“It’s important as a woman of color to be in the room where it happens, in order to effect change from within our systems of power. Nonprofit boards, similar to for profit boards and government entities, decide on which issues are addressed and which aren’t, how they’re addressed and by whom. Systemic bias is prevalent in all systems of power and without representation nonprofits will continue to follow historical patterns. I believe it’s important to spotlight underrepresented board of directors.”
Haydee Moreno, 2022 Mentee
It’s 2022 and while there has been an awakening, we still have ways to go especially on nonprofit boards. That’s why we’re excited to welcome the newest co-hort of mentees to the 2022 Board Mentors of Color Program. The BMOC program was set up to support new and experienced board members of color by matching them with established community leaders as mentors and provides them opportunities to develop community leadership skills, build & deepen community relationships and gain support in navigating Austin nonprofit boards. The program also creates safe spaces for deep conversations to happen around race, and is fundamental in creating opportunity and access for leaders of color to take a seat at the table.
We look forward to some great conversations, making new connections and diving deep into what it takes to be Inclusive Leaders. Congratulations to the 2022 Mentees of Color!
Elizabeth Aleman – Community Advocate
Emeka Anyanwu – Central Health
Nitakuwa Barrett Orsak – Travis Audubon Society
Soledad Bautista – Creative Waco
Latrica Brazil – Dept of Family Protective Services
Eric Byrd – Black Professional Alliance
Julian Chargois – JLL
Alexander Chen – CrowdStreet Advisors, LLC
Dynetta Clark – St. Edward’s University
Brianna Clark – Blossom and Bloom Home Decor
Jessica Coronado – Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas
Devin Donovan – Vocadere
Nina Driver – Indeed
Shanetra Fowler – RS&D Counseling and Consulting
Jimena Gamboa Bonilla – SecureLink
Sara Gonzalez – Dell Technologies
Micah Hall Koseemani – Housing For Black Excellence
Jackie Johnson – Purposed By God Outreach Ministries
Jennifer Johnson-Dungey – Black Mamas Village
Kaila Jones – Sammy’s House
Akosua Kennedy-Mota – HID GLOBAL
Le’Detrick Leonard – Impact Barber Association
Latanya Logan – Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated – Austin Chapter
Grant Loveless – The Essence Of G, LLC
Crystal Martin – eero/Amazon
Bessy Martinez – Austin Latinas Unidas
Esmeralda Mattke Longoria – Dell technologies.
Lonnicia Maxwell – It’s Time Texas
Joseph Mayang – Filipino Young Professionals of Austin
Kimberly McCarver – Noir Creators Space
Haydee Moreno – JUST Community
Tawanja Morris – Abbvie
Tina Nobles – Dell Technologies
Juan-Carlos Otero – Dun & Bradstreet
Crystal Peña – The Center for Arts + Healing
Erik Perez – University of St. Augustine
Areli Perez Rivera – Project Support Services Inc.
Mercedes Perry – Real Queens Fix Eachother’s Crowns
Jessica Poteau – Indeed
Andrei Rogers – Blackbaud
Daniela Rubio – Austin Achieve Public Schools
Divvya Seernani – Dell Technologies
Yvonne Stull – Indeed
Edward Swan – Swan Start Scholarship Program
Nithin Thomas – Nithin Thomas Consulting
Gabrielle Torres – University of Texas School of Law
Claudia Torres-Yanez – NerdWallet
Anh Trab – AT Holdings
Jose Valadez – Indeed
Kryzten Valerio – The National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research
Marissa Vogel – Social Venture Partners Austin
Andrew Ward – JP Morgan Chase
Jasmeen Wilson – Hearts2Heal
Michael Yeldell – Google/VELA
Preeti Yeung – JPMorgan Chase