Leadership and Diversity Through the Eyes of General
Officers panel (L-R) Dr. Gladys Brignoni, Deputy
Commander, Force Readiness Command, USCG; Rear
Admiral James Rendon, Superintendent USCGA; Rear
Admiral Christina M. “Tina” Alvarado, Deputy Chief,
Bureau of Medicine & Surgery, Reserve Policy and
Integration, USN and Vice Admiral Sandra Stosz,
Deputy Commandant Mission Support, USCG.
The first panel of the day titled “Workforce
of the future…Jobs in Today’s Economy”
focused on the jobs and careers at the federal
government and the intelligence community.
Moderated by Carmen Middleton, Former
Deputy Executive Director, CIA and Founder of
Common Table Consulting, panelists included
Ilka S. Rodriguez-Diaz, Chief Support Hiring
Division, CIA; Carmen Cantor, Director, Human
Resources, U.S. Department of State; and Arlene
Gaylord, Assistant Director, Federal of Investigation
Office of EEO Affairs, FBI.
Attendees learned ways to prepare themselves
to take advantage of new professional opportunities.
“Work hard and be kind,” advised Gaylord. “It
might be a slower path but people will remember you.”
The second panel of the day titled “Military-to-
Civilian Transition... Understanding the Cultural
Differences Military Transition, focused on the
integration of returning military into the civilian
workplace. A major initiative for LATINA
Style and its partners, the workshop
touched on the challenging cultural gap that
exists between military and corporate entities
toward veterans. Moderated by Brenda
Durham, SVP & Regional General Counsel,
Marriott International Inc., panelists included
Margarita Bauza, Diversity Communications,
General Motors; Marc Lopez, Director, Talent
Acquisition, Nationwide; Antonia McLaren,
Claims Service Manager, USAA and Lauran
Bacon, Senior Manager, Military Programs, Hilton.
The panel elaborated on the importance of
preparing for the civilian life.
“You have to figure out how these skills apply
in the civilian world,” shared Lopez. “A lot of
times they do. Confidence is key, don’t be afraid
to sell yourself.”
A strong and effective military spouse
group is a tremendous asset to both seasoned
and young spouses. Michael Sena, DoD Deputy
Robert E. Bard, President & CEO, LATINA Style, Inc.;
Commander Alvarez Jr., USN Retired; Colonel Isabel
Rivera Smith; U.S. Army National Guard; Cynthia S. Tolle,
SES, National Guard Bureau; Jacqueline Ray-Morris, EEO
Manager for Minority, National Guard Bureau and Lupita
Colmenero, Executive Vice President, LATINA Style, Inc.
Director of Diversity Management and Equal
Opportunity provided remarks and introduced the
third panel of the day titled “The Role of the
Military Spouse.” The panel acknowledged the
contributions and sacrifices a military spouse
makes for their family and country.
Moderated by Felicitas Rendón, Military
Spouse of Superintendent of the USCG
Academy, panelists included Ximena Rozo,
Founder and Owner of Ximena Rozo Design;
Darlene Johnston, Spouse of Rear Admiral
Michael Johnston, USCG; Cassaundra Martinez,
2017 AFI Army Spouse of the Year, VP-Dog Tag
Alumni Association and Military Spouse and
Betsy Eves, Caregiver, Dole Caregiver Fellow
– Elizabeth Dole Foundation, President Dog Tag
Inc., Alumni Association.
“One word to describe my role as a
military spouse…resilient,” shared Rozo with
the audience.
Attendees were eager to hear advice on
leadership and self-development from leaders
in the military during the General Officer panel
titled “Discipline, Commitment, Courage and
Achieving Your Potential.”
Moderated by Dr. Gladys Brignoni, USCG,
Deputy Commander, USCG Force Readiness
Command; panelists included Vice Admiral
Sandra Stosz, USCG, Deputy Commandant Mission
Support; Rear Admiral Christina Alvarado, USN,
Deputy Chief, Bureau of Medicine & Surgery
Reserve Policy and Integration; and Rear Admiral
James Rendón, USCG, 41st Superintendent of
the USCG Academy.
“I think sometimes being the only one in a
group of people can be empowering,” shared
vice admiral Stosz.
After a full day of workshops, LATINA Style
honored the accomplishments of women serving
in the Armed Forces during the Distinguished
Military Awards Luncheon.
(L-R) Robert E. Bard, President & CEO, LATINA Style;
Lieutenant Colonel Adrian Foster, U.S. Army, Battalion
Executive Officer at 759th Military Police Battalion;
Commander Alvarez Jr., USN Retired; Specialist Melanie
M. Adamski, USA; First Sergeant Kymberly McDougle,
USA and Lupita Colmenero, Executive Vice President,
LATINA Style, Inc.
(L-R) Commander Alvarez Jr., USN Retired; Cadet First
Class Falon E. Little, USAF Academy and Dr. Sonia
Esquivel, Academic Advising and Assistant Professor
of Spanish, USAF Academy.
(L-R) Commander Alvarez Jr., USN Retired; Chief
Legalman Alicia R. Cooper, USN; Master Chief Legalman
Jondell Ritchie, USN and Rear Admiral Christina M.
“Tina” Alvarado, USN.
(L-R) Bianca Barcelo, Assistant General Counsel, Library of
Congress and Lieutenant Commander Johnny
Quezada, USN Retired and Director of Military Affairs at
LATINA Style, Inc.
24 www.latinastyle.com LATINAStyle Vol. 23, No. 6, 2017