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Over the years, our Leading Latinas series has celebrated the remarkable women who are shaping industries, breaking barriers, and redefining leadership at the highest levels. These award-winning entertainers, pioneering executives, trailblazing entrepreneurs, and change-makers have shared their insights, resilience, and vision for the future.
As we reflect on some of the most influential voices we’ve featured, their words continue to inspire the next generation of leaders to dream bigger, lead boldly, and create lasting impact.
Stay tuned for our 2025 Leading Latinas series, which will be released on March 12, 2025.
Zoe Saldaña
Newly minted Oscar-winner Zoe Saldaña has received many accolades throughout her impressive career—including being one of our Leading Latinas in 2019. The actress, producer, activist, and entrepreneur shared her perspective on what it means to be an American in today’s society and how she’s continually working to broaden that definition. “Representation cultivates aspiration,” she said in Conversations at the Top. “I’ve seen it all around me. And I’ve also been a witness to what happens when that representation is not there, how much it affects someone’s identity.”
Jessica Alba
There is so much more to Jessica Alba than her Hollywood career. In 2021, we were able to peel back the layers to learn more about how the fiercely protective mother, entrepreneur, and businesswoman built the Honest Company. “My most important decision was finding the right business partners,” she said in Conversations at the Top. “You can’t do it alone. There is no way. Also, set realistic goals. Try not to have goals that are too lofty or out there. When you have goals you can achieve, you get things done.”
Priscilla Almodovar
Fannie Mae’s first Latina CEO, Priscilla Almodovar, graced our 2024 Leading Latinas cover a year into her tenure. Almodovar, a Brooklyn-raised Boricua, reflected on her lessons learned and the privilege of creating new homeownership opportunities. “This is the only place in the world where one generation to the next can see that growth,” she said. “This is a place of opportunity, and I bring that to my work because if you work hard, hopefully, you’ll see the benefit of your efforts.”
Rosario Dawson & María Teresa Kumar
For our 2020 Leading Latinas issue, we brought in two influential Latinas mobilizing the second-largest voting bloc through Voto Latino: cofounder Rosario Dawson and founding president and CEO María Teresa Kumar. The duo graced the print cover and spoke on the organization’s evolution across its then-fifteen years of existence. “[Our biggest moments impress] upon me that dreaming big, coalition building, commitment, focus, and determination can make a real impact,” Dawson said in her Q&A. “When we see and support each other, there is nothing we cannot do.”
Alicia Menendez
Latina to Latina podcast host and author of The Likeability Trap Alicia Menendez led our 2020 Leading Latinas issue as our guest editor. “Neither sharing our stories as inspiration for others, nor investing in mentees and sponsorees fully compensate for necessary organizational change,” she wrote, “but it often provides someone else with the life raft she needs to stay afloat as she waits for the greater tides to turn.”
Ana Flores
#WeAllGrow Latina Network founder and CEO Ana Flores shared her journey from mom blogger to business leader in our 2022 Leading Latinas series. “When you’re blazing a trail, you don’t necessarily know where it’s going to take you, but that’s the beauty of it,” she said. “We have been able to pivot and grow as the community and the digital space have evolved, and now, we want to become a global platform for Latinas.”
Lynda Lopez
Emmy Award-winning journalist Lynda Lopez (and younger sister of Jennifer Lopez) has relied on her instincts to choose vision over volume to elevate the stories of women—particularly other women of color—throughout her career. “I think all the Latinas I have ever known have what it takes to be a leader,” she said in her 2021 Leading Latinas feature. “We are resourceful, strong, pay attention, and are loving. All of those things that make a good leader are inherent in all of the Latinas I have known.”
Javiera Balmaceda
In our 2024 Leading Latinas issue, Javiera Balmaceda shared how going to the theater with her younger brother Pedro Pascal inspired her own passion to bring stories of Latino and Hispanic artists in front of the world at Amazon Studios. “What speaks to me the most is being able to show the variety of storytelling that’s coming out of Latin America,” she said. “There’s so much more to be told about the lives and the people of South America and all of Latin America.”
Emma Rodriguez-Ayala, Adela Cepeda & Paulita Pike
Three powerful Latinas—Emma Rodriguez-Ayala, Adela Cepeda, and Paulita Pike—joined our 2023 Leading Latinas series to advocate for more mentorship and more representation within the mutual funds space. “If there is any space where I think it should be obvious to have representation, I think it’s mutual funds,” Pike said. “It makes sense for people of all backgrounds to be involved in this space, whether it’s on the legal side, the investing side, or the board side. This space should be representative of the public that is creating this capital.”
You can view all Leading Latinas features here.
This article was partially written with the assistance of AI.
