Introducing the leaders for our inaugural City Club program.
The Alumni Society is thrilled to introduce the leaders for our inaugural City Club program.
The City Club program aims to bring more in-person connection opportunities facilitated by members, for members. The Alumni Society is piloting this program in five cities, with more to come: Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York City, and Washington, DC.
Due to the high level of interest and enthusiasm from our members, The Alumni Society decided to kick off this program with two City Club leaders in each initial market.
“The Alumni Society was created to elevate and connect Latinos leaders who shared an affinity for their culture and the distinction of having graduated from the nation’s top schools,” said cofounder Pedro A. Guerrero. “Our members have consistently shared that they want more opportunities to connect with each other throughout the year as well as regionally. Our team is proud to kick off this program with 10 City Club leader members who share our passion to connect with fellow leaders and also have deep understanding of their respective markets.”
Read on about this exceptional cohort and stay tuned to hear more about opportunities in your area.
Chicago
RODRIGO A. SIERRA (Northwestern)
Rodrigo is the chief communications officer and SVP of the American Medical Association.
He has served as a trusted advisor to the AMA’s CEO, presidents, and board, and his guidance elevated AMA’s brand and its relevance to healthcare. During COVID-19, Rodrigo navigated an attack on science, achieved AMA’s #1 ranking as the leading voice among healthcare associations, and secured a record $1.6B ad value. He serves as executive sponsor of the Latinx employee resource group, UNIDOS@AMA, and as a liaison to the AMA Foundation.
Additionally, Rodrigo is a founding member of Angeles Investors, a Midwest regional lead of the Latino Corporate Directors Association (LCDA), and serves on the board and executive committee of Leadership Greater Chicago. He is also a member of the Page Society, the Economic Club of Chicago, the Executives’ Club of Chicago, and the Publicity Club of Chicago.
JENNY LOPEZ RILEY (UC Berkeley, Northwestern)
Jenny is the vice president of marketing and communications at APTIM.
She has over 20 years of strategic marketing, consumer research, and brand building experience. Prior to joining APTIM, Jenny served as associate director of marketing and communications at Elevate Energy, a non-profit organization, designing and implementing marketing strategies for energy and water programs that reduce costs, protect people and the environment, and ensure the benefits of clean and efficient energy use reach those who need them most.
Committed to DEI and empowering women in the environmental industry, Jenny has served as committee chair of mentorship with the Chicago chapter of Women’s Energy Network, communications chair with Advancing Women in Energy, committee member of marketing for AESP, and with iMentor Chicago as a mentor for first-generation college students in low-income neighborhoods to create transformational outcomes.
Dallas
RAUL ALDREY (MIT)
Raul is the CIO and head of product and technology for Citi’s retail service business and partnerships.
In his role, Raul is focused on end-to-end product and technology strategy, implementation, and operations for Citi’s retail service business, including over 40 Fortune 500 Partners with more than 70 million accounts. In addition, he leads all partnership integration efforts and overall product strategy for joint initiatives with leading tech companies and fintechs in the ecosystem.
Mr. Aldrey has always been in the forefront of technology innovation. Prior to Citi, he served as chief product officer and chief business officer at MediaKind, a global leader in media technology and innovation. He holds more than 40 Patent applications and 34 Patents granted in U.S. and Europe. He is an active Board member on several companies and organizations and a great ambassador for Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace.
SONNY GARCIA (Stanford, UPenn)
Sonny is the account director, products client group at Accenture.
He has spent roughly two decades of his career incubating, scaling, investing in, and operating innovative startups. He is passionate about helping large organizations think and act like startups to drive innovation and 360-degree value. Before joining Accenture in 2017, he was an operating executive for two different family offices. One focused on loyalty, data science, and market insights. The other sat at the intersection of real estate and technology.
As the first generation in his family to graduate from college, he is also passionate about lifting underrepresented groups to reach their full potential and transform lives. Sonny is the current chairman of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund Advisory Council in DFW and the co-executive sponsor of Accenture’s Hispanic American ERG in Dallas.
Los Angeles
CARLA VIONETTE SANTIAGO (Harvard)
Carla is the founder of Stori.
At Stori, she strategically architects impactful communities for platforms, brands, and talent. Leveraging AI, she offers innovative, cost-effective solutions, ensuring clients explore groundbreaking opportunities for engagement and growth with notable brands like Netflix, Airbnb, and Unilever. She is also the driving force behind the CoffeeXChange, a vibrant community of BIPOC executives and creatives in Hollywood.
Her journey includes impactful roles at esteemed organizations such as New Balance, Harvard Law School’s Human Rights Program, C-Space, and AMR Research, where she excelled in supply chain management. Later in her career, she left an indelible mark on the entertainment industry, spearheading influencer marketing at EQAL and collaborating with industry giants such as CAA, UEG, Macro, and Netflix.
YOVANY JEREZ (Brown, Dartmouth)
Yovany is the senior director marketing, B2B small and mid-size businesses at AT&T.
Yovany has worked in several industries, including telecom, SaaS, manufacturing, packaging, logistics, external affairs, banking, and consulting. His business impact includes: leading 11,000+ people through 42 territories, generating $10B in EBITDA, evaluating 338 startups and producing $7.3B in revenue, producing $6.5B through 450 omnichannel campaigns with 370M+ customer touchpoints, and helping elevate over 5,000+ corporate managers.
Recognized as one of the 50 Most Influential Latinos and part of Atlanta’s 40 Under 40, Yovany is an impactful influencer. He founded the Hispanic Corporate Council of Atlanta (HCCA), facilitating the collaboration and partnership of 43 corporations. He helped organize purpose-driven treks that raised funds for approximately 450 orphans in some of the world’s most remote and iconic locations, including Mouth Everest in Nepal, Mount Cotopaxi in Ecuador, and the Inca Trail in Peru.
New York City
VIRGINIA CHAVEZ ROMANO (Stanford, Princeton)
Virginia is the deputy general counsel and US general counsel at Havas, which she joined in February of 2023.
Before joining Havas, Virginia was a partner for six years at the law firm of White & Case, LLP. Prior to that, she spent 14 years in government as an assistant US attorney for the Southern District of New York, a deputy attorney general at the New York State Attorney General’s Office, and an associate deputy attorney general with the US Department of Justice.
JESUS “JB” CUARTAS (Georgetown)
JB is the regional emergency coordinator for emergency support function (ESF) #11 – agriculture and natural resources covering FEMA Region II (New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands) with the USDA’s APHIS.
His role involves ensuring the provision of nutrition assistance, addressing animal and agricultural health issues, ensuring the security of the nation’s food supply, and protecting natural and cultural resources. Prior to this, JB demonstrated his expertise in energy security and emergency management with Innovative Emergency Management, Inc., leading a major critical infrastructure and energy security portfolio. His past experiences include director for the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities’ Reliability and Security Division and department head for Con Edison’s Emergency Preparedness.
A decorated military veteran, he served nine years in the US Army, including two combat tours in Iraq conducting counter-IED operations. He is a doctoral candidate at Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business.
Washington, DC
LAUREN WEINSTEIN (Harvard, Northwestern)
Lauren is a partner at MoloLamken LLP.
Prior to joining MoloLamken, Ms. Weinstein clerked for judges in two of the most dynamic courts in the United States: the Honorable John G. Koeltl of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and the Honorable M. Margaret McKeown of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
She has deep experience representing clients in a broad range of business disputes. She also has substantial experience in antitrust matters. She serves as the co-chair of the ABA Section of Litigation’s Antitrust Litigation Committee and regularly writes and speaks on developments in antitrust law.
Lauren is deeply involved in MoloLamken’s diversity efforts. She was a fellow of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity and currently serves as MoloLamken’s diversity professional for the organization. She also mentors law students of color through The Appellate Project.
ERLINDA DOHERTY (Georgetown)
Erlinda is an emerging technology policy and governance consultant with a 20+ year career in international, federal, and state government affairs. She’s worked for organizations such as Accenture, the US Army, the National Conference of State Legislatures, the South Carolina Senate, and consulted for various state legislators, healthcare start-ups, and alcohol beverage companies.
Recently, she wrote the first primer on artificial intelligence regulatory considerations for state legislators, which she has presented to leaders in the alcohol beverage industry. In partnership with Ultisim—a pioneer in artificial intelligence and simulation technology—Erlinda is working with leading alcohol beverage enterprises to implement customized AI solutions to achieve gains in efficiency and sustainability.
Erlinda is also a sommelier, wine and spirits educator, writer, judge, and consultant with a focus on independent, family-owned alcohol beverage brands. She was recently appointed as global ambassador by the Consejo Mexicano Regulador de la Calidad del Mezcal (COMERCAM).
