Leading Latinas

They come from all over the country, with varied backgrounds and different dreams. Some received Ivy League educations, while others learned at the school of hard knocks, laboring at the side of immigrant parents. There are many contemporaries for women like Monica Lozano and Janet Murguia. They have in common passion, determination, intelligence and drive. Individually and together, they are redefining the role of Hispanic women in the marketplace. From media to advocacy, construction to government, labor unions to board rooms, these women are opening doors, shattering glass ceilings, and blazing the trail for the next generation. Here are this year’s 20 most influential and outstanding Hispanic women in business.

At the helm of the Washington-based nonprofit are Monica Lozano, who chairs NCLR’s board of directors, and Janet Murguia, the group’s president and chief executive officer. The women share many inspiring qualities: “[They are] two very dedicated, committed, successful, accomplished Latinas who are a great source of pride for Hispanic Americans everywhere,” says Michael Barrera, president and chief executive officer of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Lozano, 50, has spent the past two decades in leadership posts at the Spanish-language La Opinión newspaper in Los Angeles, a family business that was founded by her grandfather in 1926. She’s been the publisher and CEO of the paper since 2004 and serves as senior vice president of ImpreMedia, a company created that same year, which also publishes four other Spanish-language newspapers, including El Diario La Prensa in New York.

Under her leadership, La Opinión, the nation’s largest-circulation Spanish-language daily, has shifted its coverage from Mexican affairs to more domestic issues. Lozano is credited, too, with having a positive effect on Hispanic media in general. “She’s been an articulate spokesperson at the national level for our [Hispanic print] industry and the Hispanic community,” says Thomas Oliver, executive director and CEO of the National Association of Hispanic Publications.

The Los Angeles native and mother of two has helped her paper become a vehicle that empowers Latinos, she says, “by closing the communication gap” on topics like healthcare and education through its content and community involvement.

Lozano also is personally involved with organizations that focus on those two issues, which she views as “the most important when it comes to improving this world for everyone.” She serves on the University of California Board of Regents and The Board of Trustees of the University of Southern California, as well as the boards of the California HealthCare Foundation and the Weingart Foundation in Los Angeles, which awards grants that benefit the underserved in Southern California.

Corporate America has also come calling. Lozano sits on the board of directors of both Bank of America and Walt Disney, making her one of only 21 Hispanic women to hold a Fortune 1,000 board seat, according to a 2003-2004 study by the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility.

Lozano hasn’t risen up in the business world alone, however. “I’ve learned a lot from my family and I owe them a lot,” she says.

A strong, successful family of Mexican heritage is actually a distinction both La Raza leaders share. Leading an organization like the National Council of La Raza, which itself is seen by many as leading the nation’s more than 40 million Latinos, isn’t a task for the meek. The advocacy group with a network of 300 affiliated community-based organizations needs powerful people to lead the fight for its scores of issues, including education, voter mobilization, community development, and, of course, immigration.

Janet Murguia has six siblings, and the clan that grew up in a small, one-bathroom house in Kansas City, Kan., includes two federal judges—Janet’s twin sister, Mary, and their brother, Carlos. “We didn’t have a lot of economic resources, but we were rich in values and love, and I think that my parents sacrificed and their hard work paid off,” Murguia says. “They knew how important education would be and had a real sense of optimism.”

Murguia, 45, has a law degree herself. She worked for former Kansas Congressman Jim Slattery for seven years before becoming a senior staffer at the Clinton White House from 1994 to 1999 and then a deputy campaign manager for the Gore-Lieberman presidential campaign in 2000. She spent the next three years as the executive vice chancellor for university relations at her alma mater, the University of Kansas. In 2004 she joined NCLR as executive director and chief operating officer before shifting into her current position in January 2005.

“I saw this as a unique moment in history to serve the community and felt this is a calling more than anything else,” Murguia says of her decision to accept the post.

She’s up for the challenge, says Diana Aviv, president and CEO of the Independent Sector, a nonprofit coalition of 550 charitable organizations that counts Murguia among its board members. “I think she’s the right person at the right time,” Aviv says. “She comes across as just plain folk but don’t be fooled by that image. She’s very skilled and sophisticated.”

Murguia shares her skills as a member of Merrill Lynch’s diversity advisory board. She had also served on NCLR’s board of directors for nearly two years before joining its executive ranks.

Of all her life’s accomplishments, she is most proud of being able to introduce her parents to her former boss. “My dad said, ‘Thank you for giving my daughter this opportunity,’ and President [Bill] Clinton said to them, ‘I appointed Janet and she walked you into this office, but you’re the ones who got her here,’ ” Murguia says. “In so many respects that’s true not just for my family, but for so many Hispanic families. ... My parents wanted us to achieve the American Dream they had such hope for.”

Aida Alvarez
Director,
Wal-mart
Aida Alvarez was the first Hispanic woman to head the U.S. Small Business Administration and the first person of Puerto Rican descent to hold a Cabinet-level post when she served as a member of President Clinton’s administration from 1997 to 2001. A cum laude graduate of Harvard University and former award-winning journalist, she now serves on the board of Wal-Mart Stores, the No. 2 ranked Fortune 500 company.

Regina Montoya
CEO,
New America Alliance
This Wellesley College and Harvard Law School graduate has worked as educator, commentator, business consultant, chairperson and presidential aide. She now heads the NAA, one of the nation’s most influential Hispanic organizations.

Linda Alvarado
President,
Alvarado construction
Alvarado made the history books by becoming the first Hispanic woman involved in the ownership of a Major League Baseball team, the Colorado Rockies. Alvarado is an outstanding businesswoman who built her own 450-employee construction company and sits on several Fortune 500 company boards.

Rosario Marin
Secretary,
California State & Consumer Services Agency
Appointed by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to her current post, Marin oversees contracts for one of the largest economies in the world. She formerly served as treasurer of the United States from 2001-2003 under President George W. Bush. She has received international recognition for her personal commitment and volunteer work on behalf of people with disabilities.

Deborah E. Gallegos
Chief Investment Officer,
new York City Comptroller’s Office
Gallegos supervises the development of investment policies, standards and guidelines for New York City’s five pension funds, which hold over $85 billion in assets. She was previously the deputy state investment officer for the New Mexico State Investment Council, where she oversaw a significant asset reallocation and implementation of a comprehensive private equity program.

Sonia Maria Green
Director of Hispanic Diversity Marketing & Sales,
GM
Since her 2001 appointment, Green has vastly improved the company’s reach in the Latino market. Prior to joining the male-dominated world of GM, she worked at Avon Products as director of the U.S. Hispanic marketing division, where she led the company’s strategic and marketing focus and watched over Latin American operations.

Carolyn Curiel
editorial board member,
The New York Times
Since 2002, Curiel has served on The New York Times editorial board, which is responsible for the opinion pages of the newspaper. She has been a reporter with United Press International, The Washington Post, The New York Times and ABC News Nightline. During the first term of the Clinton administration, she served as special assistant to the president and senior presidential speechwriter. In 1997, she became U.S. ambassador to Belize, where she spent three years focused on issues concerning environment, trade, immigration and law enforcement.

Elizabeth Gallagher
President & CEO,
SAVI Construction
Succeeding in a male dominated industry with her own construction company, Gallagher is also very active in the Hispanic community. SAVI is currently helping to update the Cardiac Progressive Care Unit at Desert Springs Hospital, which with her help, is developing Southern Nevada’s first Latino Center of Medical Excellence.

Sara Martinez Tucker
President & CEO,
Hispanic Scholarship Fund
The first and only Hispanic female executive at AT&T more than a decade ago, Martinez Tucker gave up life in the corporate world in search of a higher purpose. She worked at several nonprofit projects before dedicating herself to the Hispanic Scholarship Fund. As president and CEO of the fund, she has formed partnerships with companies large and small to assist more than 7,500 Hispanic students with about $30 million in scholarships yearly.

Shakira
Shakira is considered to be the first truly global artist of our time. After a successful beginning as a pop star in the Latin market, she exploded into global stardom in 2001 and continues a non-stop hit-after-hit musical career that seems to be just beginning.

Dorene C. Dominguez
President,
Vanir Group of Companies
Dominguez heads one of the nation’s leading construction and project management firms, which has completed more than $8.5 billion in real estate developments, design-build lease and construction services since 1990. She is also very active in the community partaking in organizations such as New America Alliance, National Council of La Raza, Latin Business Association, Main Street, Inc., Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers and HOPE (Hispanas Organized for Political Equality).

Christy Haubegger
Founder, Director,
Latina Media Ventures
Haubegger’s recognition reaches far beyond the Hispanic community. The business plan she wrote for a class while
attending Stanford Law School turned into the successful Latina magazine, the first publication targeted exclusively
to Hispanic women in the U.S.

Nina Vaca
CEO, Pinnacle
Vaca founded Pinnacle in 1996 as an information technology services provider to Fortune 500 companies. Today, the firm’s clientele includes industry leaders in telecommunications, financial services, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, consumer products, and the business process outsourcing sectors.

Vilma Martinez
Partner,
Munger, Tolles & Olson, LLP
Martinez is considered an expert in federal and state court litigation and employment counseling. Before her current position, she served as resident and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. She is credited for turning that once-fledgling organization into a nationally significant institution that gives political and legal voice to those suffering from racial discrimination. Currently, she serves on the boards of Anheuser-Busch Companies, Fluor Corporation, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation, and Bank of the West. In 2003, she co-founded The Directors’ Council, a board placement search firm that emphasizes women and minority candidates.

Marisa Rivera
President, National Hispana
Leadership Institute (NHLI)
As president of NHLI, Rivera is helping other young Latinas become leaders in their communities. NHLI is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the education and leadership development of Hispanic women.

Maria Sastre
Vice President, international, Latin America, Caribbean and Asia, Sales & Marketing,
Royal Caribbean international & Celebrity Cruises
Sastre is responsible for sales and marketing initiatives and revenue generation for her company in these growth regions. Her professional affiliations include serving on the boards of directors of Darden Restaurants, Laidlaw and Publix Supermarkets.

Maria del Pilar Avila
Vice President of Marketing,
Palladium Equity Partners, LLC
Avila leads strategic marketing aimed at fortifying the positioning of Palladium, a private equity firm that manages over $500 million in capital—making it one of the largest minority-owned firms in the nation. Before joining Palladium in 2005, Avila was the first executive director of the New America Alliance. From 1996-1999 she was marketing vp for the USHCC.

Lula Rodriguez
Vice President & Director of Corporate Communications & Public affairs –Latin America & The Caribbean, CitiGroup
Rodriguez has been responsible for corporate communications for Citigroup throughout Latin America since 2001. Her experience in the area of communications includes her previous job as assistant secretary for public affairs of the U.S. State Department, where she reported directly to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.>

Jeanette Hernandez-Prenger
President, ECCO Select
Hernandez-Prenger’s leadership has taken ECCO Select from a start-up company to a thriving multi-million dollar consulting agency. Prenger founded the company, Elite Computer Consultants Corporation, in 1995 after leaving a job at a major company. Her initial home-based staffing business is now a steadily growing 100-employee firm that has picked up numerous awards and recognitions. In 2004, Prenger served on the Bush-Cheney National Hispanic Leadership Team.

Miriam Lopez
Chairman and CEO,
TransAtlantic Bank
Since 2003, Lopez has been at the helm of TransAtlantic Bank, a locally owned independent community bank. Prior to this, she served as chair for the American Bankers Association Community Council and as president of the Florida Bankers Association.