Monthly Archives: May 2013

LATINAS THINK BIG – The Official Launch of the ELLA Leadership Institute

Posted on by
Reply
The ELLA Leadership Institute launch event at Barnard College, May 16, 2013.

The ELLA Leadership Institute launch event at Barnard College, May 16, 2013.

The ELLA Leadership Institute officially launched last Thursday, May 16, at an empowering event at Barnard College at Columbia University. The LATINAS THINK BIG event was attended by over 200 participants and was live streamed by Google.

ELLA Leadership Institute is a professional development center that offers strategic and tailored training, consulting, and mentoring programs to women seeking career and leadership success.

“Latinas are the fastest growing female population in this country,” said ELLA Leadership Institute Founder and CEO Dr. Angélica Pérez-Litwin, “and yet only 0.3% of Fortune 500 corporate executives are Latinas. Similar rates of invisibility are found in academia, in the political arena, and the non-profit sector. This is not acceptable.”

Dr. Angélica Pérez-Litwin, who earned her PhD. in clinical psychology from Fordham University, has devoted more than 20 years of her professional career to the empowerment, well-being, and success of Latinas. As the publisher of NEW LATINA, Dr. Pérez-Litwin has greatly contributed to a new digital conversation focusing on issues that matter to today’s career-driven and progressive Latinas.

“The reality is a large majority of professional Latinas are pioneers,” Dr. Pérez-Litwin said during her talk at the LATINAS THINK BIG event. “Many of them are first generation Latinas in corporate America, in academia, in politics, in the careers of science, technology, and engineering. As they enter these professional-themed arenas they are navigating new spaces and don’t have the necessary support and guidance to achieve career success.”

Dr. Pérez-Litwin has already inspired countless Latinas, including members of Mujeres, the Latina-based student organization at Barnard College. Tatiana Vera, who works at the Student Life Center at Barnard and is the president of Mujeres, is honored to have Dr. Pérez-Litwin as her personal mentor.

“When she called herself my mentor I was through the roof,” said Vera. “Everything that she’s done I completely respect. I want to be a clinical psychologist as well. She’s the CEO of her own company and has her own practice. How more boss can you be for a woman?”

Corina Velazquez, a spoken word artist and dancer who is also a member of Mujeres, thinks of herself as an important piece in changing the world mainly because of Dr. Pérez-Litwin.

“The first time I met Dr. Angélica Pérez I was blown away,” Velazquez said. “She changed my view about working and my own aspirations as well. She really instilled this idea of the Latina not only working for her family but also working for herself. She instilled the idea that we can have it all and be economically sound as well.”

Share

Ale Hop and Astroboyz Perform and Amaze at the 2013 Red Bull Music Academy’s Nanobot Event

Posted on by
Reply

The 2013 events sponsored by the Red Bull Music Academy are still going on through May 31 in New York City. Thanks to the wonderful staff at Majestic Relations, I was able to catch the Nanobot Picket Line show Monday night at the Cameo Gallery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The amount of musical talent I witnessed that evening was of the highest caliber. I joined a wonderfully social crowd of music lovers at the hip and friendly venue to enjoy some awesome tunes and meet some incredible artists.

Musician Ale Hop, from Lima, Peru, performs at the RBMA Nanobot Picket Line event, Mon. May 6, 2013.

Musician Ale Hop, from Lima, Peru, performs at the RBMA Nanobot Picket Line event in Brooklyn.  (Mon. May 6, 2013.)

Ale Hop, a quiet, shy, and soft-spoken young woman from Lima, Peru making her first trip to the United States, became an entirely different person during her performance. The confidence she expressed on stage was captivating and fused well with her amazing command of her electric guitar and electronic beats.

Ale Hop has been part of an indie pop group called Las Amigas de Nadie since 2008 but wanted to introduce people to another side of her personality.

“Las Amigas de Nadie is more happy, more pop,” described Ale Hop. “This other side of me expresses the energy I have and the need for me to make noise, to play a little louder.”

Ale Hop is enjoying her time in New York and is making a lot of contacts and definitely wants to come back.

“The music scene here is crazy and very different from Lima,” said Ale Hop. “There is a lot going on here.”

Astroboyz, from Barcelona, Spain, playing his music at the Red Bull Music Academy's Nanobot Picket Line event in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. (Mon. May 6, 2013.)

Astroboyz, from Barcelona, Spain, playing his music at the RBMA Nanobot event in NYC. (Mon. May 6, 2013.)

Similar to Ale Hop, Astroboyz from Barcelona, Spain, also made his first trip to the U.S to participate in this year’s Red Bull Music Academy (RBMA.) He knew he was going to be a musician when he was 15 years old and got his start as a guitarist in a punk-rock band and later a drummer in a different band. Then around 2007 he took a course in sound engineering and found electronic music fascinating. Soon after, Astroboyz was born.

“It’s very difficult to describe my music,” said Astroboyz. “Because I don’t create just one style, I work with multiple styles of music. Sometimes I know what the end will sound like and sometimes I feel comfortable not knowing what it will end up sounding like.”

Astroboyz plays the club scene in Barcelona and performs at many parties, galleries, and music festivals, which are very popular in Spain. He will be in New York City for the entire month of May and hopes to see more of the city after the middle of the month when his lectures at the RBMA end.

Astroboyz’s music reminded me of the deep house music the clubs in NYC used to play in the past. He told me he was influenced by house music but tries to put his own spin on that style of music.

Thanks to the RBMA, both Ale Hop and Astroboyz had an excellent opportunity to showcase their music in front of a New York audience. It was a pleasure making their acquaintance and experiencing their astounding talent.

Share