YURANI SANDOVAL
Founder & CEO

Yurani is a native of Colombia, lives in the Washington, D.C. area and is passionate about entrepreneurship. Prior to founding Women Palante and SingleParentPower, Yurani has worked in various roles with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the World Health Organization's Regional Office for the Americas.
As a business advisor and mentor, she completed her training at the Founder Institute and has been an organizer of the D.C Startup Weekend for Hispanics in the Washington, D.C. area. She has more than 10 years of leadership in Public Health Management and Grants and Budget for Latin American countries. She holds a MBA from Johns Hopkins University and is a graduate (with honors) from the Universidad del Norte.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yurani-sandoval-7646022a/

PATRICIA SKILLIN
President, Board Member

Patricia is the Director of Global Services for the Americas region at Johns Hopkins Medicine International, in Baltimore, MD, where she is responsible for oversight of collaboration and affiliation agreements throughout the region of the Americas. She is also responsible for new business development and strengthening the Johns Hopkins Medicine brand and network in the region of the Americas.
She has worked for the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the Carter Center. She is a graduate from Wesleyan University and holds a Master's of International Development at the University of Pittsburgh.

“I believe in the mission of Women Palante because I grew up with the example of a strong Latina mom that carried my family through some of our toughest moments. She provided for our family, both financially and psychologically, when we needed it most, and she kept our family united and strong. She became the positive force that helped our family overcome our obstacles. She showed me that mothers can be incredibly powerful influences, both in their own families but also in their communities. I hope to be that same example for my daughter that my mother was to me, and pass on that legacy of being a strong Latina mom. An organization, like Women Palante, that helps women and especially mothers get the support they need to be financially strong while also investing in their well-being, is directly contributing to the transformation of not just her family but also several generations of families and the communities that they live in. By creating strong and financially independent women and mothers, Women Palante helps to create more jobs, more financial stability for families, and happier memories for children who get to experience their mothers working to achieve their dreams and living their best lives. I am proud to support Women Palante in its mission to create more Mompreneurs. Women Palante and its growing community of women and moms are exactly the kind of influence and force for good that our world needs right now.” - Patti

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patriciaskillin/


MANOLO PAEZ
Vice President, Board Member

Manolo is the Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) at the Global Good Fund, a non-profit organization that amplifies the impact of social entrepreneurs worldwide, investing in their leadership development. Manolo is responsible for overseeing all revenue generation processes and defining the organization's revenue strategy, while being accountable of integrating and aligning revenue-related functions, including marketing, sales, customer support and pricing.

He has an extensive background in business development and innovation in the United States and Latin America. He has also experience as a lecturer and speaker in academic and business environments. In the past, he has worked for the International Labour Organization (ILO) in the youth employment and entrepreneurship fields and has also experienced being an entrepreneur, having started companies in several parts of the world. He holds a Master of Science degree in Economics at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, and has taken courses at Georgetown University and Stanford University.

"I am passionate about being part of Women Palante's mission of helping Latina women to become successful entrepreneurs while living a healthy and balanced life. I truly believe that investing in people is the most effective way to create positive impact and lasting social change in communities around the world, and in our case with Women Palante, in Latina women across the Americas." - Manolo

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/manolopaez/

Adelayda M. Lawford

Treasurer, Board Member

She is a driven Treasury Management professional who utilizes a consultative approach to understand clients' cash flow needs. This process allows the ideal set of treasury products which creates long lasting relationships between clients and banks.

Adelayda has an MBA and Master in Finance, Certified Treasury Professional and 20 years of banking experience. She has held treasury board positions in the past and is currently assisting Women Palante to create a process for banking reconciliation, financial reports generation, etc.

With 20 years of successful sales experience, leadership and motivating others, she has developed important skills that make her manage all aspects of financial functions. Currently, she is an SVP at Forbright Bank, where under her leadership is creating new products and services that can serve clients in an efficient manner.

She is now a part of the Women Palante Board and the Treasurer of the organization!

The reason why she wanted to join as a Board Member of Women Palante: “I am latino and a woman so I feel directly related to the cause. Also, I have a strong belief that when we assist a woman, we are assisting an entire home as women are usually the driving force in a home”.

 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adelaydafunes/

DANIEL G. REGO
Secretary, Board Member

Dan Rego leverages innovation and technology to solve some of society’s most pressing matters. He has founded startups, non-profits, and advised some of the world's leading institutions on how to brave this new century. Some of his past and current clients include the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Morgan Stanley, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, World Bank, University of Maryland Global Campus, the Organization of American States (OAS), Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), Amazon.com, among others.
Aside of several technical certifications, licenses and trainings, Dan's formal education took place at GWU and MIT.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danrego/

Marta Texidor Mendez de Vigo

Board Member

Marta is a multilingual and experienced engineer with strong business and customer focus, great communication, problem solving and analytical skills. Able to remain calm under pressure and work in a concise, clear and focused manner. Committed team player, always interested in knowledge sharing and continuous improvement.

She has experience as a workshop facilitator, with focus on business value, multiple certifications including Prosci (change management) and Insead Value Negotiation. Her academic background in BaSc, Computer Science is one of the reasons why she is the right person to ask for advice on success criteria and/or technology fields.

The last 10 years of her career, she has held positions where she had to influence others without power, understanding their 'what's in it for me' (WIIFM). She currently leads a team driving their customers objectives through Microsoft solutions, and also is part of the leadership team of the Customer Success org for Healthcare and Life Sciences.

She is very committed to this social cause and receiving her ideas and recommendations to further improve Women Palante’s impact in women’s lives is very valuable.

The reason why she wanted to join as a Board Member of Women Palante: “Empowering women is one of my passions. I am grateful to all the women that have helped me get where I am today and want to pay it forward, supporting others”.

 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martatexidor/

Ivette Melissa Estrella

Board Member

She has an Engineer, Business Administration and Consumer Electronics background: B.Sc. in Commercial Engineering and a specialization in Marketing.  Also, she has post graduate courses in Human Rights and International Relations, Sustainability Science and Global Change.

Ivette is the Founder and President of a non-profit organization called Hero4Hope, and the CEO of Estar Business Group. She coordinates and leads several events, groups, and also personally trains the sales associates not only about their brands and products,  but also about mental health and life.

She has founded and created a company which is one of the leading consumer electronic providers in Latin America and the Caribbean. She has worked as a General Coordinator of KOICA (Korea International Cooperation Agency) and as Commerce and Political advisor of the Embassy of Korea in Ecuador, where she helped in the process for obtaining 50 MM approx in non-refundable cooperation and more than 120 scholarships and training programs for government employees and students.

Her knowledge and experience in marketing, helping organizations to be positioned as a brand, business mentoring, lobby, supporting the Latin women entrepreneurs to accomplish their objectives is key to making more stories of success at Women Palante.

The reason why she wanted to join as a Board Member of Women Palante: “Because as an entrepreneur latin woman myself, I would like to help other women to accomplish their goals and make more stories of success”.

 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ivettestrella/