The Aspen Institute

An invitation-only event hosted by Aspen Institute Latinos and Society Program in collaboration with McKinsey & Company

Latinos are essential to the recovery of the U.S. after the COVID-19 pandemic. Representing 17.6 percent of the nation’s workforce and on track to become 1 in 3 workers entering the job market by 2030, Latinos are primed to be a driving force of the American economy. To fully harness the economic power and global competitiveness of the nation, we must remove the barriers that prevent Latinos in America from reaching their full potential.

This groundbreaking, nonpartisan event will focus on how much value is at stake from the current Latino wealth and opportunity gap—and what immediate actions can reverse this trend to the benefit of the whole country. In collaboration with McKinsey & Company, Aspen Institute Latinos and Society will bring together C-suite leaders across the private, public, and civic sectors to discuss game-changing pathways to advance economic mobility for Latino individuals and communities, creating a more inclusive economy and society.

Our featured Speakers

topics

Our Event Co-Chairs

Gaddi H. Vasquez
Chair, Aspen Institute Latinos and Society Program Advisory Board

Gaddi H. Vasquez is the former senior vice president of Government Affairs for Southern California Edison (SCE), one of the nation’s largest electric utilities, and its parent company, Edison International. He was responsible for government relations activities at the Federal and State level, as well as Local Public Affairs. Prior to SCE, Vasquez served as U.S. Ambassador and permanent representative to United Nations Agencies based in Rome. From 2002 to 2006, Ambassador Vasquez served as Director of the Peace Corps. He currently serves as Chair of the Advisory Board of the Aspen Institute Latinos and Society Program.

Monica C. Lozano
President and CEO of College Futures Foundation

Monica C. Lozano is President and Chief Executive Officer of College Futures Foundation, a California-based private foundation. College Futures Foundation partners with organizations and leaders across the state to catalyze systemic change, increase college degree completion, and close equity gaps so that educational opportunity becomes a reality for every student, regardless of skin color, zip code, or income.

Prior to joining College Futures Foundation, Lozano had a long and accomplished career in media as editor and publisher of La Opinión, the country’s leading Spanish language daily newspaper and then as CEO of the parent company, ImpreMedia. Lozano guided the company through its evolution from a newspaper company into a multi-media content company while maintaining its core mission to inform, educate and empower the Latino community through relevant, unique, high-quality content.

After leaving ImpreMedia in 2016, Lozano joined the Aspen Institute to co-found and chair the newly created Latinos and Society Program. She serves on the Board of Directors of Apple, Bank of America, the Weingart Foundation, is Lead Independent Director for Target Corporation, and continues to be an active member of Aspen Institute Latinos and Society Advisory Board. She also served on Governor Gavin Newsom’s California Higher Education Recovery with Equity Taskforce.

Lozano has received multiple awards and distinctions and was named one of Fortune Magazine’s 50 Most Influential Latinas. She was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2016.

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Our Featured Speakers

U.S. Senator Alex Padilla

Senator Alex Padilla, a progressive problem-solver, is the first Latino to represent California in the U.S. Senate. He was appointed in January 2021 to complete the Senate term of Vice President Kamala Harris.

The son of immigrants, Padilla grew up in the San Fernando Valley and studied Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was drawn to politics in response to California’s anti-immigrant Proposition 187. Padilla was elected to the Los Angeles City Council in 1999 and the State Senate in 2006. As California’s Secretary of State, he oversaw a historic expansion of voting rights and voter participation.

Padilla serves as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Safety. He is a member of the Senate Committees on Budget; Environment and Public Works; Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; Judiciary; and Rules. Padilla lives in the San Fernando Valley with his wife, Angela, and their three sons, Roman, Alex and Diego.

Isabella Casillas Guzman
27th Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration

Isabella Casillas Guzman was sworn in as the 27th Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration on March 17, 2021. She serves as the voice for America’s 30 million small businesses and innovative startups in President Biden’s Cabinet.

Administrator Guzman grew up in a small business family and has been an entrepreneur herself. She has spent her entire career advising entrepreneurs, launching ventures, helping small businesses navigate government, and creating policies and programs to help advance entrepreneurship and innovation.

Most recently, she served as the Director of the California Office of the Small Business Advocate where she helped small businesses and innovative startups in the world’s fifth largest economy start, expand and grow. She advocated fiercely for financial relief for small businesses and focused on expanding assistance to entrepreneurs in underserved communities. In addition, she served as the economic recovery support function coordinator for the state, where she spearheaded the small business recovery effort during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Xavier Becerra
Secretary
Department of Health and Human Services

Xavier Becerra is the 25th Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and the first Latino to hold the office in the history of the United States. As Secretary, he will carry out President Biden’s vision to build a healthy America, and his work will focus on ensuring that all Americans have health security and access to healthcare.

Throughout his career, the Secretary has made it his priority to ensure that Americans have access to the affordable healthcare they need to survive and thrive – from his early days as a legal advocate representing individuals with mental illness, to his role as the Attorney General of the state of California.

Secretary Becerra served 12 terms in Congress as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. During his tenure, he was the first Latino to serve as a member of the powerful Committee on Ways and Means, he served as Chairman of his party’s caucus, and as the Ranking Member of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Health.

For over two decades in Congress, Secretary Becerra worked so that every family had the assurance of care that his own family had when he was growing up. As a member of the Ways and Means Committee, Secretary Becerra introduced legislation — the Medicare Savings Programs Improvement Act of 2007 — that expanded cost-sharing subsidies for low-income seniors who receive both Medicare and Medicaid benefits by increasing the amount of resources they could receive. He championed provisions of the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 that required physicians who perform imaging to be accredited and trained to ensure patient safety. And he was one of the original cosponsors of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) which strengthened Medicare and lowered costs for seniors.

As Attorney General of the state of California, Secretary Becerra helped to promote competition by taking on a number of pharmaceutical companies that restricted competition through “pay-for-delay” schemes, held several companies accountable for legal violations for not protecting patients’ health information, and took action early in the pandemic to keep Californians safe by using his authority to protect workers from exposure to COVID-19, secure key safeguards for frontline health care workers’ rights, and take on fraudsters trying to take advantage of people during the pandemic. In addition, he cracked down on Medicare and Medicaid fraud, acted to combat the opioid crisis, including holding drug makers accountable, won an unprecedented $575 million antitrust settlement against one of the largest health systems in California, and he led the three-year federal court fight to save the ACA and with it, the protections of the 133 million Americans with preexisting conditions.

Born in Sacramento Secretary Becerra is the son of working-class parents. He was the first in his family to receive a four-year degree, earning his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Stanford University. He earned his Juris Doctorate from Stanford Law School. His mother was born in Jalisco, Mexico and immigrated to the United States after marrying his father, a day laborer turned construction worker. He is married to Dr. Carolina Reyes, and he is proud of his three daughters: Clarisa, Olivia and Natalia, and son-in-law Ivan.

Alejandra Y. Castillo
U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development

Alejandra Y. Castillo was sworn in as U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development on August 13, 2021. She has served in leadership positions for three presidents – Biden, Obama and Clinton. Her professional career spans two decades, focusing on creating equitable and inclusive opportunities for all Americans.

Prior to EDA, Castillo was the Chief Executive Officer of YWCA USA, where she championed the 163-year-old organization delivering critical social, educational, and economic development services throughout its 204 associations.

In 2014, Castillo was appointed by President Obama to serve as the national director of the Commerce Department’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), becoming the first Hispanic woman to lead the agency. During her tenure, she led MBDA’s efforts to boost the growth and global competitiveness of minority business enterprises (MBEs). Under her leadership, MBDA expanded its effort to help MBEs gain access to capital, contracts, and business opportunities, assisting MBEs in growing in size and scale.

Castillo first joined the Department of Commerce in 2008 as a Special Advisor to the Under Secretary for the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA). Additionally, Castillo served as a Senior Policy Analyst in the White House during the Clinton Administration.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political Science from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, a master’s degree in public affairs from the LBJ School at the University of Texas at Austin, and earned a Juris Doctor degree from American University’s Washington College of Law.

Brian Moynihan
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Bank of America

Brian Moynihan leads a team of more than 200,000 employees dedicated to making financial lives better for people, companies of every size, and institutional investors across the United States and around the world.

Bank of America has been recognized as a leader in financial services, including on Fortune magazine’s list of World’s Most Admired Companies and Best Big Companies to Work For, named Global Finance’s Best Bank in the United States and North America in 2020 and placed on Forbes’ World’s Best Employers List in 2019. The company is the top global bank on Fortune’s Change the World list. It was also the 2019 Catalyst Award winner for supporting the continued development, empowerment and advancement of women in the company and around the world, and is recognized annually as a top employer by Working Mother, LATINA Style, Black Enterprise, Military Times and U.S Veterans Magazine. Bank of America is included in the Forbes Corporate Responders List of 25 companies leading through the health crisis caused by the coronavirus.

Moynihan participates in several organizations that focus on economic and market trends, including the World Economic Forum’s International Business Council (chair), the Financial Services Forum, the Bank Policy Institute, the Business Roundtable, the Clearing House (chair), the American Heart Association CEO Roundtable (co-chair), the Business Council and the Federal Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Board. He is also a member of the Vatican Council for Inclusive Capitalism and co-chair of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales’ Sustainable Markets Initiative.

Moynihan serves as chair of the company’s Global Diversity and Inclusion Council and is a member of the museum council for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. He is also a member of the Brown University Corporation’s Board of Fellows, the Catalyst Board of Directors, the Council on Competitiveness Board (chair) and the Appeal of Conscience Board of Trustees.

Moynihan works with public officials, businesses and civic leaders at the local level through his participation on the Charlotte Executive Leadership Council, the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership and the Partnership for Rhode Island.

Emilio Estefan
Award-winning Music, Television and Film Producer

Emilio Estefan is a world-renowned music, television and film producer who has been instrumental in shaping, developing and directing the careers of his superstar wife, Gloria, as well as Shakira, Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony and Jon Secada among many others. Emilio has achieved incredible success throughout his career, boasting more than 40 years of industry-leading achievements, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and induction into the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame just to name a few. With a resume that includes 19 Grammy Awards, Emilio has experimented and pushed the envelope of blending Latin, pop and world rhythms creating a unique style and personality that has created chart-topping worldwide hits. It is this vision that transcends the music field and spills over into film, television, hotels and restaurants, among other business endeavors, including serving as the Executive Producer of the Tony-Award nominated smash Broadway musical, On Your Feet! Most recently, the Library of Congress honored Emilio and Gloria with the distinguished Gershwin Prize for Popular song.

The Honorable Francis Suarez
Mayor City of Miami

Francis X. Suarez serves the City of Miami as Mayor, working diligently to raise the standards of the community where he was born and raised. He currently also serves as Vice-Chair of the Miami-Dade Transportation Planning Organization, tasked with approving federally required plans and transportation policies, and as President of the Miami-Dade County League of Cities.

The oldest of four siblings, Mayor Suarez was born into a family where, as he describes, “being socially conscious was a kind of requirement.” Mayor Suarez is dedicated to elevating the quality of life of the residents he serves by way of focusing on transportation and connectivity issues within the city and beyond, nurturing the growth of a tech-based economy in the area and, by extension, job creation and international opportunities with Latin America. His priorities also include affordable housing, tackling the poverty pandemic and, as a corollary, reducing crime.

Mayor Suarez graduated from Florida International University where he majored in finance and graduated in the top ten percent of his class. He went on to law school at the University of Florida Frederic G. Levin College of Law, graduating cum laude. Prior to running for public office, Mayor Suarez founded a successful real estate firm. He is also a practicing attorney with the law firm of Carlton Fields, specializing in real-estate and corporate transactions.

Mayor Suarez is married to Gloria M. Fonts. They have one child—Andrew Xavier—and consider themselves proud and blessed to be raising their family in the City of Miami.

Jon Secada
Grammy-award winning recording artist and songwriter

With a career spanning over two decades, three Grammy Awards, 20 million albums sold, and starring roles on Broadway, the acclaimed, romantic sounds of Jon Secada, have resulted in numerous hits in English and Spanish, establishing him as one of the first bilingual artists to have international crossover success. Acknowledged as Humanitarian of the year in 2016 by The Muhammad Ali Foundation, Jon’s impact goes beyond music as he has devoted himself to assisting various charitable groups all over the world through his personal organization, “Jon Secada Charities.” He has been active with many causes to help Hispanic Americans, children, education, AIDS research, and child abuse.

José Díaz-Balart
Anchor, MSNBC Reports, NBC Nightly News Saturday, Noticias Telemundo

Emmy, Peabody and Alfred Dupont award winner José Díaz-Balart is anchor of MSNBC’s “José Díaz-Balart Reports” at 10 a.m. ET on weekdays, ““NBC Nightly News Saturday” and “Noticias Telemundo.”

Previously, Díaz-Balart served as anchor of Telemundo’s national daily newscast “Noticias Telemundo.”

Díaz-Balart began his career in 1983 and has become one of the most respected voices in journalism. He has witnessed and reported historic events for prestigious news media outlets around the world as well as interviews with hundreds of thought leaders among them all U.S. Presidents since Ronald Reagan.

Díaz-Balart is the only journalist to anchor two nightly newscasts in Spanish and English for national networks on a regular basis. He has received numerous accolades, including four Emmy awards, the George Foster Peabody Award, an Alfred I DuPont-Columbia University Award, and the Broadcasting & Cable/Multichannel News Award for Outstanding Achievement in Hispanic Television. GQ Mexico named him “Best International Journalist of 2017.”

Most recently, he was appointed as the inaugural Georgetown University Politics Visiting Fellow and was featured on Adweek’s list of 30 most impactful TVNewsers of the Past 15 Years. Follow him on Twitter @jdbalart.

Andrew D. Plepler
Global Head of Environmental, Social, and Governance
Bank of America

Andrew D. Plepler is Bank of America’s Global Head of ESG. In this role, Plepler spearheads the company’s focus on environmental, social and governance factors. He engages with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders, including the company’s executive management committee, investors, consumer advocates and community leaders, to help inform and shape the bank’s strategies, policies, practices and programs. Plepler chairs the bank’s National Community Advisory Council, which for more than ten years has brought together public and private sector leaders to provide external perspective and advise the bank on responsible business practices. Prior to joining Bank of America, Plepler served as senior vice president of Housing and Community Initiatives with the Fannie Mae Foundation. Plepler previously served as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice in the Tax Division and on Capitol Hill as counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary.

Dan Porterfield
President and CEO, Aspen Institute

Dan Porterfield is President and CEO of the Aspen Institute, a global nonprofit organization committed to realizing a free, just, and equitable society. A native of the City of Baltimore, where he was raised by a single mother at the height of the civil rights movement, and a Rhodes Scholar, he has been recognized as a visionary strategist, transformational leader, devoted educator, and passionate advocate for justice and opportunity. Dan previously served as President of Franklin & Marshall College, where he led the College in tripling its percentage of incoming low-income students and doubling its percentage of domestic students of color. He was named a White House Champion of Change in 2016, holds bachelor’s degrees from Georgetown and Oxford, and earned his Ph.D. at The City University of New York Graduate Center where he wrote his dissertation on the poetry of American prisoners.

Laysha Ward
Executive Vice President and Chief External Engagement Officer for Target

Laysha Ward is executive vice president and chief external engagement officer for Target and a member of the company’s senior leadership team. She leads Target’s enterprise wide approach to actively engage and deepen relationships with external stakeholders to drive positive business and community impact.

Ms. Ward is a member of the Executive Leadership Council; Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority; The Links, an international woman’s service organization; the International Women’s Forum; the Advisory Board for the Aspen Institute Latinos and Society Program; and the Stanford Center for Longevity. She also sits on the for-profit board of directors for Denny’s Corporation.

Ms. Ward received her bachelor’s degree in journalism from Indiana University and a master’s degree in social services administration with an emphasis in management and public policy from the University of Chicago.

José E. Feliciano
Managing Partner and Co Founder
Clearlake Capital Group, L.P.

José E. Feliciano is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Clearlake Capital Group, L.P., a private investment firm founded in 2006. In addition to his investing responsibilities, Mr. Feliciano is responsible for the day-to-day management of the firm. With a sector-focused approach, the firm seeks to partner with world-class management teams by providing patient, long-term capital to dynamic businesses that can benefit from Clearlake’s operational improvement approach, O.P.S.® The firm’s core target sectors are technology, industrials, and consumer. Clearlake has over $50 billion of assets under management and its senior investment principals have led or co-led over 300 investments.

Prior to co-founding Clearlake, Mr. Feliciano was a Partner and member of the investment committee at Tennenbaum Capital Partners, a senior executive at govWorks, Inc., and started his career in investment banking in the Mergers & Acquisitions and Corporate Finance Groups at Goldman, Sachs & Co.

Mr. Feliciano currently serves on the Board of Directors of several Clearlake portfolio companies. He co-founded the SUPERCHARGED Initiative, a philanthropic grantmaking and impact investment organization, in 2014. The Initiative invests in both nonprofits and for-profit ventures that are compatible with its goal to make a lasting impact across four key priorities: Education, Entrepreneurship, Equal Opportunity and Empowerment. In addition, Mr. Feliciano serves on the board of directors of the Robert Toigo Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering the career advancement and increased leadership of underrepresented talent, and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, a foundation that works to support individuals, alliances, and organizations dedicated to improving human rights around the world. He is also a trustee of Stanford University and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Latino.

Mr. Feliciano graduated with High Honors from Princeton University, where he received a B.S. in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering. He received his M.B.A. from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University.

Xavier A. Gutierrez
President, CEO and Alternative Governor, Arizona Coyotes

Xavier Gutierrez is the first Latino President and CEO in the National Hockey League, leading the Arizona Coyotes Hockey Club. In this role, Gutierrez oversees all business operations, strategic planning, significant organizational decision-making, and government relations for the club. Previously, he served as Managing Director at Clearlake Capital Group, a leading private investment firm that oversees $25 billion of institutional capital. Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, he and his family relocated to San Jose, California when he was a toddler. The quintessential American success story, Gutierrez graduated from Harvard College and Stanford Law School, and for two decades built a sterling reputation in business, investment, and finance. A dedicated philanthropist and corporate leader, he serves on multiple boards and advisory councils including the Board of Directors of Commercial Bank of California, the largest Latino-owned bank in California, the Board of Directors and Investment Committee of the Arizona Community Foundation (ACF), a public charitable organization founded in 1978 that stewards nearly $1.0 billion in assets for the greater Arizona community, and the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, the national organization focused on providing financial support for US Latinos to pursue higher education.

Javier Saade

Javier Saade has three decades of experience as an investor, board member, founder, operating executive and policymaker.

Currently he is Venture Partner at Fenway Summer, Managing Partner of Impact Master Holdings, Lead Independent Director of the Board of Porch Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRCH), Audit Committee Chair of the Board of Softbank’s SVF Investment Corp. (NASDAQ: SVFA) and Chairman of the Board of Directors of GP Funding, Inc., a Presidio and Rothschild owned financial services company.

In September 2021, President Biden nominated Javier to be Chairman of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board subject to Senate confirmation. The board oversees over $750 billion in assets for 6.3 million beneficiaries.

Until recently, Javier held seats on the Board of Trustees of The Nature Conservancy, the Board of Trustees of Pan American Development Foundation, the Global Advisory Board of Docusign, Inc. (NASDAQ: DOCU) and the Corporate Responsibility Board of Univision.

Previously, Javier was appointed by the White House to serve as Associate Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and was its Chief of Investment and Innovation. The programs Javier led have invested over $120 billion in 300,000 American companies since inception. He also held a seat on the Committee for Small and Emerging Companies at the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC).

Before public service, he spent 20 years in operating, investing, advisory and leadership roles at McKinsey & Company, Booz Allen (NYSE:BAH), Bridgewater Associates, Abbott Labs (NYSE:ABT) and Air America, a media company he co-founded. In his transition back to private life he was Executive in Residence at Columbia Technology Ventures, Senior Fellow at Georgetown’s Beeck Center for Social Impact and Mentor at Stanford’s Latino Leadership Initiative. He also serves on the Board of Advisors of Harvard’s Rock Center for Entrepreneurship.

Over his career Javier has been a director of several PE/VC backed companies, served as Mentor at Kauffman Foundation and Techstars. He was also a member of the Biden Transition Team focused on Treasury and the economy. He frequently writes and speaks about the economy, digital finance, venture capital, sustainability, diversity, civic leadership, financial services, policymaking, impact investing, entrepreneurship, and capital stewardship.

Javier holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, MS in Operations & Technology from Illinois Institute of Technology and BS in Industrial Management from Purdue University.

Dorene Dominguez
Chairwoman and CEO of Vanir Group of Companies, Inc.

Dorene Dominguez is the Chairwoman and CEO of Vanir Group of Companies, Inc. and its subsidiaries Vanir Construction Management, Inc. and Vanir Development Company, Inc. The Vanir companies are national leaders in program, project and construction management and real estate development. She oversees 17 offices throughout the United States and employs a growing staff of 400 talented executives.

Ms. Dominguez serves as a Trustee of the University of Notre Dame, a public corporate director of kb Home as well as CIT Group and CIT Bank NA, and is also an active member of the Coca-Cola Hispanic Advisory Council composed of distinguished national leaders in the Latino community. In addition, she became the first Latina to become a Governor of the NBA Sacramento Kings, and is on Governor Newsom’s Task Force on Business and Economic Recovery addressing COVID-19.

Ms. Dominguez founded The Dominguez Dream in memory of her father (H. Frank Dominguez), which empowers children in underserved communities to achieve in Literacy and S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math). In recognition of her national business, philanthropic, and community efforts, Ms. Dominguez has been recognized by “Fortune” magazine as one of “The 50 Most Powerful Latinas of 2017” and  ALPFA has ranked her as one of their Top 50 Most Powerful Latinas for 2020.

Ms. Dominguez graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a B.S. in Finance and holds a Certificate in Corporate Governance from Harvard University.

Henry Cisneros
Co-Founder and CEO
American Triple I Partners

Henry Cisneros is Chairman and Co-Founder of American Triple I Partners. He provides governance leadership and develops relationships with asset and investor partners. Henry is also Chairman of the Executive Committee of ATI’s affiliate Siebert Williams Shank & Co.

Henry co-founded CityView, a registered investment adviser, which has invested in and
completed more than 100 real asset projects in 13 states. As a member of CityView’s executive, investment, and audit committees, Henry oversaw the deployment of $5.0 billion of asset value and the formation of eight funds.

In 1981, he became the first Hispanic-American mayor of a major U.S. city, San Antonio, where he helped rebuild the city’s economic base and spurred the creation of jobs through massive infrastructure projects and downtown improvements, including a new airport terminal, a 65,000-seat, domed stadium, underground flood diversion for the City’s Riverwalk, and a nuclear power generation project. Following four terms as Mayor, Henry formed Cisneros Asset Management Company. In 1992, President Clinton appointed Henry as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development where he was credited with initiating the revitalization of many of the nation’s public housing developments and formulating policies, which led to the nation’s highest homeownership rate.

Henry holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Texas A&M University, a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Harvard University, and a Doctorate in Public Administration from George Washington University, as well as more than 20 honorary doctorates from leading universities.

Nely Galán
CEO of Galán Entertainment and Founder of the Adelante Movement

Nely Galán is a self-made media entrepreneur. She was the first Latina President of Entertainment for a U.S. television network, – Telemundo., She is an Emmy Award winning producer of over 700 television shows in English and Spanish, including the hit reality series, “The SWAN” for 20th Century Fox, which she produced through her multi-media company Galán Entertainment. Her company also launched over 10 television channels abroad for companies like HBO, ESPN, FOX, MGM, and Sony.

Galán took a mid-career sabbatical, completing a masters and doctorate in Clinical Psychology, where she focused on the Psychology of Money, in multicultural communities. She is the founder of the nonprofit,  The Adelante Movement,  non-profit, whichto empowers and trains Latina and other multicultural women both economically as well as entrepreneurially. Her New York Times bestselling book, SELF MADE, Becoming Empowered, Self-Reliant, and Rich in Every Way 2016) (published in English, Spanish and Mandarin) is about the revolution in women’s entrepreneurship led by multicultural women in the U.S. and emerging women around the world. Galán is a sought after speaker – appearing in over 500 cities in the last 5 years. Her next book, Don’t Buy Shoes Buy Buildings! – Creating Wealth for the Rest of Us will inform those who currently work for others how to invest in order to “ make money while we sleep” and become Self Made. Galán is devoted to creating financial literacy and wealth building in communities of color.

Michelle Sobrino-Stearns
President and Group Publisher, Variety

As the President and Group Publisher of the iconic media brand, Variety, Michelle Sobrino-Stearns oversees the global editorial and business operations including strategic planning and financial governance.

Sobrino-Stearns has led the company’s transformation from a daily print publication to a multi-faceted media organization with a portfolio that includes digital, social, print, custom content, events, podcasts, and broadcast television. Since her elevation to the role of Publisher in 2012, Variety has achieved nine consecutive years of revenue gains through consistent innovation. Her tenure marks the strongest period of growth in the company’s history. Editorially, the brand has been recognized consistently for excellence in journalism by various associations, receiving over 173 nominations and 37 wins in the past year alone.

She is the architect of numerous Variety divisions and franchises, including their booming events business which produces hundreds of virtual and live events and summits annually.

The franchises she has created include the “Power of Women” event series as well as “The Power of Women” television specials in partnership with Lifetime Television. She also spearheaded the multiple Emmy-winning “Actors on Actors” series in partnership with PBS and the annual Dealmakers event and editorial series which profiles key media industry leaders behind the largest transactions of the year.

Under her leadership Variety has expanded video development to include the news opinion program “The Take”; “Directors on Directors”; “Doc Dreams” and “Artisans” series featuring craftspeople in the entertainment industry. For the web, she has been the vanguard in the creation of new areas of coverage including discovery tools like “What to Watch” and “What to Hear”, and sections such as “Docs” which offer a deep dive into the world of documentary filmmaking.

She has been recognized by The Imagen Foundation, the nation’s leading organization promoting the advancement and positive portrayal of Latinos in front and behind the camera, as one of the most powerful and influential Latinos in entertainment every year since 2015. She has also been honored by the Girls Inc Foundation for her leadership and achievements that have increased opportunities for girls and women and the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) with a “Trailblazer of the Year” award. In 2020, Editor & Publisher Magazine named Sobrino-Stearns one of the “10 Publishers Who Do It Right”. She is an active community member, she serves on the board of City Year Los Angeles, the board of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and the board of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce Foundation. She is also a member of YPO Los Angeles. Sobrino-Stearns is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles.

Lucy Pérez
Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company

Lucy Pérez is a Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company, advising CEOs and top teams at leading pharma, biotech and life sciences companies globally on growth strategy, innovation, sustainability, and organizational transformation. A former cancer researcher, she brings a strong technical background to her work with organizations across the life-sciences sector. Since joining McKinsey, she has partnered with CEOs and top teams at leading organizations across North America, Europe, and Asia. Pérez leads evidence generation work within the Life Sciences Practice, helping clients generate and apply research insights, clinical data, and real-world evidence to maximize patient benefit, demonstrate product value, and catalyze innovation. She also co-leads McKinsey’s North America Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts, as well as their North America Hispanic Latino Network. She also sponsors McKinsey’s research on Latino economic mobility and Hispanic Leadership Academy, which brings together up-and-coming Hispanic and Latino executives across industries.

Whether working with established pharmaceutical companies to hone R&D investments and optimize commercial operations, or advising healthcare providers on growth and innovation, Pérez takes a strategic, long-term perspective. As a former cancer researcher at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, she brings a strong technical background to her work helping organizations solve their most pressing challenges, including expertise in biopharma research and development, portfolio management, commercial transformation, and operating models. She is passionate about advancements in science and technology, which are transforming patient care delivery and outcomes.

Pérez is also a member of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, whose mission is to strengthen Massachusetts’ economic vitality. She holds both a Ph.D. and A.B. degrees in Chemistry from Harvard University, where she was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute research fellow. Her work has been published in peer-review journals. Pérez is also an avid traveler and amateur photographer, and a co-inventor on multiple patents.

Bernardo Sichel
Partner, McKinsey & Company

Bernardo Sichel is a partner at McKinsey & Company and a leader in their North American Hispanic Latino Network. Additionally, he co-leads Consumer Leap in North America, McKinsey’s business building practice. Bernardo does all of his work at the intersection of Consumer, Technology, and Business Building, serving established and start-up clients achieve significant growth acceleration through the use of technology, digital, and new business models.

Bernardo was born and raised in Venezuela where he earned his Economics degree from Universidad Católica Andrés Bello and started his career with Procter & Gamble before attending Harvard Business School for his MBA. He has spent 20+ years serving clients across the US and Latin America, leveraging his international experience and embracing his Latino heritage. His kids are First Generation Americans.

Domenika Lynch
Executive Director, Aspen Institute Latinos and Society Program

Domenika Lynch is a purpose-driven, strategic and inspirational leader, a champion for women’s rights and social equity, and a longtime advocate for the Latino community.

Over the course of two decades in leadership roles, Lynch has overseen strategic planning, policy advocacy, and public affairs campaigns for nonprofits and corporations, increasing donor and stakeholder support and raising millions of dollars for organizational endowments. She skillfully facilitates internal and external relationships for maximum social impact, prioritizes mentoring, and empowering the next generation of leaders.

Lynch leads the Latinos and Society Program at the Aspen Institute. The Program focuses on shared learning across communities of influencers on the critical barriers preventing greater Latino achievement, and a space to identify, promote, and catalyze ideas and solutions that increase opportunities for American Latinos. All of AILAS programming is rooted in the goal of increasing recognition that the nation’s success depends on Latinos’ inclusion at all levels of society.

From July 2016 to May 2019, Lynch served as president and CEO of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI), the preeminent Latino leadership institute founded by Hispanic members of Congress in Washington, DC. Building on CHCI’s 40-year legacy, she led an organizational and financial turn-around, raising more than $20 million to ensure that CHCI will remain a premier national convener for thought leadership.

She previously spent more than a decade as executive director of the Latino Alumni Association (LAA) at the University of Southern California. During her tenure, LAA doubled its membership and tripled its endowment. Her professional breadth extends into the corporate sector, with previous leadership positions at Bank of America and Univision.

Lynch’s dedication to advancing positive change has been widely recognized. She received the 2019 National Ohtli Award from the Mexican government for services to the Mexican and Mexican American communities, the 2018 Leadership Award from Crittenton Services of Greater Washington for empowering young women and teen mothers, and the 2018 Legacy Award from the USC Latino Alumni Association. She was highlighted as one of The Hill’s 2017 Latina Leaders to Watch.

Lynch currently serves on the board of Casa 0101 Theater and volunteers in her local community. A graduate of the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, Lynch holds a master’s degree from the USC Rossier School of Education.

Emily Glazer
Wall Street Journal

Emily Glazer writes about business leaders and corporate governance for The Wall Street Journal.

Emily, who has worked at the Journal for more than a decade, previously covered tech, money and politics during the 2020 election season. Earlier she wrote about JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo. Emily was featured in and consulted on Netflix’s “Dirty Money” documentary series focusing on Wells Fargo.

Previously she covered global bankruptcy and restructuring; consumer products companies like Procter & Gamble, Avon and Herbalife; and personal finance.
Emily has reported for Dow Jones since 2008 in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. She graduated with honors from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

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Topics to be covered

Latino Economic Mobility to Drive a More Inclusive Economy 

The Business Case for Latino Representation in Corporate America

Latino Wealth Creation: The Smart Investment 

Strengthening American’s Standing Through Innovative Policy 

Debunking Myths: Creating a New American Narrative