The Latinx/Hispanic community in the United States makes up the largest minority group in the nation and accounts for the fastest growing population, according to recent census data. However, numbers show that only 4% of all executive positions in the country are held by Latinx leaders and only 3% of Fortune 1000 companies have Latinx executives represented on their boards. These alarming and disproportionate statistics are why we are asking, “Who’s at the table?” This conversation, moderated by BUILD President Thais Rezende and special guests Sara Lomelin Velten, Executive Director of Philanthropy Together, and Lorenzo Olvera, Director of the U.S. Senate Diversity Initiative under Senator Schumer’s office, will guide us through cultural barriers and the power there is when we all have a voice. Join us on October 13th as we discuss the importance and significance of systemic change.
October 13, 2021
12PM PST/
3PM EST
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FEATURING
Lorenzo Olvera
Lorenzo Olvera has over twelve years of experience
in public policy and government. He currently serves as the Director of the Senate Diversity Initiative in the Democratic leadership office of Senator Chuck Schumer. There, he and his team assist Senate Democratic offices in building a diverse workforce, one in which reflects the diversity of our nation.
Lorenzo served in the Obama Administration as
Deputy White House Liaison and Director of Leadership and Development at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) where he recruited, hired and helped manage political appointees. Before his time at DOE he was Special Advisor in the Office of Legislation and Congressional Affairs at the Department of Education. There, Lorenzo managed civil rights issues, tribal education, early childhood education, nominations, and congressional outreach. Before joining the Administration, he served in then, Congressman Xavier Becerra’s leadership office as a Member Outreach Assistant.
Lorenzo is a graduate of Georgetown University McDonough School of Business where he earned an Executive Masters in Leadership. He received a certificate on Strategies for Building
and Leading Diverse Organizations from Harvard Kennedy School and has a Bachelors in Political Economy from the College of Idaho.
Sara Lomelin Velten
Sara Lomelin is a connector of people and ideas, a relationship builder, and a firm believer that everyone can be a philanthropist. As founding executive director of Philanthropy Together, she is working to diversify and democratize philanthropy by creating the infrastructure needed for the giving circle model to flourish in ALL communities. Sara’s work provides a platform for different perspectives in the collective giving field—a unique giving model that has given away nearly 1.3 billion dollars in the past two decades and exploded in popularity among diverse audiences in the past five years.
Prior to Philanthropy Together, Sara served as Senior Director of Leadership Philanthropy at Opportunity Fund, now Accion Opportunity Fund, the largest nonprofit small business lender in the US. Previously at the Latino Community Foundation, Sara served as VP of Philanthropy for eight years and created the Latino Giving Circle Network™—the largest network of Latinx philanthropists in the US with 22 circles and 500 members.
Sara has traveled the world speaking about the power of collective giving, the correlation between civic engagement and Latino philanthropy, and collaborated with advocacy organizations globally. She currently serves on the National Council of the Women’s Philanthropy Institute at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and the Board of Directors of Battery Powered.v
MODERATOR
Thais Rezende
Thais comes to us from BizWorld, having formerly spent the last eight years as BizWorld’s CEO, where she grew the organization to become the largest teacher-led entrepreneurship education non-profit in the world, serving over 850,000 students worldwide. She launched BizWorld’s innovative YES! Program to support young entrepreneurs to gain access to tools, mentorship, and capital needed to make their entrepreneurial dreams a reality.
Thais holds an unwavering commitment to making economic opportunities and entrepreneurship education accessible to all students, particularly those from traditionally underserved and underrepresented backgrounds. She started her career in the non-profit world, focusing on micro-enterprise development. For eight years, she led the growth of innovative programming and the organizational expansion at Women’s Initiative for Self Employment. As the lead developer of the successful business propulsion program “SuccessLink,” she set a new national standard for entrepreneurship support services that became a national model. Thais worked for the Mexican Consulate as part of The Mexican Communities Abroad Team, where she helped implement and develop health, education, and business trade programs. Her background also includes journalism work in both TV and print, covering the tech industry. She resides with her husband and three daughters in Seattle.
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BUILD
BUILD works with youth from communities that are underserved, overlooked, and underestimated. Through our innovative, entrepreneurship-based college and career readiness program, students develop the confidence, skills, and network they need to succeed in the classroom, the workforce, and life.
