ALPFA’s Future Has
Never Been Brighter
By Damian Rivera, CEO, Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA)
His View
ALPFA started 47 years ago as the first
national Latinx professional association
in the United States focused on
impacting the lives of aspiring and talented
Latinx professionals across the country. With the
opportunity of stepping into the role of CEO of
ALPFA I am honored and humbled to continue
the legacy built by our members, countless
volunteers, leadership teams from our
professional and student chapters, and corporate
partners that have made ALPFA what it is today.
As I think back to my childhood growing up in
Wagner Projects in Spanish Harlem, NY in the
80’s, I can’t believe that in the same way the
Latinx community helped give me opportunities in
life, I am now in a position to do the same for
others. What makes it even more exciting is I’m
not alone, I have an extended family of 80,000+
members focused on the same mission.
For those that have not heard of ALPFA
we are a family of passionate students,
professionals and corporate partners that
together empower the Latinx community for
success. This group is often referred to as our
ALPFAmilia. ALPFAmilia isn’t just a word, it is the
culture and fabric of our organization, nuestra
cultura. It’s common to hear stories of Latinx
students who show up to a college campus, far
from home, searching for someone who looks
like them, someone who they can share their
experiences with and someone who understands
their journey. On campuses throughout the
nation, we are there to help students, some first
generation, some not, but all looking for a group
to embrace on this portion of their life’s journey.
One example of where this happens is at the
ALPFA Annual National Convention, which is
occurring in Nashville, TN this year.
Yelesina Hernandez, a student at the
University of Houston Bauer College of Business
was given a scholarship and an internship from
E&Y at the 2018 convention. And Rena
Damian Rivera is the CEO of the Association of Latino Professionals for
America (ALPFA). Prior to taking on the CEO role of ALPFA, Damian has
been a Managing Director in Accenture’s Resources Utilities practice for the
past 21 years where he started his career as a coder in their Technology
Practice. Most recently, Damian focused on Customer Care Transformation
work for utilities including helping clients with strategically pivoting to
digital capabilities as they look to improve customer engagement. Damian
has performed Digital Transformation Strategy and Implementation,
Customer Information System builds, Utility Customer Analytics as well as
Customer Care operations work.
Lethbridge, a student at UCF who is a STEM
major in mathematics, received an internship
offer from Synchrony as a Data Analyst is another
example. These are the opportunities that create
transformative impact early in life.
The ALPFAmilia also focuses on our Latinx
professionals. Leaders like Elizabeth Diep, who
joined ALPFA 20 years ago as a motivated
accounting student at Pace University, sturdily
supporting ALPFA, joining PwC, and earning
promotions all the way to partner more than six
years ago.
As we approach our 50th anniversary, we
are embarking on our next evolution. Our strategy
will provide a holistic support system for our
membership through focused core knowledge
of ALPFA resources, and strategic partnerships
with other corporations, non-profits, and
governments. We are calling this model the
Social Mobility Value Chain (SMVC), which is the
ecosystem of programs and partnerships that
together provide members of its community
the skills, resources, and opportunities to have
mobility up socioeconomic strata.
It’s time for a bold plan that will drive
exponential growth and position our community
for success in all facets of business and
community life. Our goal is not to grow ALPFA for
ALPFA’s sake, but to enable our community to
grow vigorously activating social mobility for the
Latinx community across the country. And, when
the Latinx community win, in the marketplace
and in the community, our country wins. LS
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46 www.latinastyle.com LATINAStyle Vol. 25, No. 1, 2019
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