomayor has been identified with concern for the rights of defendants, calls for reform of the criminal justice system, and making impassioned dissents on issues of race, gender and ethnic identity, including Schuette v. BAMN, Utah v. Strieff, and Trump v. Hawaii. In January 2021, Sonia Sotomayor swore in Kamala Harris as the Vice President of the United States. It was a considered historic as Sotomayor is the first Woman of Color to serve on the Supreme Court and Harris is the first Woman, African-American, and Asian American Vice President.

BLANCA TREVIÑO

President & CEO

Softtek

Blanca has been leading Softtek as President and CEO of Softtek since 2000. Under her leadership, Softtek has become the leading information technology services company in Latin America. Throughout her 30-year career at Softtek, Blanca has gained international recognition as a promoter of the IT services industry in and from emerging countries. To help increase the participation of Latin America in the IT field, Blanca has collaborated with various government administrations in the early strategies of development. As President, Blanca has positioned Softtek as a key component for opening the doors from Mexico to the United States as a provider of IT services. This shaped what is known today as Nearshore, Softtek’s trademarked delivery model, and a term widely used in the industry to define outsourcing services provided by countries within close proximity.

DIANA TRUJILLO

Aerospace Engineer

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Diana is a Colombian aerospace engineer at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She currently leads the engineering team at JPL responsible for the robotic arm of the Perseverance rover.On February 18th 2021, Trujillo hosted the first ever Spanish-language NASA transmission of a planetary landing, for the Perseverance rover landing on Mars. Trujillo joined NASA in 2007, working at Goddard Space Flight Center on the Constellation program and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory on human and robotic space missions.She has served many roles, including Surface Sampling System Activity Lead and Dust Removal Tool Lead Systems Engineer. She worked as flight director on the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover robotic arm. She has been involved in several initiatives to inspire young women from Latin America and African-American women to pursue a career in science and engineering. She took part in a discussion about Hidden Figures at the University of Southern California alongside Octavia Spencer and Pharrell Williams. She has been a mentor for the Brooke Owens Fellowship, which she created with her husband Will Pomerantz. NINA VACA

Chairwoman & CEO Pinnacle Group

Nina is Chairman and CEO of Pinnacle Group, a Latina-owned global workforce solutions provider named fastest-growing woman-owned company in the country twice in the last six years. The workforce solutions industry has recognized Nina repeatedly as a leader in the industry, including her in the Global Power 150 – Women in Staffing list every year in the list’s six-year history. In addition to her work with Pinnacle, Nina is one of the few Latinas in the nation serving on the boards of publicly traded companies and also serves as a civic leader and philanthropist, working relentlessly to expand opportunities for minorities and women in business. In 2014 she was appointed by the White House as a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship and is a German Marshall Fellow, a British American Project Fellow, a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute, and in 2019 became a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She is a recipient of the coveted Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year award, the Goldman Sachs Most Intriguing Entrepreneur award, and just last month Vaca was recognized by the SIA in their inaugural list of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Influencers.

Executive President / Principal & Co-Founder

Latino Donor Collaborative / Valdez Productions & Consulting, Inc.

An American marketing, media, and political consultant, Ana was born and raised in Mexico City, studied and worked in Spain, Switzerland, and the U.S., and currently lives in Los Angeles. Together with the incredible group of national business leaders on the board of the LDC, she works every day to create a realistic image of the American Latino community nationwide. LDC partners with top universities and think tanks to present information that clearly shows the importance of Latinos for the economy and growth of the US, and by partnering with media and PR giants to distribute such information. Additionally, the LDC has developed close partnerships with ad agencies, CMOs, and content creators to create a realistic portrayal of Hispanics in media, avoid stereotypes, and show the kind of impact this community has at all levels. Ana has 25 years of experience in marketing, media creation, and communications.

Founding Partner & Managing Director

SV LATAM Capital

Consuelo Valverde is a serial entrepreneur turned VC. Her drive is to produce great financial returns while being a growing force for good in the world. She is the Founder and Managing Partner of SV LATAM Capital, an early - stage vc firm investing in science and technology enabled startups to transform societies, environment, and health on a global scale, with a unique focus on Latin America. Consuelo founded her first tech company at the age of 21. Her first angel investment provided 3,500% in capital gains. She is an electrical engineer with two master’s degrees in science and graduate work in genomic medicine. In 2020, Consuelo was named one of the top 100 most influential Latinas in the US. She is also a Kauffman Fellow.

ROCIO VAN NIEROP

Co founder & Executive Director

Latinas in Tech

Rocio is Co-founder and Executive Director of Latinas in Tech, a powerful non-profit organization dedicated to empowering and connecting Latinas in the Technology Industry. Rocio was previously the Director of Product Marketing at Prezi where she spent several years launching Prezi's products nationally and internationally. Prior to her role in Product Marketing, Rocio was General Manager of Prezi Latin America making Prezi one of the leading presentation platforms pushing the boundaries of innovation and effective communications. Rocío has been an advocate for tech inclusion, participating in multiple boards of charitable organizations that push forward the participation of underrepresented minorities. Besides Latinas in Tech, Rocio has co-founded Silicon Valley Day - a conference that brings the best minds of Silicon Valley to multiple cities and countries in Latin America, helped start Red Global de Talentos Mexicanos in San Francisco, as well as the EXATEC alumni group in San Francisco.

STEPHANIE ZAPATA MOORE

EVP, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, & Corporate Secretary

Vistra Energy

As executive vice president and general counsel of Vistra Energy, Stephanie advises the company’s leadership team on legal, regulatory and corporate governance matters, in addition to overseeing the corporate secretary’s office and leading the company’s legal and compliance team. Prior to her current role, she served as vice president and general counsel of Luminant, a competitive power generation subsidiary of Vistra Energy and its predecessor Energy Future Holdings. Stephanie's primary responsibilities included coordination and delivery of all legal services for Luminant, including commercial matters, litigation, environmental advocacy, and regulatory compliance and counseling. Prior to joining Luminant in 2005, Zapata Moore was an associate at Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP in the corporate and securities practice group, where she focused on mergers and acquisitions and private securities offerings. She also spent a year in the trial practice group at Gardere, where she represented clients in commercial litigation matters. ANILU VAZQUEZ-UBARRI

Partner & Chief Human Resources Officer / Board Member

TPG Global / Upwork

Anilu is an expert and prominent voice on both human resources and diversity, equity, and inclusion issues. As a Partner and Chief Human Resources Officer of TPG, a leading global alternative asset firm, Anilu oversees the firm’s Human Resources function and provides support and counsel to executives across TPG’s portfolio of more than 200 companies. She is also a member of TPG’s Executive Committee. Prior to joining TPG in 2018, Anilu spent 11 years at the Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., serving in a variety of roles, most recently as Chief Diversity Officer and Global Head of Talent. Before Goldman Sachs, she was an associate in the executive compensation and employee benefits group at Shearman & Sterling LLP. Anilu currently serves on the Boards of Teach for America-Bay Area, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, Fordham University School of Law Alumni, and the Vera Institute of Justice. She has been named one of the Most Powerful Latinas in Business by Forbes Magazine and was listed as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Latinas in 2020 by Latino Leaders. The Association of Latino Professionals For America also recently recognized her as one of the best Corporate Culture Developers in their 2020 50 Most Powerful Latinas list. Anilu holds a JD from Fordham University School of Law, and an AB in History and Latin American Studies, cum laude from Princeton University.

CLAUDIA ZAPATA-CARDONE

Captain / Director of Community Outreach and Relations

United Airlines / Latino Pilots Association

Claudia is passionate about sharing the piloting profession with women and persons of color and empowering them through outreach programs and organizations. she is a proud member of Women in Aviation International, Latino Pilots Association, the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals and the International Society of Women Airline Pilots.

QUOTES LATINASQINSPIRED BY THE PAST, CARRYING IT FORWARD A leader not only influences at its own way but she has as well found her inspiration and motivation from those that are close to her and have paved her way. We asked the “100 Latinas” who or what has inspired them to be who they are today and this is what some of them had to say.

"MY MOTHER. SHE WAS FEARLESS, AND BELIEVED THAT WITH EDUCATION, HARD WORK AND ENTHUSIASM ONE COULD ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING. SHE TAUGHT ME TO SET GOALS, STAY GROUNDED AND EXPRESS GRATITUDE.” "My father instilled in all of us the overriding importance of a good education and that there is no substitute for hard work and excellence. My mom taught me to always aim high, to reach for the stars in order to get the moon. All this in a home filled with music and books. I was lucky and constantly inspired.”

Leila Cobo

Priscila Almodovar

“My parents taught me family values, work ethic, philanthropy, and unwavering honesty. Harvard Business School taught me the importance of nurturing long-term relationships and the skills to rationally dissect businesses.”

Kim Casiano

"MY FATHER. BORN IN A TINY VILLAGE, THE GRANDSON OF ITALIAN IMMIGRANTS, HE STARTED A WINE REVOLUTION WHICH PUT ARGENTINE WINE ON THE WORLD MAP. WHEN PEOPLE ASK ME “WAS IT HARD TO BE A WOMAN IN THE MACHO WORLD OF WINE?” ALL I CAN SAY IS THAT I WAS LUCKY TO HAVE NICOLÁS CATENA ZAPATA AS MY FATHER.” Laura Catena

"My Hispanic heritage has been an important influence on who I am and my path to date. As immigrants, my parents pushed us to always put forward the best version of ourselves and always strive for the highest level achievable.”

Nanette Cocero

Latinas are the largest growing business sector in the United States, so the American economy thrives on Latina businesses! Let's invest in further growth of Latina businesses to strengthen our nation's economy.”

Dorene Dominguez

"The thing that inspires me every day is the number of people dying from infectious diseases. I know through modeling and disease forecasting, we can reduce global disease burden and so that has inspired me to continue and make a difference.”

Sara Del Valle

"MY MOTHER ALWAYS INSTILLED IN ME THE NOTION THAT EDUCATION, HARD WORK AND GIVING BACK TO OTHERS WAS MY TICKET TO SUCCESS. HER ENCOURAGEMENT TO FOLLOW MY DREAMS AND TO NEVER FORGET WHERE I CAME FROM HAS MADE ME THE LATINA CHAMPION AND LEADER I AM TODAY."

Betty Francisco

"MY MOM, DIVA, WHO WE LOST TO BREAST CANCER, WAS A PIONEER FOR WOMEN AND EQUITY IN THE WORKPLACE BACK IN COLOMBIA. I GREW UP WATCHING HER DEFY THE ODDS LEADING AS A WOMAN IN ENGINEERING IN THE MALE-DOMINATED OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY. SHE NEVER LOST HER FEMININITY, SHE WAS ALWAYS OBSESSIVELY FOCUSED ON EXCELLENCE AND RESULTS AND ALWAYS STAYED PURPOSEFUL TO IMPACT AND INSPIRE OTHERS ALONG HER JOURNEY. I AM HONORED TO CARRY ON HER LEGACY THROUGH THE WORK I DO EVERY DAY.”

Lilli Gil Valleta

"Over the years, I have been inspired by many individuals whether those individuals are leaders, my management, or intimate family members and friends. And while we can be inspired by others to become who we desire to become, I firmly believe the person that must inspire you most is yourself. Fundamentally, you have to take a bet on yourself and Vincent Van Gogh’s quote best reflects this sentiment: ""If you hear a voice within you saying 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.”

Sandra Lopez

"I keep on my desk a photo of five generations of women in my family: my great-grandmother, my grandmother, my mom, and a baby, me. These women exemplified how to balance work and life while being empathetic, determined, and authentic — even in the most difficult situations.”

Jessica Herrera-Flanigan

"I was raised to believe I could achieve whatever I set my mind to. That belief planted the seed of curiosity and a sense of duty to make the most of the opportunities life has presented me.”

Carolina Jannicelli

"My parents' deep love for family, respect for hard work, investment in education and traditional values are attributes I bring to my authentic self every day. When it comes to where I am today, there are many amazing leaders that have been key to defining my journey. A common element from this group has been their unwavering guidance and support. They have and continue to lift me and others up, and their example of championing one another has been a source of inspiration.”

Maria Teresa Lensing

Many people inspire me, but none more than my mother, whose resilience set the stage for who I would become.”

Maria Martinez

"OUR LATINA TO LATINA LISTENERS ARE BUILDING LIVES THAT ARE OFTEN DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WAS PRESCRIBED TO THEM OR EXPECTED OF THEM. WATCHING THEM UNLOCK THEIR POWER AND CHOOSE TO LIVE THEIR

LIVES ON THEIR OWN TERMS INSPIRES ME TO DO THE SAME.” Alicia Menendez “My mother inspires me to be passionate about my endeavors and continuously seek personal and professional growth.” Christine Montenegro "My family Q and a small circle of very close friends and confidants continue to inspire me to work hard, dream big, stay curious and keep me grounded and honest regarding my values.” Marisa Moret

"I am constantly inspired and awed by the remarkable Latinas in my life – their intelligence, resilience, ambition, warmth, humor and spirit energize me and carry me forward. The wave starts close to home with my mother and the women in my family, continues with the network of Latina executives and entrepreneurs that I am privileged to be a part of and crests with inspiring women that embody Latina excellence like Sonia Sotomayor and Ellen Ochoa. Every day is an opportunity to help the world recognize our talent, our excellence and what we can contribute.”

Kim Rivera

"MY MOM IS MY BIGGEST HERO AND INSPIRATION. SHE TAUGHT ME TO NOT LET FEAR TAKE THE DECISIONS. MY MOTHER’S GREATEST LESSON TO ME WAS NOT TO BE FEARLESS BUT FEARFREE. SHE STARTED OVER MANY TIMES, IN MANY DIFFERENT WAYS AND CAREERS, MOST OF THOSE WITH HER CHILDREN IN TOW. BUT HER EXAMPLE TAUGHT ME TO TAKE RISKS.”

Claudia Romo Edelman

"The entrepreneurs I have met along the way and many in whom I have invested are my greatest inspiration.”

Consuelo Valverde

"I've been blessed with many mentors throughout my life, but my biggest mentor has been and always will be my mother. As my mentor, she constantly pushes me to be my best and challenges me to achieve new heights. She also has taught me to measure success not only in dollars but in the ability to help others who are just beginning their journey.”

Nina Vaca

“Thousands of amazing employees, hundreds of clients and one large passionate Latino family. Together they have inspired me to be an impactful global public health leader.”

Ellen Ochoa

Veronica Edwards "IN ADDITION TO BEING ENCOURAGED BY MY MOTHER TO PURSUE WHATEVER I WAS INTERESTED IN, I HAVE BEEN INSPIRED BY WOMEN WHO CAME BEFORE ME AND HELPED LEAD THE WAY, INCLUDING THE FIRST 6 AMERICAN WOMEN ASTRONAUTS SELECTED BY NASA IN 1978.”

"LATINAS HAVE OFTEN BEEN THE BACKBONE "I feel I would not be where I OF THEIR FAMILIES AND I KNOW I STAND ON THE SHOULDERS OF MANY WHO CAME BEFORE ME – INCLUDING LATINAS IN MY OWN FAMILY. MY FAMILY HAS GIVEN ME MY FOUNDATION AND HAS BEEN MY CONSTANT SOURCE OF STRENGTH.” Julissa Reynoso "Throughout various personal and professional stages of my life, I have been inspired by and learned from strong family members, friends, colleagues and leaders. I have derived equally meaningful lessons from am today as CEO/Managing Director of Ulu Ventures if it was not for Gabriel Sandoval. He then inspired me to apply for the Google job where I became VP and deputy general counsel. I followed in his footsteps and was able to get the economic means to start Ulu Ventures.”L Miriam Rivera negative role models and experiences. These diverse experiences have refined the kind of leader and human being I have become.”

Maria Rivas

IN MEMORY OF MONICA MARTINEZ

Latino Leaders Magazine is deeply sadden by the passing of Monica L. Martinez Senior Vice President of national Community Affairs for Comerica Bank. Her work, leadership and care for her community made her one of the most admired and notable Latinas in our Country. As professional storytellers, we want to recognize publicly the service and support she always gave to the Latino Professional and Business Community.

“ Monica Martinez was great friend and supporter. I always was told great things about her everywhere I was. Her personal friendship and the care she always showed to me and our magazine is something that I will never forget and for what I will always be grateful. She will be terribly missed”. Jorge Ferraez, Publisher Latino Leaders Magazine

“Monica Martinez was a truly amazing individual and leader whose impact on the Hispanic community is immeasurable and will never be forgotten.” Nina Vaca- CEO, Pinnacle Group

“Hard work, a commitment to excellence, a passion for the Hispanic community, and the ability to be confident and humble are some of the attributes we should all aspire to. It is what made Monica so special and why she will be missed by so many.” Carlos F. Orta, former boss & mentor

“Monica, empowered those around her and found opportunities for them to show their talents. She made sure those in power saw how talented our Latino community was in the business world.” Jess Venegas, President of Ideal Steel

"Monica L. Martinez was an incredible Latina leader always lifting her community up! Encouraging her mentees to give back to the community, she lead by example” Jane Garcia, Chair of the Board, SER Jobs for Progres National

THE GREAT STORY OF THE ARGENTINIAN MALBEC

CATENA ZAPATA MALBEC ARGENTINO 2018

Bodega Catena Zapata

Founded in 1902 by Italian immigrant Nicola Catena, is one of the most iconic producers of wine in Argentina. They are also one of the largest and more important producers of Malbec in the world. They are credited by having put the Argentinian Malbec in the map of the world. One of their flagship wines was once described as the “Lafite-Rothschild of Argentina” by critic Robert Parker (referring to the Nicolas Catena Zapata 2004 Malbec)

The origin of Malbec

A thick-skinned grape from southwest France with origins in the Languedoc-Roussillon region that was once the main varietal in Boardeaux wine, before substituting it for Cabernet Sauvignon which is nowadays the main varietal. After the terrible Phylloxera plague Malbec found his own terrior in Mendoza, Argentina, where it flourishes fantastically thanks to the weather and vineyard elevations.

A survival story

When phylloxera decimated most of the Malbec vineyards in France in the late XIX century, Argentinian Malbec was flourishing in Mendoza, thanks to an effort to stablish Malbec production as an experiment by some of the Argentinian leaders of the time.

The Malbec according to Nicolas Catena; an art piece on a label

“The epic tale of the noble Malbec grape is like no other, and the label for Catena Zapata Malbec Argentino pays tribute to the variety’s history in France and its rise in Argentina. Four female figures embody different landmarks in the history of the grape. Eleanor of Aquitaine represents the birth of Malbec. She is a strong, Old World presence, lingering at the bridge in Cahors, where Malbec came into its own. Next, the Immigrant symbolizes the movement to the New World and the unknown explorers and adventurers who connected Europe with the Americas. Phylloxera personifies the death of Malbec in the Old World, which enabled its rebirth in the new. Finally, there is Bodega Catena Zapata, represented by Adrianna Catena, who depicts birth, earth, and motherhood, sharing the riches of the New World. Today, the Catena family’s fourth generation leads the high-altitude renaissance in Argentina. We are returning Malbec to the sky... where it belongs.”

What’s so special about the “Nicasia” y “Angelica” vineyards?

Old Vines from the Catena Zapata Family Vineyards, Nicasia and Angélica. The origins of the vines, which we call “The Catena Cuttings”, is a prephyloxeric Massale Selection from the Angélica Vineyard. Harvest time varies depending on each lot's soil composition. Harvest time can vary by several weeks between one lot and another within the same vineyard.

• Angelica Vineyard: 3,018 ft (920 m). Lunlunta District, Maipú Region, Mendoza, Argentina. Adjacent to dry river bed. Light gravel, loam and clay.

• Nicasia Vineyard: 3,593 ft (1,095 m). Altamira in La Consulta District, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina. Very shallow loamy topsoil with surface gravel and gravelly (large stones) dry river bed subsoil - optimal drainage. Malbec. Plant selection: Catena Cuttings malbec selection

Vinification

20% whole cluster and 80% whole berry fruit is hand- loaded into 225-500 liter new French oak barrels for a 100% barrel fermentation for a period of 30 days, allowing seamless oak integration. The fermentation temperature is kept low, extracting intense aromas, and the cap management is done by hand to ensure soft, gentle flavors and tannin extraction. Wild yeasts. Alcoholic and malolactic fermentation in barrel leaves considerable lees and sediment. The wine is aged in French oak barrels for 18 months

Tasting notes of 2018 vintage

Elegant ripeness and dark fruit notes. Medium to full body structure with a well positioned structure and sophisticated texture. Vibrant, complex, expressive notes of raspberry, boysenberry and cherry. Bright and dense in color, with friendly tannins and dark chocolate and mint hints. An incredible expression of terroir and character.

Price:

$110-$135