Giselle Maria Valdez
Vice President, Public Finance
Wells Fargo Corporate & Investment Banking
Giselle Maria Valdez leads foundation coverage and
co-leads west coast higher education and nonprofit
coverage in Wells Fargo’s public finance investment
banking department. She has managed the pursuit
and execution of over 100 bond financings totaling
$16 billion for higher education and nonprofit clients
throughout the country, including: New York University,
The Ford Foundation, American Museum of Natural
History, University of Chicago, Santa Clara University,
Occidental College, Mount Saint Mary’s University,
Academy Museum of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences, Los Angeles County Museum of Art,
California Academy of Sciences, and Century Housing
Corporation, among others.
In 2020, Valdez’ department had a record-
breaking year with $90 million in revenue and she
served as co-lead banker on numerous marquee bond
financings that led to a significant portion of the
revenue generation for her team. She is a subject
matter expert on structuring and marketing ESG
designated bonds.
LuzElena Rivers
Presidents & CEO
AMERA Solutions
Colombian-born LuzElena Rivers is President and CEO
of AMERA Solutions, a nationwide agency that started
offering medical transportation. In 2010 she identified
a need for ambulatory outpatient transportation and
she developed an affinity for those who lacked the
resources to take care of themselves and their
families. Rivers self-funded the start of Amera,
growing it to the $12 million company it is today.
As a recognized woman-owned Latino business
with revenues of $4 million, Rivers won a prestigious
scholarship to Stanford University’s SLEI program
followed by Goldman Sachs’ 10KSB program
connecting thousands of entrepreneurs nationwide. In
2021, Forbes recognized her in their annual NEXT
1000 list, which celebrates entrepreneurial heroes.
In 2014, she launched the Rivers for Health
Foundation, a non-profit that financially supports
medical services, health fairs, and educational
scholarships. Through the non-profit, Rivers has
collaborated with the YMCA, the City of Houston
Department of Health, Neighborhood Centers Inc., NFL,
Houston Texans, American Cancer Society, and El
Centro de Corazon.
Melida Akiti
Vice President
Memorial Ambulatory and Community
Services Memorial Healthcare System
Melinda Guzman
Director
Federal Home Loan Bank
of San Francisco
Experienced CEO, General Counsel, public/private
director, and value creation expert with 34 years’ on
publicly traded, public, and private boards, Melinda
Guzman is highly regarded for her expertise in
governance, legal and fiduciary matters.
An expert in finance, legal, construction, real
estate and higher education, Guzman has been
responsible for P&L, operations, strategic direction,
financial oversight, and organizational leadership. She
has extensive experience with banking, credit facilities
and venture-backed financing.
Former Board Vice Chair, Melinda serves as Chair
of the bank’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee
and has served as Chair of the Finance, Governance,
External Affairs, and Affordable Housing Committees,
as member of Audit and Risk Committees and as
Vice-Chair of the CEO Succession Committee. She
served on a national Governance Diversity Task Force
for the Federal Home Loan Bank system.
Ofelia Kumpf
Field Vice President
McDonald’s USA
As a visionary global senior executive with strong
strategic planning and operational management
expertise, Ofelia Kumpf, Field Vice President,
McDonald’s USA, has a proven track record of
creating and leading transformational change for the
world's leading global foodservice retailer.
For more than 25 years, she has built and steered
highly profitable business units in domestic and
international markets—taking strategic risks, building
Melida Akiti, Vice President of the Memorial
Ambulatory and Community Services, Memorial
Healthcare System is known as an innovative
healthcare executive with a strong passion for her faith,
her family and her community. As the Vice President of
the Memorial Ambulatory and Community Services at
Memorial Healthcare System, she is credited for
creating one of the best, patient-centered, culturally
sensitive primary care programs in the area, serving
insured and uninsured members of the community.
Born in Panama, Akiti is the first black Latina that
has held the position of chair for the Health Foundation
of South Florida. Akiti is an appointed board member
of the Homeless Continuum of Care and also serves on
the Broward County Race Equity Task Force and as a
board member for Big Brother Big Sister of Broward.
She is Past Board Chair of Child Net (responsible for
the foster care system) and Emeritus board member of
Hispanic Unity.
Akiti is an active member of Covenant Seventh
Day Adventist Church, a woman of strong faith who
remains grateful to God for all her blessings and for
that inner strength that guides her spirit to service. She
cherishes time with family and friends, including
spending time with her husband of 35-years and her
96-year-old mother. She is proud of her daughter who
is an attorney following her step in working with the
vulnerable population.
14 www.latinastyle.com LATINAStyle V ol. 27, No. 6, 2021