A few months ago, I was lucky to attend the National Hispanic Leadership Conference (NHLI)titled “The Latina Mosaic: Strength In Diversity”. One of the keynote speakers was Marisa Rivera-Albert. She is president of Mpowerment Works , a woman that, you will agree, after reading her bio is a true global change agent for women’s empowerment. She is a woman that speaks with a leadership style of power, wisdom and humbleness. From my observation, she is a true giver.
Prior to starting Mpowerment Works, Marisa served as president of NHLI for ten years and during that time, the institute experienced tremendous growth to become the premier leadership organization for Latinas in the country.
Reading her Biography is like reading a who’s who of a true leader, the kind of leader that is a change agent for the world. Some highlights of her work prior to leading NHLI include:
- Special Assistant to the President for Diversity
- Community Relations at Black Hawk College in Illinois.
- Seven years at Western Illinois University managing the Hispanic Program for Educational Advancement and the Learning To Lead Program for Hispanic students.
- Several assignments overseas, including working for the U.S. Information Agency and the U.S. Embassy in Panama and living in Tegucigalpa, Honduras for two years.
- Served as an International elections observer in Honduras and an invited U.S. State Department Speaker in Argentina and Peru.
- Speaker on Women Empowerment with women in La Paz, Bolivia and Guadalajara, Mexico.
- Participation in a fellowship to Israel with AJC and Project interchange.
After being totally inspired and awestruck by her energy and wisdom during her keynote speech, I knew I had to meet her. So thank you Marisa for taking the time for this interview so I can share your mission of empowering women from the heart and being a positive mentor for many women. There are many leadership styles in this world, and this is one I would like to embody. I love what she says at the end, “Keep shining the inside, so the outside can sparkle.” Beautiful!
Please share with us what you think are some great leadership styles and qualities in men and women. And thank you again, Marisa, for inspiring ME!