Read biographies of feature guests for the 2018 international Women's Day Celebration being held tomorrow at STK Chicago!
Mistress of Ceremonies
Siera Santos, Sports Broadcaster, NBC Sports Chicago
Siera Santos joined NBC Sports Chicago in October 2015 as the White Sox reporter and anchor of Fast Break. While she primarily hosts the midnight program in the off-season, Santos covered White Sox slugger Jose Abreu’s return to Cuba last year, creating a long-format documentary about his homecoming after defecting.
Prior to joining NBC Sports Chicago, Santos was a sports anchor/reporter for CBS affiliates KCBS/KCAL in Los Angeles, CA, where she hosted KCAL's Sunday night "Sports Central" program and handled social media updates for "Thursday Night Football" and "March Madness" postgame shows. Prior to making the jump to Southern California, Santos was a sports journalist at CBS affiliate KWTV in Oklahoma City, OK where she handled numerous multimedia duties including reporting, shooting, producing, editing, and fill-in anchor. Santos got her start as a news reporter/multimedia journalist at NBC affiliate KOAA-TV in Colorado Springs, CO covering national news stories including the Waldo Canyon Fire and Aurora Theater Shooting.
Santos graduated with honors from Arizona State University as the Outstanding Undergraduate Student. Among her numerous career achievements include earning the distinction of being the first woman to ever win the award for "Best Television Sports Anchor" from the Broadcast Education Association.
Feature Guests
Ana Dutra, CEO & President, Executive's Club of Chicago
Ana Dutra is the President and CEO of The Executives’ Club of Chicago, a world-class senior executives organization focused on the development, innovation and connectivity of current and future business and community leaders. She was formerly the CEO of Mandala Global Advisors, a global management consulting company. She has 28 years of experience as a global executive, consultant and business leader in industries such as technology, CPG, food & beverage, retail, apparel, manufacturing and professional services. As the CEO of Korn/ Ferry Consulting and a Proxy Officer from 2007 until 2013, Ana created a $300+ MM new global business through a combination of organic growth, 7 global acquisitions, innovative go-to-market approaches and incorporation of technology and digitalization of products and services. In addition to her corporate leadership roles, Ana is a Director in the Boards of Greeley and Hansen, Humantelligence, the International Women Forum, Children’s Memorial Hospital of Chicago, Chicago Philharmonic Society, Governor State University and Academy for Urban School Leadership (AUSL), a top school turnaround organization in the country. She is a former Director in the Executives Club of Chicago and is in the Kellogg Alumni Advisory Board, in the Economic Club of Chicago, the Committee of 200 and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
A Brazilian native with over 20 years of experience in P&L management, business growth and C-Level business consulting in over 30 countries, Dutra’s expertise lies in helping Boards, CEOs and their teams to identify and execute growth strategies and turnarounds through innovation, acquisitions, culture change and new technologies. As a CEO, Ana Dutra has led a number of turnarounds, global acquisitions, post-merger integrations and execution of accelerated growth strategies. She has led and advised businesses in the technology, manufacturing, CPG, retail and professional services industries. Ana started her career with IBM where she managed clients and lines-of-businesses in a number of countries. After receiving her MBA from Kellogg business school, she led lines-of-businesses and geographic P&Ls with CSC, Oliver Wyman (formerly Mercer Management), Accenture and, more recently, with Korn/ Ferry International.
Ana holds an MBA from Kellogg, a Masters in Economics from Pontificia Universidade do Rio de Janeiro, a Juris Doctor from Universidade do Rio de Janeiro, all summa cum laude. She is fluent in Portuguese, English, Spanish and French and is a frequent speaker in the Global Competitiveness Forum, World Economic Forum and other Global Conferences. She is frequently featured in the Harvard Business Review online, Forbes blog, WSJ, CEO Magazine and other publications.
Ana is an avid triathlete, meditator and yoga practitioner. She lives in Northfield, IL with her husband and their three daughters.
Karina Ayala-Bermejo, CEO & President, Instituto del Progreso Latino
Karina Ayala-Bermejo, President and CEO, joins Instituto del Progreso Latino from Metropolitan Family Services where she served as General Counsel and Executive Vice President and the Executive Director of the Legal Aid Society of Metropolitan Family Services. Prior to Metropolitan, she worked for the City of Chicago in Mayor Daley’s administration as Acting Commissioner, First Deputy Commissioner, and Managing Deputy Commissioner for the Department of Human Resources.
Karina spent seven years as the Director of Community Services for the Chicago Bar Association where she encouraged attorneys to take on pro bono work and collaborated with the bar and various divisions of the Circuit Court of Cook County on initiatives to improve the justice system. She also served as the first Executive Director of the Sun Times Judge Marovitz Lawyers Lend-A-Hand to Youth Program, a foundation that mobilizes the legal profession around mentoring youth, where she was instrumental in securing a $2 million dollar award. Karina’s legal career began as an attorney in the Litigation Division of the Chicago Board of Education handling labor and employment matters. She is the former president of Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois and was named one of 40 of Illinois 40 attorneys to watch.
Ms. Ayala-Bermejo holds a Bachelors of Science from Loyola University Chicago and Juris Doctor from DePaul College of Law.
Susana González, President Emeritus, National Association of Hispanic Nurses, Illinois
Susana González is currently providing special educational and training consultation for ASI Home Care Agency of Choice. ASI’s mission is to provide quality, supportive, home care services to post-acute individuals in their home environment throughout Chicago-land. Previously Susana was working with a private sector School of Nursing. In this role she was responsible for developing and leading the central operations of the campus that supported Academics, Simulation Learning Center, Center for Academic Success, Clinical Coordination and Clinical partner site development and placement.
Throughout her career Susana, has role modeled true servant leadership and served on numerous committees and board of directors of key organizations on a local, State and National level. She continues to be at the forefront on health care issues for women, infants, children, and the nursing profession. She is active on several advisory committees for elected officials in the State of Illinois and she is an exemplar advocate for public policy changes especially with the profession of nursing and higher education. She is an exemplar role model and mentor to aspiring nurses who seek that healthcare career. Nursing students and new graduates face a challenge entering the field of nursing. She helps guide and support the novice nurse with time management skills and helping them find ways to deal with the stresses inherent within the profession. She takes it as an opportunity to truly make a difference in the mind and skill set within the nursing profession.
Susana volunteers on several board of directors; such as the March of Dimes-Chicago, the Chicago Bilingual Nurse Consortium, and is an active member of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses-Illinois as the Immediate-Past President and serves as a National board member where she Co-Chairs the National Policy and Advocacy Committee. She is an active member of Illinois HealthCare Action Coalition and the American Nurses Association-Illinois. In addition serves as a member of the Illinois Organization of Nurse leaders and Co-Chairs Policy & Advocacy Committee.
Susana has received numerous nominations, recognitions, and awards for her compassionate volunteer work. To highlight a few: The regional Volunteerism and Service Award from Nursing Spectrum, Mujeres Latinas en Acción- Community Service Award, Illinois Maternal Child Health Coalition; Loretta Lacey Award, MacNeal Nursing Excellence Community Service Award, ASPIRA Excellence in Health Award, March of Dimes Outstanding Nurse of the year award, Windy City Woman of Color- Educator and Advocate Award, Chicago Latino in Philanthropy Award, and Infant Welfare Society Nursing Director of the year. She has been profiled on WLS-TV Channel 7 during Hispanic Heritage Month. Most recently she received the annual National Association of Hispanic Nurses -Community Service Award and the March of Dimes-Jonas Salk, Nurse of the Year for her commitment to service.
Susana is well prepared educationally with dual Master degrees MSN and MHA from the University of Phoenix. Susana has led a professional and personal commitment to serve and improve the quality of life for all she encounters. She is a life role model for nursing education and community servant leadership. On a personal note: She lives by the philosophy that if there is something she can do for you now, then let it be so. For, we may not walk this path again.
Michelle Rivera, PH.D., Public Engagement Manager for Diversity and Inclusion, The Field Museum
Michelle Rivera is a champion for equity and inclusion across multiple public sectors. She is a Mellon/ACLS Public Fellow (2017-2019) and the newly appointed Public Engagement Manager for Diversity and Inclusion at the Field Museum. She earned her doctorate in Communication from the Institute of Communications Research, with a graduate minor in Latina/o Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Trained as a qualitative researcher and communications practitioner, Dr. Rivera has taught and mentored communications, PR, advertising, media, and Latina/o studies students at the University of Illinois and the University of Michigan. In 2015-2016 she was named an Exemplary Diversity Scholar by the National Center for Institutional Diversity (NCID) at the University of Michigan, where she was an Affiliate Faculty member in Digital Studies and a jointly appointed Postdoctoral Fellow/Visiting Scholar at the NCID and the Department of American Culture. Her focus on ethnic marginalization in mainstream media led her to teach and write on this subject in academe. In particular, Dr. Rivera’s work sheds light on the complexities of Latinidad—challenging outmoded and static representations of authenticity that often circulate through Latin/a(o) popular culture, and which increasingly demand intervention in a global and digital age.
She has been invited to present at media and communications conferences across the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Spain, Finland, Australia, and Argentina. Her published work on global Latin pop culture, media, and audiences appears in 50 Events that Shaped Latino History: An Encyclopedia of the American Mosaic; The Routledge Companion to Latino/o Media; The Routledge international handbook of children, adolescents and media; and Seeing in Spanish: From Don Quixote to Daddy Yankee.
Dr. Rivera is currently completing her book manuscript on the global crossover of reggaetón music. She enjoys writing, traveling, and spending time with her family and two dogs.
Diana Carreno, Senior Account Manager, Google
Diana Carreno is an Account Executive in the Education vertical at Google in Chicago, IL graduated as an Industrial Engineer. With experience in the Daimler, Coca-Cola and Google, Diana is responsible for developing digital solutions that build strong businesses and brands.
Having lived in Colombia, Germany, Poland and now the US, Diana works tirelessly to support Diversity and Inclusion initiatives at Google as she has seen the benefits through her own experience. She is the lead of the Latino chapter in Chicago.
Diana is actively involved in Google’s community outreaches to Hispanic students and Latinx owned SMB’s in Chicago. She is the lead for the Google Hispanic Network and in April lead a STEM Conference for 400+ hispanic students.
Honorable Susana L. Ortiz, Illinois Circuit Judge
Susana Ortiz was born and raised in the Little Village Community where she attended Whitney Young High School and graduated from Governor's State University with a B.A. in Public Administration and Public Policy. She received her J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law in 2000 where her law practice focused on the area of Criminal Defense at both the State and Federal levels.
She received certification to represent those facing the death penalty and was a member of the Illinois Capital Litigation Trial Bar. The Mexican Consulate in Chicago retained her to represent Mexican Nationals facing serious criminal charges in Illinois. In 2006 she was instrumental in founding the Women's Criminal Defense Bar Association.
Throughout her career she participated as a guest speaker/mentor in the Women Everywhere Program, and coached several mock trial teams in the Southern Suburbs. In 2016 she was elected to the Circuit Court of Cook County, she currently sits as a Judge in the Domestic Violence Division in the Sixth District Markham Courthouse.
Time is running out to register. The 2018 International Women's Day Celebration is tomorrow. Don't miss out!
