Negocios Now

www.negociosnow.com 6 Abril 2022 Age: 27 Title: Executive Director Organization: Increase the Peace Berto Aguayo is the co-founder and executive director of Increase the Peace, an organization that develops young lea - ders and promotes peace through community orga- nizing and policy advoca- cy. Aguayo is a proud Back of the Yards native, where he was raised by a single mother who emi- grated from Mexico. His struggles and experiences as a former gang mem- ber led him on a journey toward social justice. He holds bachelor's degrees in political science and economics from Domi- nican University, is an alumnus of the Universi- ty of Chicago's Civic Lea- dership Academy, and is a first-year law student at Northwestern University. From 2013 to 2016, he coordinated the Hoops in the Hood program in Back of the Yards while at the same time working for state Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch. In 2015, he was appointed by the mayor's office to the My Brother's Keeper Cabinet. In 2016 he co-founded Increa - se the Peace. Since then, the program has trained hundreds of residents in community organizing, organized dozens of ac - tions to increase the pea- ce, and has expanded its work to include violence prevention, public health, and multicultural unity. In 2018, Aguayo worked as a national leadership trainer with the Obama Foundation. In 2019, he ran an in - dependent grassroots campaign for 15th Ward Alderman. He was the po- litical director for Marie Newman's congressional campaign and did a brief stint on Lori Lightfoot's mayoral campaign. In addition to his current role, he serves on the boards of CHANGE Illinois and Beyond Legal Aid, and is a part of the Chicago Community Trust's Chan - gemakers Network. Aguayo is a past reci- pient of the Young His- panic Leader Award from the United States Hispa- nic Leadership Institute, of the Outstanding Alum- nus Award from the Mikva Challenge, and of the Ele- vating Youth Voices Award from the Bright Promises Foundation. He is also a former scholar of the As- pen Institute, and he was a fellow at Citizen Univer- sity. Age: 36 Title: Senior Brand Manager Global Markets Name of Organization: Conagra Brands Joanna Ascencio came from Columbia and now heads the brand and mar - keting departments for Conagra Brands, the giant U.S. agricultural products company. Ascencio is a proud Latina, born and raised in Colombia, who moved to the United States six years ago to broaden her worldview and explore career opportunities. With a chemical engineering background and an MBA, she found her passion in brand strategy and mar - keting and has dedicated 12 years to help brands build awareness and en- gagement, and grow sales through strategic segmen- tation, positioning, com- munication, identification of white spaces, and pro- duct innovation. In her current role with Conagra Brands, she heads the brand and marketing department for global markets, tasked with the mission of building strong and profitable brands across the world alongsi - de her team of marketers in the United States, Latin America, and Asia. What she enjoys the most in her role is being able to lead and coach a team of diverse and em - powered women to achie- ve great results. Prior to her current job, she had been helping brands in the pharmaceu- tical and beauty indus- tries, both in Colombia and the United States, to drive sustainable and pro- fitable growth by building strategic plans, transfor- ming insights into ac- tionable innovation and communication strate- gies, and leading and em- powering teams of young marketers. In her free time, she enjoys spending time in nature, running, scuba di- ving and playing with her dogs. Age: 39 Title: Global Head of Re- search Operations, External Partners Name of Organization: Euromonitor International Marta Barriga holds several advanced de - grees and is global head of research operations for the market research firm Euromonitor Inter- national. She is respon- sible for recruiting, ma- naging and developing the extended workforce of the company. She has been leading an interna- tional team, with people from seven different na- tionalities in multiple countries and time zo- nes, overseeing and ma- naging over 1,200 con- tractors and over 1,500 industry experts world- wide. Barriga is a mother of three who holds a bachelor's degree in eco- nomics, master's degrees in international manage- ment and international relations, and is a docto- rate candidate in business administration. She loves learning about new topics and is passionate about diversity, equity and inclu- sion. Born in Spain but rai- sed in Chile and the Uni- ted States, she moved to Chicago with her family at age 35 to pursue a longti- me dream of giving her children an international experience where they could learn about other cultures, races and lan- guages. As a world citizen, she has tried to advoca- te for multilingual and multicultural families through her kids' school district, bringing aware- ness and giving a voice to those who are naviga- ting the system without always being seen. She is also advocating for and supporting bilingual teachers and Spanish immersion programs as these open children's worlds and give them valuable tools for their future. Berto Aguayo Joanna Ascencio Marta Barriga Community Advocate Brand builder Culture advocate

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