Fannie Mae
General Motors
Founded in 1998, GM Latino Network’s mission is to
serve GM and the Latino community by attracting,
engaging, and developing Latino employees in
support of GM’s strategic priorities.
GM is on a mission to become the most
inclusive company in the world and their ERGs are a
driving force. ERGs are vital in helping create a sense
of community and belonging at GM so that everyone
can bring their most authentic selves to the work
they do every day. Along with supporting and
empowering their diverse communities through
professional development, community engagement
and volunteering opportunities, ERGs also do the
crucial work of building allyship and advocacy by
creating spaces for important dialogue and education
across the broader enterprise. With an Executive
Champion, GMLN has additional support from the
highest level of leadership to help it drive awareness
about the issues that are important to the community
and to help recognize the contributions that Latinos
are making to the company as it continues to
innovate towards a future of Zero Crashes, Zero
Emissions, and Zero Congestion.
Established more than 20 years ago, Fannie Mae’s
Hispanic ERG seeks to increase cultural awareness
within the organization and to provide members
with professional development opportunities. This
community also fosters business partnerships to
impact minority homeownership, employee
recruitment and retention. Through various
partnerships, Hispanic ERG, will further the
company’s volunteerism efforts and presence in the
Hispanic community.
With a membership of over 300 in five states
ERG membership includes employees at every level
Merck & Co.
With roots dating back to 1975, Alianza was formed
as a grassroots organization of the Hispanic / Latino
Business Insights RoundTable and in 2020,
celebrated its 25th anniversary as a formal Employee
Business Resource Group (EBRG). With 1,200
registered members, Merck’s ERG’s membership has
increased by three-fold in the past two-and-a-
half years.
Alianza places emphasis on inclusion and
providing a forum where employees can enhance
their personal and professional development as well
as offer a rich option of cultural and social activities.
The EBRG’s key priorities are: career development,
corporate responsibility and business insight
collaborations.
Members of Alianza are committed to make
positive changes, be recognized for their
accomplishments, take on new responsibilities and
held accountable. The EBRG works to showcase the
work of Hispano/Latino scientists in the company
to help retain, develop, and expose Hispano/Latino
talent in the company. Alianza members contribute
skill and knowledge to develop innovative new
programs, experiences, process and approaches
preventing the negative effects of group-thinking, a
constant that develops in homogeneous groups and
that has been demonstrated that not only reduces but
prevents innovation.
of Fannie Mae. Funded through the Office of
Minority and Women Inclusion’s (OMWI). The
Hispanic ERG is one of Fannie Mae’s 11 ERGs.
These ERGs are employee-initiated and
employee-led, and are fully supported by the
company, through OMWI, which provides a budget,
event planning support, compliance, and general
advice on activities and events.
The primary purpose of ERGs at Fannie Mae,
including the Hispanic ERG is to serve as an
internal resource for employees.
Nationwide
Nationwide’s ERG, National Latino Alliance (NLA), was
established in 2006 as Raising Interest in Spanish
Awareness (RISA) and served mainly as a networking
group, while celebrating Hispanic and Latinx culture.
In 2012, RISA transitioned to a formal employee
resource group (ERG) structure and relaunched as
NLA, implementing an emerging leader mentoring
program. As a result, they began holding joint
celebrations and employee development programs in
Nationwide locations across the country. In 2016, a
new board was elected, and the strategic framework
evolved to better align with the enterprise diversity,
equity and inclusion strategy and initiatives.
With 637 members as of October 2021, NLA is
open to associates and leaders, from a variety of
demographics, business units and locations. NLA has
chapters in 4 states (Arizona, Ohio, Texas, Iowa), and
virtual members across the U.S.
NLA provides its members with opportunities
to network with leadership and associates, develop
personally and professionally, volunteer in their
communities, and participate in external events.
Nationwide’s foundational core value is “We
value people”; this value is embedded in NLA’s
mission statement of “attracting, developing,
promoting and retaining Hispanic and Latinx talent
while fostering a culture of inclusion and diversity of
thought to help drive business outcomes.”
18 www.latinastyle.com LATINAStyle V ol. 27, No. 6 , 2021