Speakers
Anna Escobedo Cabral
Senior Advisor
Inter-American Development Bank
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Anna Escobedo Cabral
Senior Advisor
Inter-American Development Bank
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Anna Escobedo Cabral became the highest-ranking Latina in the George W. Bush administration by serving as the 42nd U.S. Treasurer. Today she serves as the Senior Advisor of the Inter-American Development Bank.
Anna Escobedo Cabral was nominated on July 22, 2004, by President Bush to serve as Treasurer of the United States. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on November 20, 2004. Immediately prior to taking this office, Ms. Cabral served as Director of the Smithsonian Institution’s Center for Latino Initiatives, where she led a pan-institutional effort to improve Latino representation in exhibits, and public programming among the Institution’s 19 museums, five research centers, and the National Zoo. From 1999 to 2003, Ms. Cabral served as President and CEO of the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility, a non-profit organization headquartered in Washington, DC, which partners with Fortune 500 companies to increase Hispanic representation in employment, procurement, philanthropy and governance.
A native of California, Ms. Cabral majored in Political Science from the University of California, Davis, and earned a Master’s degree in Public Administration with an emphasis in international trade and finance from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Agustine “Augie” Valentino Pimentel
Marketing Project Manager
Partake Collective
MODERATOR
Agustine “Augie” Valentino Pimentel
Marketing Project Manager
Partake Collective
MODERATOR
Augie is a 2022 graduate from the Masters of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program here at the Paul Merage School of Business.
He participated back-to-back years in the New Venture Competition, where his team won the grand prize in 2021, and 1st place in the Social Entreprise category in 2022. At last year’s LXi Conference, he was the recipient of the Panima Barkow Entrepreneurship Award.
He is now President of the UCI Latinx Alumni Chapter, and is the Marketing Project Manager for a startup called Partake Collective, an innovative ghost kitchen developer and operator that is building a new concept where you can dine-in, take-out, and shop from local businesses who use their multifaceted spaces to test their ideas and grow their businesses.
Isaac Mizrahi
CEO
Alma Advertising
MODERATOR
Isaac Mizrahi
CEO
Alma Advertising
MODERATOR
Isaac Mizrahi is a world class, award winning marketing executive who spent his 30+ years career working with brands such as Coca-Cola, Bellsouth, Nextel and Sprint, in several different functions covering multiple geographies.
Isaac has been a speaker in several conferences and has been featured in the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, PBS, Ad Age, Ad Week and other industry publications. In 2006 he was recognized as U.S. Hispanic Marketer of the Year by “Marketing y Medios” for his work at Sprint-Nextel. In 2022 Isaac was selected by AdWeek as one of the country’s 50 top Marketing executives.
Over the past decade he has transitioned from the client side of the business to the agency side, working with corporations like McDonald’s, P&G, PepsiCo, Molson Coors, Google, Lilly, among others.
Isaac also has a monthly online column on Forbes.com where he writes about Multicultural Marketing in America for thousands of readers and is the author of the book “Hispanic Market Power – America’s Business Growth Engine” released in May 2023.
He was born in Rio de Janeiro Brazil and lives in the U.S. since 1999 in the beautiful Miami with his wife, his two sons and his dog Ollie.
Juan Calcagno
Managing Director
MUFG Americas
Panelist
Juan Calcagno, MD
Managing Director
MUFG Americas
PANELIST
Dr. Calcagno is a Managing Director at MUFG Americas, a global financial group with a presence in more than 50 countries. In his current assignment, Juan oversees Enterprise Risk Management while previous assignments included leadership roles around regulatory/economic capital, stress testing, CECL/allowances, and economic forecasts. He has over 15 years of experience in financial services and prior to joining MUFG, he worked at KPMG and Moody’s Analytics. He received a B.A. in Economics from his native Argentina and a PhD from Columbia University.
Juan is a founding member of the UCI-OC Alliance and serves as a Board Member of the Alzheimer’s Association, California Southland Chapter. He lives in Corona del Mar with his wife, Natalia, and their two children.
Andy Gallardo
Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Chief Risk Officer
Genesis Bank
Panelist
Andy Gallardo
Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Chief Risk Officer
Genesis Bank
PANELIST
Andy Gallardo serves as Genesis Bank’s Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Risk Officer. Mr. Gallardo has over 18 years of banking experience, most recently serving as SVP, Deputy General Counsel at Opus Bank, as well as General Counsel of PENSCO Trust Company (now Pacific Premier Trust), a subsidiary of Opus Bank. Mr. Gallardo provides advice and counsel to the Board and Executive Management team on matters concerning: (i) corporate governance , (ii) regulatory issues, (iii) litigation, (iv) strategic business planning, strategy, and implementation, (v) labor and employment, (vi) corporate insurance, and (vii) corporate risk and audit management. Mr. Gallardo also participates in providing pro-bono legal services to disadvantaged or minority business owners and is a frequent lecturer-teacher with Junior Achievement of Orange County, the Orange County Hispanic Youth Chamber, and the TGR Foundation, a Tiger Woods charity.
Jay Garcia
Education Program Manager
Panelist
Jay Garcia
Education Program Manager
SparkED & Military Affairs, Alteryx
PANELIST
Bio coming soon!
Zulema Garcia
Senior Vice President
Herbalife
Sketcher Board Member
Panelist
Zulema Garcia
Senior Vice President
Herbalife
Sketcher Board Member
PANELIST
Bio coming soon!
Frank González IV, PhD
Director, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Business Partner
Taco Bell
Panelist
Frank González IV, PhD (he/him/his)
Director, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Business Partner
Taco Bell
PANELIST
Frank (he/him/his) is an EIB (Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging) and Executive Leadership Professional. He is an involved father and inspired husband. Within diversity dimensions he identifies as a male ambivert, Hispanic or Latino – specifically Mexican American. Frank has two decades of experience using evidence-based practices to solidify the qualitative experiences of employees in various public and corporate entities. Frank is a published eLearning author found on LinkedIn Learning. His focus on relationship building models, along with his facilitation background, provide unique perspectives to experiential and practical application. He currently serves as the Director, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Business Partner at Taco Bell, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands.
Frank holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Organizational Leadership & Management with emphases in Personality and In-Group/Out-Group relationships in the workplace (Leader and Employee relationships), as well as multiple EIB certifications. His love of continuous, enthusiastic learning is also the foundation of his EIB message, be curious.
Sandra Gutierrez
Co-founder
Apiro
Panelist
Sandra Gutierrez
Co-founder
Apiro
PANELIST
Sandra holds degrees in Technology and Operations Management and a minor in Finance from California Polytechnic State University, Pomona. Beyond her current role as an Investment and Technology Analyst for a multi-family office in Newport Beach, Sandra is deeply passionate about breaking barriers as a first-gen Latina founder. She is a cofounder of ProcureFlow, a streamlined supplier solution optimizing design-to-dock procurement that allows users to request quotes instantly, manage NDAs, foster 10+ supplier relationships, and eliminate email chains and spreadsheets.
Sarah Lopez, MD, MBA
Chief Medical Officer
Zócalo Health
Panelist
Sarah Lopez
Chief Medical Officer
Zócalo Health
PANELIST
Dr. Sarah Lopez was born and raised in Orange County, California. She was part of the first program in medical education for the Latino community (PRIME-LC) at UCI, and throughout her career, has been a proponent for advocacy through education. From establishing an emergency medicine fellowship to working as a Patient Safety Officer where she developed an innovative curriculum focused on a safe and just culture, Dr. Lopez aims to further build trust between health institutions and the community.
Marisa Perez
Senior Vice President Growth Acceleration
PepsiCo Foods North America
Panelist
Marisa Perez
Senior Vice President Growth Acceleration
PepsiCo Foods North America
PANELIST
Bio coming soon!
Carlos Puertas
Senior Director of Human Resources
Northgate Gonzalez Markets
Panelist
Carlos Puertas
Senior Director of Human Resources
Northgate Gonzalez Markets
PANELIST
With over 20 years of experience in various Human Resources disciplines, Dr. Carlos Puertas is a seasoned HR professional with expertise in leading and designing strategic Human Resources and Talent Management initiatives. A California native, Carlos currently serves as the Senior Director of Human Resources at Northgate Gonzalez Markets, a leading Hispanic grocery chain based in Southern California. In his role, Carlos oversees all HR functions, including Talent Acquisition, Learning and Development, Associate Experience, HRIS, Compensation, Shared Services, and Associate Benefits and Wellbeing. His responsibilities further extend to ensuring compliance with employment laws and participating on multiple board and steering committees. Carlos excels at aligning HR initiatives with broader business and operational goals while nurturing an inclusive and operationally excellent work environment.
Prior to Northgate, Dr. Puertas held various human resources positions at Applied Learning Science, Blizzard Entertainment, The Walt Disney Company, Southern California Edison, and Kaiser Permanente. His academic background includes a Ph.D. and M.A. in Organizational Psychology from Claremont Graduate University, and a B.A. in Psychology from UCLA. Working in the Hispanic grocery industry, Carlos is able to use his cultural heritage and Spanish fluency to bring a multi-cultural perspective to his work and associates while aligning with today’s increasingly diverse corporate landscapes.
Ray Ricky Rivera
Principal Owner
Panelist
Ray Ricky Rivera
Principal Owner
Norwalk Brew House LLC
PANELIST
Ray Ricky Rivera is a former music industry professional with 20+ years of experience in branding, marketing and developing audiences within the American-Latino market.
As co-founder of the SoCal Cerveceros homebrew club and producer for the Coldxela beer festival, Ray finds himself uniquely positioned to curate and impact a new generation of craft beer drinkers. As former VP of Operations for a startup beer & wine wholesaler, Ray has taken his industry experience and launched the Norwalk Brew House beer company.
Norwalk Brew House is a self-distributed contract brewed beer operation dedicated to leveraging products, influence and brand to give back to the greater community. NBH’s motto is, “Make Good Beer, Do Good Things.”
NBH’s commitment to impacting culture and industry is showcased in its unique beer projects, bringing together brewers, musicians, artists and creatives alike.
Current products in distribution at retail are: Bidi Bidi Blonde Blond (Mexican American blonde ale), Agua De Oro (Mexican-style lager); a collaboration with Olympic gold medalist Brenda Villa, and La Mano Mexican-style lager, the official beer of the Don Clemente Loteria game company.
Gelssy and Gipsy Rodriguez
Entrepreneurs and Social Media Personalities
Moda2000 brand
Panelists
Gelssy and Gipsy Rodriguez
Entrepreneurs and Social Media Personalities
Moda2000 brand
PANELISTS
Gipsy and Gelssy Rodriguez are two first-generation Mexican American sisters who helped catapult Moda2000, their family’s California quinceañera dress store, into social media fame. Gipsy, 24, works as the brand’s creative director and Gelssy, 22, works as its business director. Together, the pair have helped make viral the coming-of-age experience that is a quinceañera, as well as the gorgeous gowns that are a huge part of the tradition, racking up over 3.2M+ followers on the platform and counting. The innovative, trailblazing Latina sisters are giving the quinceañera a modern twist in the age of social media and are not only helping young women find the gown of their dreams, but also keeping the beautiful tradition alive.
Arturo San Vicente
Global Strategic Partnerships Manager
Panelist
Arturo San Vicente
Global Strategic Partnerships Manager
Google
PANELIST
Arturo San Vicente is a 2018 graduate of the UCI Merage School of Business. He currently serves as Global Strategic Partnerships Manager at Google, where he navigates complex negotiations with top PC OEMs. Previously at Microsoft, Arturo led the company’s worldwide education sales strategy during the critical pandemic transition to remote learning.
Geovanna Waters, PsyD
President
Dr. Yasmin Davidds Leadership Institute
Panelist
Geovanna Waters, PsyD
President
Dr. Yasmin Davidds Leadership Institute
PANELIST
Dr. Geovanna Henao Waters, a native of Colombia, immigrated to the United States at the tender age of six, finding her upbringing in the vibrant heart of Los Angeles. She pursued her academic and professional endeavors with remarkable determination, forging a distinguished path that blends psychology, organizational management, and business leadership.
