Southwest Region LATINA Style
Business Series a Success!
Ramiro Cavazos,
President & CEO,
USHCC.
Alice Rodriguez, Chairwoman,
USHCC Head of
Community Impact,
Consumer Bank Senior
Advisor - Managing
Director, JP Morgan Chase
& Co.
LATINA Style, Inc., the premier company
addressing the needs of professional Latinas in
the United States, held its virtual Southwest
Region (Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico,
Texas) LATINA Style Business Series on Thursday, Oct.
21, 2021. The award-winning conference for Latina
entrepreneurs allowed participants the opportunity
to learn about business ownership and partake in
career development seminars designed to benefit
Latina professionals and entrepreneurs. In addition,
participants partook in several workshops aimed to
address the strains placed by the current pandemic.
Themed “Latinas Pivot and Adapt: Conquering
New Opportunities In 2021 and Beyond,” the program
included national co-chairs Ramiro Cavazos, President
& CEO, USHCC, and Alice Rodriguez, Chairwoman,
USHCC Head of Community Impact, Consumer Bank
Senior Advisor - Managing Director, JP Morgan Chase
& Co. Regional co-chair remarks were provided by Dr.
Betty Uribe, Managing Director, JPMorgan Chase.
Co-Chair remarks were provided by Maria
Salinas, President & CEO, LA Chamber of Commerce
and, Nina Vaca, Chairperson & CEO, The Pinnacle
Group. Title sponsor remarks were given by Lauren
Ugulini, Vice President, Property Actuarial Risk,
Nationwide. New Mexico Lt. Governor Howie Morales
also provided remarks.
The first session of the day, “Restructuring Your
Business-Staying Relevant in a New Business
Environment,” focused on how Latina-owned
businesses restructured their business to continue to
operate and the resources that are making it possible
for them to stay in business. Moderated by Nina Vaca,
Chairperson & CEO, The Pinnacle Group, panelists
included; Melissa Rodriguez, CEO, Mel Rodriguez &
Dr. Betty Uribe,
Managing Director,
JPMorgan Chase.
Maria Salinas, President
& CEO, LA Chamber of
Commerce.
Co; Patricia Lee Chavez, President, PLC Enterprises;
Christella Sanchez, Senior Stakeholder Liaison,
IRS; Heather Luzzi, District Director, US Small Business
Administration, and Baldemar Hernandez,
Vice President, Business Relationship Banker,
Comerica Bank.
The Wellness Break-Presented by Nationwide
was presented by Valeria Aloe, President & Founder,
Abundancia Consciente.
The second session of the day, “How Mental
Health Affects You, Your Work and Your Business,”
focused on the pressures faced during the COVID-19
Pandemic. Experts helped recognize the signals
of stress (the shadow pandemic) and provided
the audience with tools to address these issues.
Moderated by Robert Bard, President & CEO,
LATINA Style, Inc., panelists included Dr. Valerie
Romero-Leggott, MD, Vice-Chancellor of Diversity,
Chief Diversity Officer, Univ. of New Mexico Health
Sciences; Dr. Jennifer Gomez-Chavez, Ed.D. Vice
Nina Vaca, Chairperson &
CEO, The Pinnacle
Group.
President for Institutional Engagement, Excelencia in
Education, and Dr. Lauri Medina, MD, Director, Center
for Life Wellness Clinic, Univ. of New Mexico.
The third session of the day, “Cultural Mindsets:
Decoded-presented by Nationwide,” included Lory
Burgos, Multicultural Marketing Director, Nationwide,
and Valeria Aloe, President & Founder, Abundancia
Consciente. The session focused on learning what it
takes to go from great to extraordinary by uncovering
and conquering limiting cultural mindsets.
The fourth session of the day, “Entrepreneurs
Spotlight: Lessons Learned,” focused on the do’s and
don’ts of running a successful business, and was
moderated by Maria Salinas, President & CEO, LA
Chamber of Commerce. Panelists included Melissa
Rodriguez, CEO, Mel Rodriguez & Co.; Miriam Marsh
Sifuentes, Founder & CEO, BellaGeneration Hair
System, and Veronica Corona, Founder & President,
CM Cleaning Solutions.
By Gloria Romano-Barrera
Patricia Lee Chavez,
President, PLC Enterprises.
Melissa Rodriguez, CEO,
Mel Rodriguez & Co.
New Mexico Lt.
Governor Howie Morales.
26 LATINAStyle Vol. 28, No. 1, 2022 www.latinastyle.com
/www.latinastyle.com
