Inheritance: Discovering the Richness of Latino Family & Culture
DR. LORENA GARZA GONZALEZ Through her lifelong commitment to leadership and service, Dr. Lorena Gonzalez inspires individuals to recognize and magnify their strengths for the good of others. Lorena combines practical and theoretical experiences to provide training and technical assistance that teaches practitioners, educators, policymakers, and community leaders how to build successful programs driving positive change. She also is instrumental in creating partnerships that strengthen the power of underserved communities.  Lorena was recently inducted into the prestigious Hispanic Scholarship Fund’s Hall of Fame, where she received the “Optimista” award for achieving success through persistence in the face of adversity.  Although her father had only a third-grade education, Lorena credits her father’s four words, “You can do it,” for helping her complete three degrees as a young wife and mother.   Lorena received her PhD in Leadership Studies from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas, and her MA in Bicultural Bilingual Studies from the University of Texas at San Antonio. She completed post-doctoral work at Harvard University’s Government, Executive Education Program.   Lorena and her husband, Rene, have three children and reside in San Antonio, Texas.   LISA TREVIÑO CUMMINS As a third-generation American of Mexican descent, Lisa Treviño Cummins traces the formation of her identity and world view to her family and faith. She began her professional career at Bank of America where she pioneered community development efforts, providing national leadership focused on building public and private partnerships with faith-based organizations.   In 2001, Lisa helped launch the White House Faith and Community-Based Initiative. During her two-year tenure, Lisa was instrumental in creating initiatives that welcomed small community and faith-based organizations, increased federal resource accountability, and encouraged the removal of barriers that prevent new entrants into the federal funding stream.  Since 2003, Lisa has led Urban Strategies in its mission to tool, connect, and resource community and faith-based organizations committed to community transformation among the most vulnerable in our country.  Lisa earned her BS in Accounting from Trinity University in San Antonio and her MBA from University of Texas in San Antonio.  Lisa, her husband, and their three children reside in the Washington, D.C. area.