GlobalMindED is an Inclusive Success Network^TM dedicated to creating a capable diverse talent pipeline, closing the equity gap for women and people of color, and connecting underrepresented/ underserved students to role models, mentors, internships, and jobs.

At the age of 3, my family immigrated to the US in the hull of a banana boat. A Tsunami had wiped out Cabo Gracias where our ancestors had lived for generations. We docked in Tampa, Florida. My parents sacrificed so much so their children could have a better life. My mother, Maria, cooked food, and scrubbed floors in the school lunchroom so I could get a scholarship to a Catholic school. My parents’ vision, determination, and sacrifice have been an endless source of inspiration and strength.

As the youngest daughter in a large Latino familia, my parents and 5 older brothers and sisters guided and prepared me to be the first to graduate from college. I was determined to make them proud and to contribute to this country that had provided so many opportunities.

In college, I saw John F Kennedy, who inspired my generation. I joined the Peace Corps and served in Santiago, Chile doing microenterprise work with low-income women. What happened was a cultural awakening. Growing up a girl, an immigrant, and low-income in the 40s and 50s I had never seen anyone in my culture holding any position of influence – not a bus driver, a clerk in a nice store, a teacher, a manager. And here I was in an incredibly developed country where everyone was of Hispanic descent.

I knew then that it was not my culture or heritage that had kept my family and culture marginalized. I also understood that as a woman I could break boundaries and forge new horizons. I came back to the US understanding this at a time when Latinos weren’t even a recognized group. (This did not happen until 11 years later.) And the feminist movement had not arisen.

I believe in what Latinos call destino or destiny – that I was born at a certain time in history, the youngest daughter of an immigrant family, and just when feminism and Civil Rights were emerging. I also had a mother as strong as steel and against great odds forged ahead and educated her family. I believe I was prepared for leadership through my early experiences.

I moved to Denver and began working with women’s empowerment, especially Latinas. In 1977 I met with a group of women to start Mi Casa Women’s Resource Center and spent 10 years building the organization. Then I began to understand that by becoming leaders, women and people of color (who were called minorities) could change the social structures that caused inequity and discrimination.

My destino called again. I was asked by the Coors company to set up the first national institute to teach Latinas leadership and have worked in the leadership field since 1987. I was the first Latina faculty at the Center for Creative Leadership and a Kellogg Foundation leadership scholar. Through these experiences, I saw there were no books or documentation of how people of color or Latinos lead. Yet through colonization, slavery, being deemed minorities, and having limited advantages in the past 500 years, we have survived and thrived.

Our leaders have brought forth unique, powerful, community-centered, culturally strong, celebratory, civil rights and social change-oriented leadership that has brought us to where we are today. I wanted to document, honor, and integrate this leadership into mainstream US leadership.

My book, Salsa, Soul, and Spirit: Leadership for a Multicultural Age honored this tradition and brought forth the voices of leaders in communities of color. It is considered a seminal work in the multicultural leadership field. My 2^nd book, The Power of Latino Leadership is a handbook on how Latinos have advanced and puts forth a vision for the multicultural future that is rising. As a mixed people from 26 countries, Latinos are the prototype for this future and the bridge uniting this hemisphere.

Inclusive leaders are respectful of all traditions and cultures including being respectful of every individual. Inclusive leaders break the dominant culture paradigm and turn hierarchical leadership upside down so that people are central and empowered. The inclusive leader serves people and sees themselves as equal to everyone else.

My mission is to build a multicultural society and to honor the contributions of Latino people. The diversity and inclusion conversation in the US is centered on Black and White. Yet today 60% of children under 18 identify as multicultural or mixed. We need to expand the diversity conversation especially important is an intergenerational approach.

I want my life to be an example, not an exception, to help prepare others to lead and to serve. I want to build a nation of Latino/a leaders and integrate the gifts, talents, and cultures of all people into a compassionate, equitable, and people-centered world.

GlobalMindED’s 10^th Anniversary Conference

Register to bring a first gen student.

The 10th annual conference in Denver will gather national thought leaders across sectors including education, business, health, policy, tech, and more. If you have never been to a GlobalMindED event, you will be in for a treat, as this year will be a reunion for many of our graduates, speakers, and Inclusive Leader Award winners who have been honored throughout the years. 

Would you like to give to support our student programs? You can scan the QR code below or go to our website to support our year-round programs. GlobalMindED is a 501(c)(3).

GlobalMindED | 303-327-5688 | contact@globalminded.org | www.globalminded.org