By Deidre Montague
Hartford Courant | Jun 07, 2022 at 12:41 pm
Original article: https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-latina-symposium-20220607-o6zp34ghxjfibpn7r55vnlhylu-story.html
High school student Aliana Jimerez said she worried when she immigrated to the United States seven years ago that she would fail, that she was “not good enough.”
So the junior at Academy of International Students in Bloomfield, looks for motivation.
Jimerez said she found that at the recent 19th Annual 2022 Latinas & Power Symposium at the Downtown Marriott Hotel in Hartford.
“Most of the stuff [that] they said here, it really made me motivated to keep doing what I do. … I’m really thankful for this because it really helps me a lot to plan in the future,” Jimerez said.
Students such as Jimerez are the reason that CEO and founder Marilyn Alverio said she puts on the symposium and similar events through her company, Latinas & Power Corp.
“When I came to an event like this … in high school, this is what I saw. I said, ‘Oh, so there are many people that can do this, too.’ Because at one point, I thought it was not for brown people [or] people of color. So that [it] is … we are building our platform. We’re very excited.”
Alverio decided 19 years ago to create her own roundtable after she was the only Latina in management at her previous company.
“I asked myself, where are all the Latinas? I decided to create my own roundtable, my own board of directors. Like myself, other Latina professionals felt the same way about their company. We would get together and talk about how we can support each other, [such as] what did you do when you were in that team meeting and somebody made a derogatory remark about Puerto Ricans?”
More than 500 women attended the recent 19th annual Latinas & Power Symposium, New England’s longest-running and largest event for business and career-minded Latinas. This year’s event was entitled “The Future is Bright: Opportunities, Preparedness & Choices.”
In her opening speech, Alverio gave a special shout-out to all the high school students who were in attendance, noting how important their presence is to the audience.
“You’re the most important [people] in this room,” she said. “The students coming from high schools, it is critically important that we show them that there’s opportunity out here, that we show them that there is a good life that they could have, and that there is a positive journey.”
Alverio said that it was very helpful to her to hear from other Latina professionals on the importance of taking teachable moments, sharing with people about culture, traditions and ethnicity and moving that forward.
These discussions fuel her mission for her company, which is to inspire, motivate, and encourage fellow Latinas, while providing the tools and resources necessary for them to succeed in whatever career space they choose or journey that they are embarking on, she said.
“If you’re in business, corporate America, or in municipalities, you need to be here because we need to continue to build the support system. The fact of the matter is that our culture does play a role in how we bring ourselves and show up.”
The attendees were able to witness Alverio put her statement of bringing her full self to the table on display, as she salsa danced up to the stage.
“Look at me. I’ve been a salsa dancer all my life, why would I leave that out when I have the opportunity to share who I am with others,” she said.
When asked about the importance of the conference in the state, Alverio said that there is a need to build a pipeline of talent for businesses and companies that are looking to understand how to better grow and become better at being more inclusive.
“New England is reflective of what is happening throughout the entire country. So for companies, it’s really important to make sure that we are building the kind of capacity that is needed within underserved communities so that we have people that work for us and represent those communities. So that we have the diversity of funds to help companies and businesses grow, [while] help(ing) our communities continue to elevate themselves, so that they can be successful, financially, and socially. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
Highlights from the symposium included media entrepreneur and women’s empowerment advocate Nely Galán, who spoke of the importance of economic and personal independence; CNBC correspondent Bertha Coombs, who spoke about not being afraid to bring one’s full self to a job; and Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa, author of “A Woman of Endurance,” who talked about healing from within.
To view the full report of The Latina Pathway to Excellence in a Post-Pandemic World, click here. For more information on Latinas & Power, visit latinasandpower.com.
