Speakers

Kim Aftergood is a Mexican American managing director at Accenture Federal Services, a subsidiary of Accenture that provides a broad range of services to help federal agencies solve their mission-critical challenges. Kim is proud to lead Accenture’s National Security Mission Integration Sector focusing on critical U.S. National Security & Defense missions.  She has been a leader at Accenture for 25 years and has extensive experience in cloud strategy, large complex transformations, the Dept. of Defense, and harnessing innovation for missions of consequence. Kim also applies her passion for people and equality as an Accenture Inclusion & Diversity Council Member and serves as the DC region Hispanic American Employee Resource Group Executive Sponsor.  Kim is happily married to her husband Steven and enjoys spending time with her son Lincoln. She also enjoys her puppy Jules, moving with Pilates & tennis and adventure travel with extended family and friends.

Arturo Cázares is the CEO of Latino Business Action Network (LBAN), a Silicon Valley based non-profit that partners with Stanford to empower Latinx entrepreneurship across the country. LBANs 3 pillars of focus include foundational research on Latinx entrepreneurship, transformational Business Scaling programs at Stanford for Latinx entrepreneurs, and LBAN is building an empowering national ecosystem of Latinx entrepreneurship. 

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Prior to LBAN, Cázares was a senior executive at various technology companies. He has extensive real-world business scaling experience ranging from building and leading teams at start-ups to leading multi-billion-dollar revenue organizations with thousands of employees worldwide. 

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Cázares was a child immigrant from Mexico to the Central Valley of California. He is a first-gen college graduate with an Electrical Engineering degree from Stanford and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. 

Before founding Web3 and AI digital platform Conectado in 2022, Guillermo Diaz Jr. served as the global chief information officer at Cisco for more than 20 years.
Diaz started his telecommunications career in the U.S. Navy. He held senior IT positions at Silicon Graphics, Alza Corp. and Ingram Micro before his tenure at Cisco.
Inclusion and diversity are important to Diaz, who is the chairman at Hispanic IT Executive Council. At Cisco, he was a leader within the Cisco Diversity Council and served as the visionary executive sponsor for Conexión, Cisco's dedicated Hispanic/Latino employee resource organization. He also serves on social impact boards for the Cristo Rey High School Work Study program and the Stanford Latino Entrepreneur Initiative.

Luisa Fernandez-Willey is the Assistant Vice President in the Policy & Economics Department at Association of American Railroads (AAR) where she leads economic and statistical analyses on a broad range of issues affecting the freight railroad industry.

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Luisa designs, implements, and manages data modernization efforts using cutting edge technology such as machine learning to support AAR’s research and analysis goals. Luisa also an expert in Mexican freight rail and regulatory matters.

Prior to joining AAR, her professional experience included financial management consulting for private-sector clients and economic research supporting the Maryland state government. She has served as a university lecturer and has published scholarly research in a peer-reviewed international academic journal.

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Luisa holds a M.A. in Economics from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and a M.Sc. in Business and Economic Forecasting from Kingston University-London. She has also completed Michigan State University’s Railway Management Certification Program.

Sebastian Forgues is associate general counsel and chief counsel, innovation, and emerging technologies, at MITRE, a not-for-profit research company with dual headquarters in McLean, Va., and Bedford, Mass.

Moisés Linares is a play-by-play announcer for Major League Soccer (MLS) on Apple TV. Linares, a Salvadoran American, joined Apple TV at the start of the 2023 season after serving as the Spanish-language voice for D.C. United and working as a sports anchor for NBC Washington and Telemundo 44. Linares is also in his sixth season serving as the Spanish-language voice for the NFL's Washington Commanders.

A 17-time Emmy award winning journalist, Linares, has covered sports in the Washington D.C. region since 2012. He is also an author who published his first book “We Are Not Born Failures” documenting his family’s journey from El Salvador to the United States.

Valery Maya is a seasoned executive leader with over a decade of experience driving impactful change for Fortune 500 firms across diverse industries. Her strategic approach and focus on leading cross-functional teams have resulted in significant improvements in strategy, process, and profitability for various organizations. She has extensive experience in DEI strategy and driving initiatives, fostering inclusive environments, and promoting diversity within the teams and organizations she has worked with.

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Valery currently serves as a Manager at PWC, where she spearheads the development of leadership strategies and programs, oversees core curriculum and learning opportunities, and integrates learning, coaching, and professional development programs to bolster leadership skills. She also serves as the Internal Program Director for DEI, enhancing DEI strategy, aligning it with strategic plans and priorities, and leveraging existing strengths. Prior to PWC, Valery was a Project Manager-Senior Consultant at Saliense, where she effectively led and supported direct reports in a team environment, driving performance and development. She also served as an Operations Manager at MedStar Health, where she streamlined personnel, facilities, services, provider-payer relations, coordination, training, reporting management, and patient experience resolution, enhancing organizational efficiency.

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Valery holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, International Business from Marymount University, a Masters in Strategy, Leadership and Management from Michigan State University, and a Doctorate in Executive Leadership from Charleston University. She is also Scrum Master Certified, PMP Certified, Agile Certified, and Black Belt Lean Six Sigma Certified.

Hady is the founder and CEO of Boldly Speaking LLC, a company that aspires to expand the conversation around Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB). Through her role as a speaker and facilitator, Hady encourages employees and leaders to play an active role in creating more inclusive workplaces.

With a diverse career spanning over 25 years, Hady has served as Head of Equality for a major tech firm, held multiple customer-facing roles in high tech and financial services, served as a leader across various Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), volunteered as an international champion for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women, and served as Community School Director at an elementary school in the South Bronx.

Hady’s academic credentials include a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Information Systems from Manhattan College, plus graduate certificates in eBusiness and eCommerce from NYU and NJIT, respectively. She also holds a Family Development Credential from the University of Connecticut.

Hady’s additional advocacy work has her serving as a member of the NY Advisory Board at Room to Grow, a nonprofit organization based in the South Bronx. Hady also serves on the Board of Pan Peru USA, an organization whose mission is to empower low-income women in rural Peru. In her free time, Hady is an amateur street art photographer and an avid podcast listener.

Elena Richards is a Principal and Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer at KPMG LLP. She is an accomplished HR, talent management and diversity professional with deep knowledge of the professional services industry.

As CDEIO, Elena leads the firm’s national Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) team and works closely with KPMG’s management committee and board of directors to advance the firm’s Accelerate 2025 strategy, a commitment for more underrepresented talent to choose KPMG as their employer of choice, experience thriving careers within an inclusive culture, and advance to partnership and leadership levels. Elena further collaborates with KPMG’s functional business leaders on the business integration of the firm’s strategic priorities. The outcome of her leadership has earned the firm recognition as a top workplace by Fortune, DiversityInc, Seramount, Human Rights Campaign, and more.

Dr. Miguel O. Román is Senior Director, Chief Scientist, and Technical Fellow at Leidos, a FORTUNE® 500 science and technology leader. Within Leidos' Civil Group, Dr. Román provides strategic direction to a diverse portfolio of advanced capabilities, including climate data and information systems, renewable energy solutions, and sustainable infrastructure projects, generating $240 million in revenues, overseeing 740+ employees, and achieving 10% year-over-year organic growth.

Over the course of his career, Dr. Román has held leadership roles in various sectors, spanning the federal government, industry, and non-profit organizations. Since 2014, he has been at the helm of the Terra/Aqua MODIS and Suomi-NPP VIIRS Science Teams, which consist of a global consortium of experts and technical professionals responsible for overseeing one of the largest and most comprehensive polar-orbiting satellite systems vital for monitoring our planet's health. 

A recognized authority in satellite remote sensing, disaster risk reduction, and climate sustainability, Dr. Román has been a driving force in advancing interdisciplinary research and data-driven methodologies to assess and mitigate climate-related challenges. His work is internationally recognized for shedding light on the unique vulnerabilities faced by socially disadvantaged and underserved communities in the aftermath of major disasters.

Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Dr. Román's exceptional contributions to science and engineering have earned him prestigious accolades, including the Inaugural 2023 Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) award for Climate Sustainability, the 2016 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), personally bestowed by President Barack Obama, and his status as a finalist for the 2014 Service to America Medal "Sammies,"; one of the most distinguished honors for federal civil servants.

Dr. Román's educational background includes a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, a master's degree in systems engineering from Cornell University, and a Ph.D. in geography from Boston University.

Dr. Madeleine F. Wallace, founder and CEO, is a recognized expert in business strategy, program evaluation of federal government programs, performance measurement, and organizational development.

She has worked extensively with federal, state, and local government agencies; universities; industry; and social services organizations. She has a solid portfolio of success in directing large-scale projects and providing technical assistance and training to diverse audiences. She has extensive experience leading organizations, building teams, and managing resources to achieve strategic goals in the private and public sectors.

She earned her PhD in Sociology with a concentration in Demography from the University of Tennessee. She was previously Director of Evaluation and Performance at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

During her tenure, Dr. Wallace managed and oversaw NIH-level evaluation and performance-related efforts for several major NIH programs and initiatives. She has given numerous presentations and trainings on evaluation methodologies and her conceptual framework for adapting and tailoring evidence-based interventions to real-world practice settings.