The Future of Work is Diverse, Inclusive, Just and Equitable

GlobalMindED closes the equity gap by creating a capable, diverse talent pipeline through connections to role models, mentors, internships for low-income students, returning adults, First Gen to college and inclusive leaders who teach them, work with them and hire them.
Odyssey Teams Helping Hands prosthetic hand-building philanthropic event at Georgia Tech
Combining Engineering and Desire to Help, how Extracurricular Activities Lead to Passion: Meet Mahogany Labor

What is your personal story and what key moments defined you as a leader?

Ever since I was a kid, I had an easiness in understanding math and science. I remember I would arrive to my grandparents’ house, after school, have the lunch my grandmother had prepared for my sister and me, and spend the rest of the evening in the office room on the second floor doing my homework until I was done. When it came to my academics my mother never ‘followed me around’ reminding me of the things I had to do; she would always tell me I was on top of 'my game'. I grew up being a curious and extroverted kid. I asked a lot of questions and when I did not understand something, I would search for an answer. All these traits helped me thrive in school, where I slowly became more involved in the different clubs. Through the years, I became a mentor to my friends and classmates as I would help them with their homework and school projects. Consequently, during my last year, I was elected president of the Math Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta. These were the first instances in which I saw myself as a leader and started to comprehend what I was capable of.

I spent my childhood and early teenage years in San Jose, Costa Rica, where I grew up with my mom and my sister. After high school graduation, my dad, a civil engineer, motivated me to apply to universities abroad.

Now, I am a third-year student at Georgia Institute of Technology majoring in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. At Tech, I have been able to develop and improve my leadership skills with my extracurricular involvements while staying focused on my academics and professional development. I am currently the Programs Chair of the Georgia Tech Chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers, where I ensure events, programs and initiatives are properly executed. Moreover, I am an Edge Leader and Women of Color Initiative Ambassador for the Office of Minority Educational Development. Through these involvements I mentor and provide freshmen and sophomore students with resources that will help them navigate through school.

Throughout my college journey, I have had various mentors, family included, who have supported me and helped me become the leader I am today. My goal, as a leader, is to open doors to many other minority students in the same way doors have been opened to me.

What community-driven projects have you spearheaded/participated in that you are proud of? What did you take away from these experiences?

I have had the opportunity to take part in and organize different community-driven projects that have redefined my view on life and be of impact to the communities around me. From all of them, I am the proudest of two in specific. The first one was my engagement in the development of the Climate Action Plan for Montgomery County in Rockville, Maryland. The main objective of this project was to bring together Montgomery County executives, NGO founders, and Maryland residents to develop recommendations that would be included in the Climate Action Plan set in place to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in the county, by an 80% in 2027. I specifically worked in the Youth Engagement and Education workgroup, which focused on developing the recommendations that would help implement climate change awareness in the Montgomery County Public School Systems’ curriculum. I still remember being one of the youngest people in the room, which made me feel somewhat nervous and overwhelmed. Nonetheless, my participation in the group helped demonstrate the hope for the future generations and the importance of youth involvement in the decision-making processes.

The second project was during the Fall of 2021, when I was the Technical Outreach and Community Help Chair for the Georgia Tech Chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers. I partnered with Odyssey Teams, to bring the first prosthetic hand-building philanthropic event to Georgia Tech campus. Odyssey Teams focuses on creating workshops and team building activities for organizations with the purpose of having a greater impact. Moreover, I decided to team up with the Georgia Tech Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers given my background as an Afro-Latina and my desire to bring to two minority communities together. This was an impactful activity as I made Georgia Tech minority students from different backgrounds come together, put their technical engineering skills into practice and build prosthetic hands that would help amputees around the world. Through this project I learned that even though a philanthropic event might be targeted to support a specific community, the lives of those working in the project are changed during the process.

As a leader, what motivates you to move forward in adversity? Where do you find your passion?

Most of the time people have the thought that leaders have everything under control, and nothing ever goes wrong for them. This usually happens because most of us, leaders, try to bring in a good energy knowing it will motivate others during difficult times. Nonetheless, we still have our own struggles and life circumstances that can bring us down.

I personally deal with self-doubt, fear of the unknown, and stress. I am an overthinker and usually tend to worry about the things that have not even happened yet. This can affect me during my decision-making times, but that’s when my support circle comes in. The three aspects in my life that motivate me to move forward are my faith, my family, and my friends. My faith is like my subconscious, that is where the good thoughts come from that I repeat to myself whenever I am in doubt. My family is where the good advice comes from. My parents, for example, have lived longer than I have and are good in giving me career path and life advice. My friends, they are the ones I can easily relate with and vice-versa because they are usually found in similar situations as me. They are the ones I go through ‘struggle’ with.

Motivation looks different for everyone, but I have learned that is the first thing we need to define as leaders. When everyone is counting on us, we need to know who and what we can count on.

What do you see yourself doing in the future?

In the next five years I see myself graduated from college, as a Chemical and Biomolecular engineer working for a healthcare and/or environmental company. As an engineer, I desire to support projects that benefit the underrepresented and low-income communities.

I see myself supporting education projects that provide education opportunities to students in countries like Sierra Leone and Costa Rica, where my dad and I grew up, respectively. I am aware of the improvement education can bring into someone’s life. There are many teenagers and young adults in third world countries who do not know the resources available to them that can be of support for their education. I want to bring those resources to them and make a difference in their education journey. 

In summary, I see myself as an active engineer and social work supporter.
2023 Georgia Tech Chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers Executive Board
The GlobalMindED Inclusive Success NetworkTM had another banner year of growth, impact, and outcomes for First Generation, poverty-affected and minoritized students. Here are some of the highlights: 
 
  • Return of in-person GlobalMindED conference with record attendance and the largest First Gen Leadership Class ever of 122 student leaders. See PhD Project brief video of the event. 
  • Our fourth annual Inclusive Leader Awards recognized 15 DEIB leaders across sectors.
  • Almost all our 100+ panels and sessions of 2022 featured a student. 
  • Of the 300+ speakers, 73% were diverse leaders sharing their thoughts. 
  • We held our first Industry Marketplace Career Exploration Arena at GlobalMindED 2022 with 40 companies, giving K-12, college students, educators, and leaders a way to learn about emerging fields and careers. Join us for the next one at GlobalMindED 2023. 
  • Our first satellite event at Georgia Institute of Tech was livestreamed via the Atlanta PBS affiliate. 
  • We became an official initiative of the Foundation for the Support the United Nations (FSUN) and will hold our first UN event on March 22, 2023. 
  • ·We served ten colleges with the GlobalMindED Success Collaborative connecting students at each HBCU, MSI, HIS and Tribal College with role models, mentors, internships, and jobs. 
  • We had partners/volunteers from Microsoft, Salesforce, Rubrik, HP, Stanford MBA and more. 
  • We spoke at the White House Initiative for HBCUs with sponsor Hewlett Packard. 
  • Our team, Board, Colorado Board and Executive Leadership Council are all majority diverse serving a majority diverse population of emerging leaders. 
  • We continued to publish our daily newsletter and conduct monthly virtual Equity events, led by people of color with majority diverse panelists and students. These are the role models for our students.
  • Our annual operating budget increased by 67% emerging COVID strong. 
  • We doubled our staff from four to eight as we grow to scale our impact. 
  • Our Young Professionals grew to 40 strong, with a ten-person leadership cabinet made up of, but not limited to, graduates of our programs who are now working professionals.  
  • Since 2015, we have successfully connected 1,200+ students to internships and jobs. 
  • Our founder, Carol Carter, was recognized as one of the Most Powerful Women in Denver by the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce and one of the Most Admired CEOs by the Denver Business Journal. 
 
We are grateful for the support, inclusive leadership, and financial contributions of our community and sponsors who work tirelessly to open doors for the students we serve, the institutions who support them, and the businesses and non-profits who are committed to hiring a capable, diverse talent pipeline.  We look forward to seeing all of you June 7-9 at our best event yet, GlobalMindED 2023 - Transforming Boundaries: Creating Systemic Access and Equity. The Inclusive Leaders Awards Dinner is June 7, followed by the conference June 8- 9 at the Denver Downtown Sheraton.  
Join us in Denver June 7-9 for GlobalMindED 2023
June 2022 Conference Summary in Photos and Videos
We had an inspiring conference in June after two years of virtual gatherings due to COVID. If you missed that, you can still be a part of the experience through the photos from the 2022 GlobalMindED conference, as well as seeing the completedto program for connections and inspiration.



Video remarks:
Honoring the 2022 Inclusive Leader Award Winners. Please see their stories:
GlobalMindED | 303-327-5688 | contact@globalminded.org | www.globalminded.org
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