By Vera Wong
Hosted by Agave Uptown, the Silicon Valley Latino Meet-Up had 4 panel leaders of Bay Area Latinx organizations and communities including Techqueria, ALPFA, Latinos In Finance, and the Men’s Giving Circle. The organizations discussed their mission and vision for the continuous expansion of their programs through extended community commitment and outreach. The question regarding what it means to grow up as a Latinx, especially a Latinx pursuing an education in the field of finance was raised and their cultural values on exhibiting craftsmanship, authenticity, and familial bonds were highlighted. These highly successful programs have been working hard to expand their community to places like Southern California and New York City. With upcoming events and the mentorship and scholarship programs they have available, these organizations are looking to collaborate in the future and all have mutual goals to expose their communities to different avenues of finance to encourage leadership development in a variety of industries and uplift those from underserved and low-income communities.
What I learned
One amazing piece of advice I took away from this event is that it is within our responsibility to “lean in” as Angel Chavez discussed. We must be take the leap to be kind and support each other as a unity in order to inspire change and innovation for generations to come.
