About Latina Experts

About Latina Experts

Latina Experts is leadership blog that focuses on the development and advancement of Latinas in work and life. Latina Experts is a discussion platform that will encourage dialogue and story-telling to help the broader Latina community consider together the key assets they bring and obstacles that they face in America's corporations.

One of those assets involves their generous purpose and compassion for the well-being of others which translates into leadership competencies and the ability to develop high performing and inclusive teams. This blog will be a place where Latinas share their experiences and give voice to the dilemmas they manage as they take charge of their careers and continue to move into prominent leadership positions. Also to be considered are the ways that greater self-care and entrepreneurial spirit can be maximized to find the right balance in their lives between doing for others and doing for themselves.

Utilizing the Latina Experts blog, notable Latina contributors will initiative and facilitate provocative conversations for about Latinas in work and life.

 

Annette Prieto-Llopis - Center for Hispanic Leadership

Marisa Salcines - UPS, Employee and Brand Communications Manager

Yesi Morillo-Gual - Citi

Maria Ortiz - Writer and Filmmaker

Lourdes Mateo de Acosta - H&M Communications

Carli Eli - Media & Communications Professional

Sonia Perez Chaisson - Civil Litigation Attorney

Annette Prieto-Llopis - Center for Hispanic Leadership

Annette Prieto-Llopis is the Director of Client Relations at the Center for Hispanic Leadership (CHL). She also serves as a CHL Trainer / Coach. Annette has had an accomplished career in sales and training with more than 17 years of professional experience in both the public and private sectors and brings that practice to CHL. In addition to serving as CHL's Client Relations Director, Annette works on developing culturally-tailored training to give Hispanic business leaders the tools they need to grow and thrive. One of Annette's greatest passions is empowering individuals to be their best selves in both their personal and professional lives. She has quickly become a sought after coach and mentor by young Latinas.

Annette's goal is to propel the Hispanic business community forward and train its next generation leaders. She believes it is her responsibility to inspire the younger generation to thrive for greatness and fulfill their aspirations. Annette is also passionate about empowering Latinas by helping them "trust their brand" to aspire them to be impactful and purposeful in how they advance themselves as professionals and citizens in society.   Annette has been inspired to succeed in business, as in life, by her parents Antonio and Lucy Prieto who emigrated from Cuba in the 1960s to escape the oppressive communist regime. Her mother left Havana in 1961 at the age of 13, along with her sister, as one of 14,000 children of Operation Peter Pan (Operación Pedro Pan), an operation coordinated by the United States government, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami, and Cubans. The operation was designed to transport children - whose parents opposed the Communist government - from Cuba to the United States between 1960 and 1962.   Prior to co-founding CHL, Annette spent over a decade working as a sales representative, corporate trainer and regional manager with industry giants Allergan, GlaxoSmithKline, Medicis and SkinMedica. Annette has been a top performer consistently falling in the top tier of performers throughout her career. Some of her career highlights include: Regional Territory Manager of the Year, Circle of Excellence, Leadership Council for Performance Excellence, Excellence Award, Above and Beyond Performance Awards, Outstanding Teamwork Awards, Gold Pyramid Club.   Annette began her career in the Miami-Dade County School District, the fourth largest in the country. From 1994 to 1999 she taught Language Arts at Miami Springs Middle School whose student population is 79% Hispanic.   Born and raised in Miami, FL, she maintains homes in Miami and in Orange County, CA with her husband.

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Marisa Salcines - UPS, Employee and Brand Communications Manager

Marisa is the Employee and Brand Communications Manager at UPS. As a seasoned corporate communications, PR, public affairs, marketing, and media relations professional with experience working with domestic and international non-profit and for-profit organizations and companies, Marisa has effectively developed, led, and executed strategic communications and relationship-building initiatives over the past 16 years.

After receiving her Bachelor's Degree in Print Journalism from the University of Florida, Marisa launched her career as the only bilingual journalist at People Magazine and People En Español in the Miami Bureau. (She also has the distinction of being the first correspondent in the magazine's history to be granted access to enter Cuba since Fidel Castro seized power in 1959.) She later moved into a communications and public relations position for a non-profit educational foundation which created and published materials for at-risk youths in the Miami-Dade County public school system and Florida Department of Juvenile Justice.   After moving to Atlanta in 2000, she joined a market research firm specializing in providing consulting services to YMCAs and other non-profits and later worked for an international orphan advocacy group, where she traveled with other staff members to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child to make a presentation regarding the basic right of a child without parents to have permanent home. She was instrumental in fostered a relationship with Mexican government officials with the goal of integrating a technology solution to help the country manage its orphan population.   In 2005, she continued honing her communications expertise with an association management company, where she served as national media spokesperson and member liaison to the $4.6 billion-dollar global infant formula industry. In addition to leveraging relationships with print and online media outlets, Marisa led outreach initiatives to form alliances with medical and healthcare groups and gained a penchant for navigating politically sensitive issues and advocating on public policy positions.   As the Director of Hispanic External Affairs for a national financial services agency, she developed national, regional and local corporate and non-profit partnerships that increased the organization's visibility across the country as well as provided counsel on Hispanic marketing campaigns. Additionally, she maintained relationships with the media to proactively feature the agency in print, broadcast and social media outlets.   Currently, Marisa is Employee and Brand Communications Manager at the corporate headquarters of UPS in Atlanta, where she works in collaboration with the communications team to inform, engage, and empower the company's 400,000 employees regarding key internal and external initiatives.

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Yesi Morillo-Gual - Citi

A 16-year veteran of Citi, Yesi currently serves as a Risk Manager in the Municipal Securities Division.

Her primary responsibility involves management of the trillion-dollar bid proposal process. Critical to new business, this responsibility involves managing the due diligence process to provide a wide variety of compliance relatedinformation, as requested by public and private sector clients. Yesi works closely with department's general counsel and chief compliance officer on a variety of compliance-related responsibilities as they pertain to the industry and the bid process.

In addition to her various roles, Yesi is an active member of the division's diversity committee, serving on its Heritage and Marketing Task Forces. Her contributionsinclude the implementation of various "Learning & Empowerment" functions; coordination of holiday toy drives for homeless children; and the design and creation of the division's first-ever newsletter, which was recognized with a Best Practices Award by Citi's CEO.   Outside her role at Citi, Yesi is a supporter of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and has been honored by the organization with a Pink Honor Roll Induction as one of the top fundraisers in New York City for four consecutive years. She's also a supporter of Locks of Love, having twice donated 14 inches of her hair to help in the making of wigs for young girls and women.   Yesi is the founder of Proud to Be Latina, a personal and professional development network that educates, empowers and encourages Latinas to rise to their full potential. She has served as an executive board member of Madrinas, a Latina Network geared towards empowering Latinas to advance in Corporate America; and has been a mentor for New Latina's Mentoring Hermanas initiative.   Yesi is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership at Touro University. She holds an MBA in Administration from Touro University and a Bachelor's Degree in Finance, with a minor in Graphic Design from Baruch College. She resides in New York City with her husband and two sons.

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Maria Ortiz - Writer and Filmmaker Maria Ortiz lives her life by one rule. It’s something her mom told her when she was a child in Beavercreek, Ohio. “Tell stories that are compelling, relevant, and with minimal nudity.” That’s why Maria works in the entertainment industry. Maria is a writer and filmmaker in Los Angeles, CA. A natural born storyteller, Maria has written for media relations, news, film, and television. A member of NALIP (National Association of Latino Independent Producers) and WGA (Writers Guild of America), she has worked with the Montecito Picture Company (No Strings Attached, Hitchcock) and Pantelion Films (Lionsgate/Televisa), the first Latino studio in Hollywood.   From 2011-2012, Maria was associate producer for the web series INSPIRA: Discovering Latino Leaders Across America, hosted by Emanuel Pleitez (Los Angeles Mayoral Candidate) and Gaby Fresquez. The series was nominated for an Imagen Foundation Award for Best Web Series: Reality.   As associate producer, an integral part of Maria’s role was outreach to the Latino community. Maria has participated in events for the Hispanic Heritage Foundation (HHF), Latinos on the Fast Track Network (LOFT), and the League of United Latino Citizens (LULAC).   Like many Latinos, her family inspires her. She saw first hand the importance and value of higher education. Both of her parents grew up very poor. They were given every disadvantage being children of Puerto Rican immigrants but they were still the first in their families to earn a college degree. In 2008 Maria earned a Bachelor’s in English from Wright State University. In 2011 she earned an MFA in Screenwriting from Loyola Marymount University. She was the first grandchild to have a master’s on either side of the family.   Like many Latinos, Maria would love to see her story on the screen. With her experience and her family’s influence, Maria has launched her own production company, BROMISTA. Bromista’s goal is to tell stories about Latinos that everyone can watch, enjoy, and relate to… with the maximum amount of minimal nudity as possible.   << Learn More

Lourdes Mateo de Acosta - H&M Communications Lourdes Mateo de Acosta, Partner and Executive Vice President, Corporate/Consumer group Lourdes Mateo de Acosta has held senior management roles at four of the top international public relations firms worldwide and currently serves as partner and executive vice president at H&M Communications. She has more than 19 years of experience in high-level strategic counseling, media relations, corporate communications, special events, and crisis communications.   As partner and executive vice president of H&M Communications, she currently oversees national U.S. Hispanic and regional Latin American campaigns for clients such as Comcast, XIX Entertainment (Producers of ¡Q'Viva! The Chosen) and Crackle (a Sony Pictures Television company), as well as regional programs for F. Gaviña & Sons, makers of Don Francisco's and La Llave coffees.   In 2004, Lourdes founded de la Group PR. There she managed a variety of U.S. Hispanic and Latin America focused programs, including multi-country programs for blue chip clients such as Yahoo! and PayPal, as well as U.S.-focused general market and regional efforts for The Cancun Convention and Visitors Bureau and Burger King.   Previously, Lourdes headed Edelman's Miami office, where she also directed the Cancun Convention and Visitors Bureau North America program, as well as managed the annual Bacardi Cup sailing regatta and special events for the Nasdaq-100 Open tennis tournament (now named the Sony Ericsson Open). As part of the company's Diversity group, she also handled Hispanic focused programs for various blue-chip consumer brands including Acuvue, Dove, AXE deodorant, AstraZeneca, Cordis among others.   While at Weber Shandwick Worldwide (WSW), she played an integral role in the formation of GrupoLink, the agency's U.S. Hispanic and Latin America operations. There she managed communications programs for multinational companies including: Lucent spin-off Avaya Inc., Cisco Systems, Telefonica and United Airlines, as well as for Medtronic, the world's leading medical technology company. She also managed consumer-driven programs for FPL and Hershey's, as well as crisis work for Royal & Son Alliance and United Airlines during the 9/11 terrorists attacks.   Prior to that, Lourdes served as account executive and later senior account executive at Fleishman-Hillard. Her professional career began in 1993 at Ketchum Public Relations. Over the years, she has also handled sports and entertainment related work for Reebok, Women's Sports Foundation, The Home Depot and Miller Brewing Co.   Lourdes resides in Miami, is fluent in Spanish and English (with a working knowledge of Portuguese) and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Central Florida in Orlando. << Learn More

Carli Eli - Media & Communications Professional

Carli is a seasoned media and communications professional with extensive experience in social, educational and political issues in the general and Hispanic markets. Having grown up in New York, she moved to Florida to attend University of Central Florida where she earned her degrees in Finance and International Business. Instead of a career in finance, her career started in the media industry in which she has worked for ABC networks (radio and TV), MTV Networks, V-me Media and Telemundo in the areas of production, reporting, marketing, events and promotions, business development and grassroots community outreach.

Politically active since 2004, she decided to move to DC nearly three years ago to continue to build relationships with media outlets, leaders, politicians, on-air personalities, non-profit organizations and government institutions (i.e. the White House) that deeply care about the pivotal issues affecting the growing Hispanic community. After finding her purpose in life, now more than ever she is committed to work in the empowerment and advancement of all communities by providing valuable content through communications and outreach with a strong focus on education. In addition to being a Hispanic Strategist, she is also member of the Urban League and CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) because working with the African-American community is essential to understand how she can help build bridges between the two largest minority groups in the country in order to achieve success. Her motto in life is the following “Travel is my best teacher because it keeps me humble, Adversity is my best ally because I face life’s challenges fearlessly and God is my best friend because with him anything is possible”.

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Sonia Perez Chaisson - Civil Litigation Attorney

Sonia Perez Chaisson is a plaintiff's trial lawyer who never forgets that she is the daughter of Colombian immigrant with a 3rd grade education who came to America, earned her GED and worked as a bookkeeper for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts until she retired.   Ms. Chaisson grew up in Boston, Massachusetts. After earning her law degree from Northeastern University School of Law, she moved to Los Angeles where she began practicing law. Since that time, Attorney Chaisson has maintained an active civil litigation practice. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the largest trial lawyer's organization in the world, the American Association for Justice. As a member she has participated in lobbying for necessary safety regulations that protect ordinary citizens from corporate harm. Currently, Ms. Chaisson is focusing on holding big pharmaceutical companies accountable for intentionally selling drugs with known life and health risks to consumers.

Among the many noted cases that have received recognition is her work as co-counsel in a medical malpractice case where the jurors found several doctors had failed to diagnose and treat ovarian cancer causing the death of a 32 year old mother. The jury compensated her family 2.9 million dollars. This was the second highest verdict of 2009 for a medical malpractice case and possibly the largest verdict of its kind. Ms. Chaisson also works as an expert trial consultant to assist other lawyer's win challenging cases. During the summer of 2008, Ms. Caisson's effort as a trial consultant for Simona Farisse helped return a verdict of 14.8 million dollars against the Fluor Corporation who was held 45 % at fault for asbestos poisoning of it's US employee working in an oil refinery in Iraq. In addition to a busy civil practice, Ms. Chaisson has been involved as co-counsel in criminal defense of serious crimes such as date rape, rape, and murder in racially charged venues and been consistently successful in achieving jury acquittals.

Attorney Chaisson also is involved cutting-edge legal issues such as the duty of care owed football coaches to injured high school players, and the constitutionality of statutory caps on medical malpractice damages which have not changed since the 1970's. She has also lobbied to the California and to Washington, D.C., legislature on issues of interest to her clients, including products liability bills and bills addressing tort reform litigation.

In 2003, Ms. Chaisson attended Gerry Spence's Trial Lawyers College, a 31-day intensive trial school near Dubois, Wyoming. Only 50 of the nations top attorneys were selected to attend that year.

Ms. Chaisson is actively involved in training of other trial lawyers and frequently facilitates workshops dedicated to bringing out the best inlawyers fighting on behalf of their seriously injured clients.

She is a frequent radio guest speaker discussing current legal trends and issues and actively involved in writing about law.

She is an avid reader and is physically active completing her first triathlon in 2003, a mud run to raise money for Doctors without Borders and most recently completing a 5k for cancer research on October 2, 2011 in Van Nuys, California.

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