Hispanic Leadership Institute Class V

HISPANIC LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE CLASS OF 2015-2016 SPONSORED BY

HISPANIC LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE The Hispanic Leadership Institute is a skills-based leadership training program whose main goal is to develop the next generation of Hispanic leaders for the St. Louis business community. HLI consists of nine training sessions conducted once a month. Each session will focus on a particular skill set for the developing leader.

The institute will train this group of Hispanic professionals on for-profit and non-profit management skills and network development within the St. Louis business community. In addition to leadership training, participants will be encouraged to give back to the St. Louis region through community involvement.

The three essential competencies to be acquired in this class are leading an organization, leading oneself and leading others in the organization.

The participants of Class V are as follows:

Jennifer Carrillo

Jennifer Carrillo is a Mexican native who came to the United States as a child. Her parents hoped this move would bring many opportunities to their family, and Jennifer has been able to show this is possible. As the eldest of six children, born to immigrant parents, Jennifer grew up with limited experience about how life worked in the United States. Raised in a Spanish-speaking household, Jennifer dedicated her time to her academics and education. Jennifer has excelled academically since her time at St. Cecilia Catholic School, giving her the opportunity to attend Nerinx Hall High School. Jennifer graduated high school as an empowered woman ready to continue pursuing her dream to be a successful Hispanic businesswoman.

Jennifer is the first in her family to obtain a college degree and is currently pursuing her Masters of Business Administration. Jennifer received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in International Business in December 2014 from Saint Louis University.

Jennifer is currently a Case Manager at St. Francis Community Services Southside Center, a non-profit organization that works primarily with the Hispanic and Vietnamese communities. Jennifer helps secure financial assistance to in-crisis individuals, and works to improve their financial stability through one-on-one and group financial literacy. She also helps clients navigate through confusing systems while informing and connecting them to the necessary resources they may need.

Jennifer strives to help the Hispanic community improve their knowledge in financial education, as well as gain management skills to help them improve their quality of life.

Jennifer has been heavily involved in the Hispanic community through non-profit work for many years. She worked at Catholic Legal Assistance Ministry and Catholic Immigration Law Project for four years as a legal assistant. She aided clients throughout the legal process and ensured their understanding every step of the way.

Jennifer attended the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute twice in Chicago and continued to show her desire to be a Hispanic leader. Jennifer enjoys spending time and traveling with her family and friends. She also enjoys coaching girls youth soccer for St. Cecilia during her free time.

carrjenn21@gmail.com

314.773.6100

Christina DuBois

Christina M. DuBois is currently working for Citi, as a VP within the Financial Services Operations area. As an Operations Support Senior Manager, her duties include: managing a staff of 15 onshore and 2 offshore staff, running a $10 Billion area, and is on call 24/5. She also participates in activities with the Citi Hispanic Heritage Network – St. Louis.

Christi was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. Her grandmother Carmen was born in Aguascalientes, Mexico, moved to Yorktown, Texas where she met Christi’s grandfather Joaquin. Her father, Fernando, was one of 9 children who were born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri.

Christi has had many years of management experience, working to manage a team in Retail, as well as at Citi. She has had minimal schooling but has learned the Management trade by being driven by the want to learn more and succeed with managing her staff.

She is working to increase her knowledge of leadership, communication and coaching skills at her current position. In addition to her daily activities, she has also signed up for the Mentor/Mentee program within the Financial Services Operations area, coaching individuals to strive at their position, collaborate with others, and learn how to cope with the day to day interaction.

As she participates with the Hispanic Leadership Institute, her goal is to gain more Management knowledge. She would like to apply these training courses to her current position at Citi and help to coach other managers that might need assistance with various aspects of their job.

In spare time, Christi likes to scrapbook, garden, and have family time with her daughter Madeline. She is married to her husband of 20 years. Together they own a shoe repair store in Ballwin, MO.

Christina.m.dubois@citi.com

636.261.0601

Ligia Gante

Ligia was born and raised in São Paulo, Brazil where she achieved a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Civil-Structural Engineering from Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie. After graduating, Ligia went to Chicago in 2000 to work as an intern in a German Engineering company, Dywidag-Systems International. Continuing with her Engineering career she held positions as a Structural Design Engineer in world renowned companies such as Thornton Tomassetti and Louis Berger. She moved to St. Louis in 2007 when working for David Mason & Associates, a minority owned engineering company with headquarters in St. Louis city.

After fulfilling her engineering career path, she endeavored to pursue her passion for international and global affairs and achieved a Master of Arts degree in International Business from Webster University in 2010. She served as an International Market Research Intern at the World Trade Center St. Louis and as an Economic Development Intern at the International Institute.

Ligia is multilingual in English, Portuguese and Italian, mother of two young children, cherishes international environments and fosters a culturally diverse community.

Through volunteering at Villa di Maria Montessori School, she was responsible for the leadership to create an action plan to internationalize the school and fostering a more welcoming community for foreign-born families in partnership with the St. Louis Mosaic Project.

Ligia provides consulting services in international partnerships for schools and educational institutions, in addition to technical translation of documents and contracts for corporations. She lives in South St. Louis County with her husband David, their two children and dog. She enjoys exploring new cities and places, brainstorming ideas and empowering positive changes.

lgante@gmail.com

314.809.0349

Vanessa Garcia

Vanessa Garcia is the Assistant Director for the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan St. Louis.

Vanessa is a native of Kansas City and moved to St. Louis four years ago to pursue her undergraduate education. She recently graduated from Saint Louis University in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education and Mathematics. While attending SLU, Vanessa was a recipient of the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship award and was actively involved in various groups on campus. She held a leadership position in the Hispanic- American Leadership Organization as their Community Outreach Chair and volunteered and tutored throughout the St. Louis area.

She has always had a passion for education and has prior experience with teaching, outreach programs, and event planning. Her previous employment at SLU’s Parks College of Engineering and Aviation has well-equipped her with the skills necessary for event planning, office administration, and outreach initiatives.

As the Assistant Director for the Hispanic Chamber, Vanessa’s responsibilities include event planning, creating and managing quarterly magazines, serving on community committees, strengthening relationships with members, and implementing programs that support the mission of the Hispanic Chamber. Vanessa finds her work at the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce very fulfilling and close to her heart. She is the daughter of a Hispanic business owner and is very passionate about helping the community.

She is a member of the Hispanic Leaders Group and the Young Professionals Network.

In her free time, Vanessa is an assistant soccer coach for St. Cecilia’s school, an avid reader, and a DIY enthusiast.

vgarcia@hccstl.com

314.664.4432

Mauricio Gobbo

Mauricio Gobbo is Brazilian and passionate about the St Louis region. He is an IT professional at Nestle Purina, a company he believes is one of the best places to work in the US. Mauricio joined Nestle in 2001, in São Paulo (Brazil). He has been working in different positions and locations since then. Mauricio has been through many Nestle Global SAP implementations, roles and locations. He came to St. Louis as an expatriated employee with a fixed 2.5 year term assignment. But Mauricio never left St. Louis. He and his family decided to stay, not only because of Mauricio’s love with Purina, but also because Mauricio and his wife, Susan, wanted to create roots in this community. In recent years, Mauricio’s love for this city is reflected in the different initiatives he has joined that allow him to help and improve the St. Louis community.

He is heavily involved in the community. Mauricio is a part of Viva Brazil St. Louis Association, a Brazilian ethnical organization that shares the Brazilian culture and also helps the Brazilian community in St Louis. He is also deeply involved in the St. Louis Mosaic Project. As an ambassador, Mauricio participates in the initiatives to turn St. Louis into a more welcoming community for foreign born people. In add, Mauricio and his wife manage a Meetup group for people interested on practicing Portuguese. Their group has 200 members and the group holds monthly meetings for people interested in speaking Portuguese. He also volunteers at Haven House (a hospital hospitality house) as a facilitator for Brazilian families. Furthermore, Mauricio is a Nestle Purina Diversity & Inclusion ambassador, where he helps Purina on the inclusion of foreign people once hired by this company.

Mauricio was born in Belo Horizonte, the third largest metro area in Brazil. Prior to joining Nestle, Mauricio worked at Unilever and then at AmBev (AB-InBev) in Brazil.

While working at these facilities, Mauricio gained great experience in the IT world. He has lived in many different cities prior to falling in love with the St. Louis region.

Mauricio currently lives in Wildwood, MO. He is married to Susan Gobbo and they have a daughter, Laura, who is in High School.

Mauricio.gobbo@purina.nestle.com

314.982.1297

Angelica Gutierrez

In 2007, Angelica Gutierrez joined the City of University City, an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis. There are approximately 35,000 people that reside in the heart of this St. Louis metropolitan area.

Angelica was hired as an Engineer Project Manager for the Department of Public Works and Parks. In this position, she is responsible for the project administration of City's Transportation Projects, federally and locally funded to improve City's public infrastructure. Currently she is a Senior Project Manager in charge of coordinating important transportation and Public Works projects within University City. Before joining the City, Angelica worked for a finance company servicing the insurance industry. She was also a Production Manager for Skif International, a fashion manufacturer in St. Louis.

She earned a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from the University of America in Bogota – Colombia – South America, where she was born and raised.

In past years, Angelica worked actively with the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) - St. Louis Gateway Chapter. While working with SHPE, Angelica lead a program called “Engineering and Science Connections in Culture” which provided technological education to a group of 15 Hispanic middle school students. Angelica also volunteered as mentor for the SHPE robotics program and the FIRST Lego League for the 2013-2014 Season. Angelica has also been a member of the American Public Works Association APWA since 2008.

In July of 2000, Angelica moved to St. Louis, MO. Angelica is married to Billy and has 2 daughters, Sofia (12) and Gabriela (6). Billy, Sofia and Gabriela are her inspiration and devotion. Angelica enjoys biking, traveling, dancing, spending time with friends, playing volleyball, volunteering for education and being a supportive parent for Sofia and Gabriela’s sports teams.

agutierrez@ucitymo.org

314.505.8568

Angel Jimenez Gutierrez

Angel Jimenez-Gutierrez and his family own 2 businesses in St. Louis: Senor Pique and The Detailing Pros.

Senor Pique is a Mexican restaurant that offers a variety of traditional Mexican dishes that are hard to find in the St. Louis area. For 10 years, Angel and his family have maintained quality food and friendly service.

For the past 4 years, Angel and his brother, Cesar, have worked hard to maintain the high quality service of The Detailing Pros, an Eco Friendly Auto Detailing Service. Their detailing business is a new concept to the St. Louis area. The Detailing Pros offer paint correction and protection, dent removal, windshield repair and auto detailing all while using an eco-friendly approach and providing convenient service. What separates The Detailing Pros from the rest is their vast detailing experience and knowledge and their onsite car detailing services.

Angel was born in Mexico City, Mexico and has been in St. Louis for the past 13 years.

He became a US Citizen 4 years ago and calls USA and Mexico as his Two Countries.

He shows his appreciation and gives back to the community by coordinating events to help two foundations. First, the Troops Foundation which helps wounded US soldiers overseas and second, the Esteban Toledo Family Foundation which provides assistance to homeless children in Mexico.

angel@senorpique.com

636.394.3455

Cesar Jimenez Gutierrez

Cesar was born in Mexico City, Mexico and has been living in St. Louis for 13 years. He is very involved in the family owned businesses, Senor Pique and The Detailing Pros.

With 10 years of experience in the restaurant industry, Cesar was able to utilize his management skills and make Senor Pique a cornerstone for authentic Mexican food and drinks.

Recently, Cesar has been managing and maintaining the newest family business, The Detailing Pros. The Detailing Pros is an eco-friendly auto detailing service that offers paint correction and protection, rag top cleaning, wheel polishing, and more. Cesar strives to make car detailing affordable and convenient for all of his customers by offering various detailing packages and on-site car detailing. He is very proud that The Detailing Pros’ customer service and customer satisfaction is rated nationally as one of the best car detailing companies in the U.S.

sarceajg@gmail.com

314.717.2791

Nina Harris

Nina Harris is the Regional Content Manager for the Americas at Pfizer, Inc. In her role, she is responsible for managing portal documentation for 21 countries that assist colleagues with HR related needs. Nina leads initiatives across the organization to help make content more intuitive, accessible, and useful for all users.

In her previous role, she also supported Corporate HR as a subject matter expert across various benefits and payroll related topics. Prior to Pfizer, Nina served as a Senior Customer Service Lead specializing in mechanical seals for the Mining Division at Flowserve Corporation in Kalamazoo, MI. In her over 20 years of experience, Nina has leveraged her fluency in Spanish to support key multi-national initiatives. She also leads the Greater St. Louis Pfizer Latino Network, which supports the Latino population at Pfizer.

Nina holds a Bachelor’s degree in engineering from Tufts University. She also holds a Master’s in Business Administration from Missouri Baptist University.

Nina grew up in Venezuela and came to Boston as a student. She has lived in Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, and for the last 12 years in Missouri.

Nina enjoys living in St Louis because the city values the contributions of Hispanics and there are lots of opportunities to volunteer while having fun.

nina.s.harris@pfizer.com

314.609.3854

Lauren Masterson- Rodriguez

Lauren Masterson-Rodriguez is a Sr. Manager in the Retail Strategy department at Express Scripts. She helps ensure that Medicare retail pharmacy networks are meeting the clinical needs of patients as affordably as possible, while remaining compliant with complex and changing government regulations. Lauren discovered her passion for healthcare after a serious illness led to a prolonged hospital stay during her freshman year of college. She experienced firsthand the challenges of the healthcare system, including high prescription-drug costs. With an interest in improving the overall quality of patient care, she worked at the Harvard School of Public Health as a research assistant before joining Express Scripts.

Lauren’s commitment to healthcare and public policy carries through to her work in the community. She serves as vice president of Cultural Connection, an Express Scripts employee resource group focused on cultural diversity, awareness and inclusion. During her time as a student at the University of Missouri-Saint Louis (UMSL), she helped create a leadership program designed to help young women find their political voices and create networking opportunities. Lauren is also a co-chair of the Casa de Salud’s Friends Leadership Circle, supporting the group’s mission to deliver high-quality clinical and mental health services for underinsured patients. In addition, she serves as a “Big Sister” as part of her involvement with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri.

Lauren holds a B.A in Anthropology and an MPPA in health policy from UMSL. She is a FOCUS St. Louis Emerging Leader and St. Louis Business Journal 30 under 30 honoree. Lauren was born in San Antonio, Texas but has lived and attended school in Mexico City, Mexico, London, Canada, and Galway, Ireland. Lauren moved to Saint Louis in 2007 to begin studies at UMSL. Presently, she lives in Webster Groves where she enjoys gardening, her backyard chickens and yoga.

Lomasterson-rodriguez@express-scripts.com

314.684.6437

Alan Medina

Alan Medina has been working at Monsanto for about 8 years and he is currently part of the Supply Chain organization where he serves as a Global Manufacturing Cost Analyst for the Vegetables division. Monsanto, a Fortune 500 company, is a sustainable agriculture company which focuses on empowering farmers to produce more from their land while conserving more of the natural resources such as water and energy.

Alan started his professional career at Monsanto as a Vegetable Manufacturing Intern in the summer of 2007. After this experience, in January 2008, Monsanto offered him a full time position as an International Accountant supporting the Latin America South region.

His understanding of the financial statements as well as his knowledge of the systems helped him to obtain a role in the Internal Audit Department, in January 2010, where he served as a Financial Auditor for about 2 and a half years.

His interest in being involved and support the Hispanic community led Alan to join the Monsanto Latin Network (MLN). Due to his commitment with the MLN, he was designated as the Communications Committee Lead and has been in this function for the last two years. Also, in 2014 he was designated as the Membership Board of Director for Association of Latino Professionals For America (ALPFA), St. Louis Chapter. ALPFA and MLN are organizations whose main goal is to develop Latin professionals of any field. In both organizations, Alan is an active member supporting and attending multiple volunteer, professional development, and networking events.

Born and raised in Lima, Peru, Alan moved to St. Louis, Missouri in 2005 to complete his college education. He obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Economics with Minor in Finance and Accounting from University of Missouri-St. Louis. Additionally, Alan earned his Master in Business Administration from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

alan.medina@monsanto.com

314.598.8550

Jared Mora

Born in Tacoma, Washington, Jared Mora, is the second of four children. Jared lived some of his childhood in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where his extended family roots stem from Mora, Spain. Jared earned an MBA from Missouri Baptist University, in St. Louis Missouri, in 2009.

In August of 2002, Jared moved to St. Louis Missouri to play baseball at Missouri Baptist University. After graduating in 2004, with a BA in Communications and Spanish, he went on to start his sales career at Bank of America. After assisting many Spanish speaking families with checking accounts and bank procedures, Jared nurtured his affection for aiding customers with bank knowledge.

In 2009, Jared became the Banking Center Manager of a team of fifteen customer service professionals. With Jared’s leadership, this team created a quality banking experience for customers by establishing and retaining customer relationships. During his tenure as a Banking Center Manager, Jared achieved and exceeded all target goals, received awards for Compliance Audits, customer satisfaction, and interface software implementation.

In 2012, Jared became a Vice President of Small Business Banking. During his two years at this role at Bank of America, he was a top rated performer consistently for each quarter, opening four banking centers and four new territories. Jared’s natural ability to lead and his energetic nature have helped many small businesses achieve their maximum profit and expand their growth potential. In November 2014, Jared became Vice President of Business Banking at Midwest Bank Centre. Jared’s vision is to help all small businesses in the St. Louis market to flourish with emphasis on the Hispanic community.

Jared lives with his beautiful wife of 10 years and their two amazing children in St. Peters, Missouri. Jared also trains and coaches Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, youth baseball, and participates in various local Mud Run/Obstacle courses.

jmora@midwestbankcentre.com

314.544.6777

Santiago Navarro

Santiago Navarro is a Scientist and Associate Fellow at Monsanto Co, St. Louis Missouri.

He has worked for over 15 years in the Biotechnology and Chemistry divisions focused in Research and Development of agricultural products. Santiago is also part of the Monsanto Latin Network Leadership team, focused on employee engagement within the company and connecting them to customers as development opportunities.

His research focused on the implementation of model systems for the development of biotechnology portfolio projects in yield, as well as insect and weed control programs.

During the last five years, he has been leading the Biodirect Broadleaf Weed Control Project in the Chemistry organization, focused on management of glyphosate resistant weeds. Santiago is also the Weed Control Molecular platform lead, managing a team of five employees. His experience includes managing projects and leading through influence in a matrix organization.

Santiago was born and raised in Quito, Ecuador. He moved to the U.S. for undergraduate and graduate studies, where he obtained an M.S. at Western Michigan University in Plant Physiology and Molecular Biology. He competed internationally for Ecuador and in NCAA division 1 collegiate gymnastics (1985-1993). Santiago enjoys traveling, photography and doing CrossFit in his spare time.

Santiago.s.navarro@monsanto.com

636.737.3857

Analisa Ortiz

Analisa Ortiz is an Academic and Student Affairs Advisor in the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis. In this role, she advises students pursuing their Bachelors of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) degrees, as well as advising student organizations, managing marketing efforts, and co-coordinating leadership development for undergraduate students.

Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Analisa moved to Kansas City, Missouri at the age of 2. She graduated from Iowa State University where she was involved in campus, Greek, and philanthropic organizations. She had wonderful mentors who helped guide her as a first generation college student and sparked an interest in working within student affairs.

Analisa worked for two years at ING USA Annuity and Life Insurance Company. In 2012, she left Des Moines, Iowa for Columbia, Missouri to pursue her master’s degree.

Pursuing a Master of Education in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis with an emphasis in Student Affairs Leadership, she worked for the Center for Leadership and Service. In this role she built leadership programs, coordinated service opportunities, and developed assessment measures and learning outcomes for programming.

She graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia and moved to St. Louis to begin her career in Higher Education. She enjoys spending time exploring the city, visiting her friends across the country, attending concerts, and reading new books. analisaortiz@wustl.edu

314.935.4691

Vicente Quevedo

Vicente Quevedo is an Information Technology professional with over eight years of experience in developing and supporting enterprise applications. A native of Venezuela, he moved to Springfield, MO in 2002 to learn English and complete his studies at Missouri State University. There, he earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems (2006), and a Master of Science in Project Management (2010).

Currently, he is a Senior Application Software Engineer at the Fortune 500 company, Centene Corporation, a multi-national healthcare enterprise that provides a portfolio of services to government-sponsored healthcare programs (Medicaid and Medicare), and serves over 4.6M members across 23 states. His team provides Project Management and IT Support to multiple departments in the organization, making sure all the IT requirements are being met and all the systems and processes are working properly.

Before Centene Corporation, Vicente had opportunities to work in companies from different industrial sectors: Giant Eagle (Pittsburgh, PA), one of the largest, privately owned and family-operated supermarket chains in the nation, as a Senior Programmer Analyst, and Leggett & Platt (Carthage, MO), a diversified manufacturer that designs and produces engineered components and products used in homes, offices, automobiles, and airplanes, as an Advanced Programmer Analyst.

In addition, Vicente is a board member of the Venezuelan Association in Missouri (AVMO), whose principal goals are: Education - supporting students by providing scholarships, Culture - promoting Venezuelan lifestyle and traditions, and Sport sponsoring athletic events.

Vicente and his wife, Elizabeth, live in Chesterfield, MO with their son Henry (2).

Outside of work, he enjoys traveling, playing sports and spending time with his wife, son and friends.

vquevedo@centene.com

314.202.9041

Maria Sennett

Maria Sennett has worked at local non-profit, Justine PETERSEN, a nationally recognized leader in the financial capability and asset building fields, for over four years.

After holding a variety of positions within the organization, she assumed the role of Credit Building Manager in September 2015.

In this new role, Maria continues to grow the mission of Credit as an Asset, nationally and locally as Justine PETERSEN’s lead trainer. She facilitates a national partnership with Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC) managing the Twin Account Product, a matched-savings credit building loan, for which Justine PETERSEN is the financial partner. She oversees the counseling services for thousands of clients interested in building their credit portfolios – whether to achieve financial stability, home purchase, small business start-up, or for the sake of a high credit score. She is an advocate of credit building as one of the simplest tools for building long-term assets, regardless of socioeconomic status.

Maria began her career as an intern at Justine PETERSEN through the Aspen Institute’s FIELD Program, the microenterprise branch of the DC-based think tank. Her initial interest in the microenterprise field stemmed from her work with a local nonprofit that supports microfinancing in Africa. In 2011, Maria graduated from Saint Louis University with majors in Social Work, Spanish and International Studies. Maria plans to go back for a Master’s in the near future to continue her professional growth in the field of economic development.

A native of the Chicagoland area, Maria has grown to love St. Louis after her now eight years living in the city. During her free time, Maria enjoys traveling domestically and internationally, practicing yoga, and exploring on her bike. Growing up in a multicultural household, with a Venezuelan mother, Maria appreciates cultural exchanges and experiences and hopes to better integrate her Spanish with her career.

maria.sennett@gmail.com

630.300.4220

Kathleen Spies

Kathleen Spies was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Her mother is Honduran and her dad is North American. Kathleen lived the majority of her childhood in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

She and her family moved to Texas where she completed middle school. Kathleen graduated high school at St. John the Baptist in St. Louis.

After graduating High School, she moved back to Tegucigalpa where she earned her Law Degree from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras in 2001.

During her years in Honduras, Kathleen worked as an English instructor for a couple of language institutes. She taught ESL and was the Coordinator of the Bilingual Department of a language organization. She also worked as the Bilingual Assistant to the Press Council of the Chinese Embassy in Tegucigalpa. Kathleen translated documents for Televicentro, a local TV station in their legal department. Amid her last year in Law School, she performed her Legal Practice in a non-for-profit law office where she found herself able to help customers that couldn't manage the cost of legal assistance.

In 2002, she moved back to St. Louis and worked as a bilingual secretary and a bilingual legal assistant at a law office in St. Louis. In 2010, she joined Southern Commercial Bank as a teller then a receptionist. During her time with Southern Commercial Bank, she was able to assist the Hispanic customers when they needed interpretation. In 2015 after Southern Commercial Bank and Midwest Bank Centre merged, she joined the Community & Economic Development Department.

Growing up with both cultures, mainly with Latin traditions, has helped mold the individual she is today. Kathleen is very family oriented. She helps take care of her mother who has been disabled since 2007 due to a stroke provoked during brain surgery.

She has an older sister who moved back to St. Louis with her husband and kids to stay close to the family. Kathleen has a nine year old son in fourth grade and he’s also growing up bilingual.

kspies@midwestbankcentre.com

314.633.6745

Maximilianah Zales

Maximilianah Zales is currently pursuing a Master’s in Change Leadership from Webster University. She is a member of the St. Louis Organizational Development Network. Her future career goals include working in a change agent role for a local business/organization.

Maximilianah returned to the St. Louis area in 2013. She has previously lived and worked across the United States from Chicago, Illinois, to Orlando, Florida and in various cities in Southern California.

After 3 years as a classroom teacher in Florida, she relocated to California to work with a start-up. In this role, she was instrumental in the business development and expansion of the company's programs from 2 districts, to over 25 districts across Southern California.

In opening up the first satellite office, she led a team of 6 in operations in 13 districts in Orange County. She also did business development in Dallas, Fort Worth, Chicago, St. Louis, and in various cities in Florida. After 4 years in continuous start-up mode, she moved on to provide training and technical assistance with one of the largest educational non-profit organizations. She traveled throughout California and Illinois in this role, presenting professional development trainings.

Maximilianah is also a World Class Public Speaking Certified Coach, and has presented workshops and trainings locally on public speaking.

Maximilianah was born in Michoacán, Mexico. She immigrated to the US when she was 8 years old, with her parents and 2 younger brothers. She graduated with her Bachelors from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. Maximilianah's greatest joy is her 15-month-old son, Noah. She enjoys singing and dancing with him to his favorite songs from Cri Cri on Pandora. His first word was "luna”.

mzales7@gmail.com

636.300.7656

Program Dates: October 9, 2015 February 12, 2016 November 13, 2015 March 11, 2016 December 11, 2015 April 8, 2016 January 8, 2016 May 13, 2016 June 10, 2016: GRADUATION

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