EMPOWERING LATINAS IN THE IE

Ms. Virginia Piña, owner of Brea Auto Body was born and raised in Los Angeles California. Virginia’s mother passed away when she was only 7 years old and she was raised by her father, who was an orphan himself.

Virginia’s first job was at 12, she graduated early from High School at 16 and was out of the house, on her own. Growing up in poverty, at 17, she started East LA Junior College, worked and went to school, walking and taking the bus. She received a scholarship to Ohio State but did not complete University because by the age of 20, she had married, was a widow and was a single mother. Virginia later married David Piña, and they had three daughters and 5 grandchildren. They worked very hard and pulled themselves and their family out of poverty. David was the love of her life, and after over 40 years together, he passed away in 2014 after a very long illness.

Virginia returned to college and received her AA in Business from Rio Hondo College when her children were young. Virginia was the first person in her family to graduate from college with an AA degree. In 2020 she proudly completed the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program.

In 1979, David came to her and wanted to start his own body shop. He was a technician and worked 7 days a week to support the family. With fear, lots of courage and a lot of sacrifice, Brea Auto Body was founded, with David and Virginia working together, while raising their young children while their small savings went into the business. Brea Auto Body has grown from 2 employees and two small bays, up to 14 employees and a 17,000 square foot state of the art facility.

In 2019, the building she occupied was sold and she was forced to move her location. She ran out of a satellite shop while her equipment was in 7 storage units, and moved a second time into her new location in Brea. Although 2020 / 21 has been a challenging year, as an essential business, Brea Auto Body remained open to serve the community.

Brea Auto Body has been voted #1 Best Body Shop in Orange County three times, by consumers on OC City Voter. Brea Auto Body is Honda and Acura and I-CAR Gold Certified, which means 3^rd party yearly certification and on-going training with a high standard of excellence and equipment. Virginia cares about each customer that comes to her shop and continues the legacy, that she and her husband started with; to repair each vehicle as if it was their own. To always take care of the customer. To care for the crew and their families, and to give back to the community. To take care of her family.

Ms. Piña is involved with many charitable organizations. Virginia sits on the board of a 501(c)(3) organization, The Friends of the Trinitarians, which serves underserved communities in Mexico and the United States, offering access to education, music, practical skills, food and housing. Virginia has been part of this organization for over 20 years and has chaired multiple large fundraisers. Virginia and her family were awarded several community awards, including the National Auto Body Pride Award for Humanitarian Acts outside of the Industry.

Maria Dely is the owner of Mary Dely Photography. 

She was born in Guadalajara Jal, Mexico. She earned a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and worked at IBM Gdl Manufacturing for several years. She moved to the US after meeting her husband and started a new life. She also started to pursue one of her passions, Photography.  Since she was a child, she liked art, painting in oil and photography. She remembers having a camera by her side all the time. She decided to quit her job, follow her dream of becoming a photographer, and discovered the magical world of transforming light into photos. Maria attended Covina City College and the California Photography Center, in San Dimas, where she took photography classes and collaborated as an assistant to recognized photographers in various events. This was a great learning experience. Officially, she started her own business as a photographer in 2018. 

She has 2 daughters and lives in the Inland Empire.  

Maria Diaz has over 20 years of experience working in various roles from sole HR practitioner to leading an HR team up to Regional level support. She is a Certified Senior Human Resources Professional, PHRCA and SHRM-SCP. Maria worked in industries such as Healthcare, Distribution, Manufacturing and Retail. She is a Self proclaimed HR Nerd that enjoys the people side of doing HR services. Holds a BS in Business Management from the University of Phoenix. Advanced Certified Practitioner through Assessments 24x7 with Dr. Tony Alessandra (Core Assessments: DISC, EIQ-2, Learning Styles, Motivators and Critical Thinking). Bilingual (English/Spanish). In November 2019, she founded Level Up Human Resources LLC to provide employment and life skills for positive leadership development. More than ever and for the future of workplaces cultures people need to strengthen their skills in accountability, effective communication, self-respect and personal development.

Maria loves networking and community involvement in various professional groups. Been involved from the beginning of her HR career with Professionals in Human Resources Association (PIHRA) and currently acting as the Vice-Chair Board Member for PIHRA-Riverside. Also, the Vice-Chair Board Member for the Greater Riverside Employers Advisory Council (GREAC). Hold membership for Trusted Business Partners as Assistant VP for Canyon Lake and proud member of the NLBWA-IE.

In January 2020, joined the EIQ-2 Learning Centers as an Associate Director of EIQ-2 Community Services to collaborate in building education for Emotional Intelligence. This collaboration led to a partnership side project with Life Transformation Coach and created an online course on Race Relations.

Received in 2020 the Women/Minority Business Enterprise (WMBE) Certification.

Maria is also a Wife and a Mom of three kids and three pets. She enjoys reading personal development books, watching movies with the fam and going on long walks. 

Laura Palafox is the President and CEO of Market Design, along with her son Dan Guzman Lara. They created a Consulting Firm with more than 25 years of combined experience, offering state of the Art Marketing services for new lifestyles that come as a result of the modern challenges in the marketplace. Their mission is to make a better world for all by increasing people's happiness and prosperity.
At Market Design, Laura provides her expertise to organizations or individuals, helping them to reach their business goals by providing customer insights and sharing market updates. Laura and her son craft personalized strategies, allowing the business owner to focus on product development and overall operations.

 Their services include:
•  Study the companies profile and operations to understand its marketing needs
•  Conduct marketing research to identify industry trends and commercial opportunities
•  Develop and implement a marketing strategy according to objectives and budget
•  Prepare detailed proposals and marketing plans
•  Advise on branding, positioning, communications and other marketing issues
• Help monitor results and tweak campaigns as they go to ensure that companies get the best results from their marketing efforts.

Laura was born in Mexico and lived in the states of Puebla and Querétaro. She moved to California with her two sons, Max and Dan, more than sixteen years ago. In 2006 her daughter was born, and with her a new life began again, in new lands. 

Her professional journey started when she graduated from the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ÍTESM) with a degree in Marketing. Subsequently, she had the opportunity to work for companies such as IBM - Mexico, ITESC-CEM, Industrial Technology and Consulting in Manufacturing. She also was a professor at the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP), Universidad Del Valle de México and Universidad Iberoamericana. She is proud to be a founding member of New Tech y Control de Fallas, where she developed and implemented courses for different organizations. Laura also offered training programs for different organizations, including the Mexican Consulate in San Bernardino, and developed a training program for CALOSHA for Builders Carpet and Drapery. Most recently, she has retaken the entrepreneur path. She graduated from the second generation of Emprededor@s in San Bernardino and the 2020 NLBWA-IE Business Management & Leadership Academy.

In her spare time,  she volunteers to teach computer science to adults, gives tutoring in Spanish and teaches piano. Mother, professional and volunteer, finishing a difficult year full of challenges with a positive attitude towards the future: "2021 begins with a promising future to reach every goal, to make a better world for all!"

Crystal Lopez is the President and CEO of Carter Bradley Insurance Solutions, an agency offering wide-ranging, comprehensive insurance coverages specifically tailored to the unique, personal and business needs of her diverse client base. The company is the namesake of her now seven-year-old son. Crystal’s emphasis is on providing solutions to protect families financially, especially their children, during the most trying and often unexpected situations. She balances her commitment to her family and profession by also fulfilling her passion to help others, diligently serving the community through various causes and organizations.

At the age of 17, Crystal lost her father to a drunk driver. The mental, emotional and financial avalanche of this event was devastating. However, while still mourning but grasping the urgency at hand, Crystal was determined not to allow this tragedy to define her life. With her family having no financial resources, she left high school to help support her mother and siblings. While Crystal sustained two jobs and found her way into the insurance industry, under the tutelage of a gentleman and his wife helping the community with life insurance. Ultimately, rather than define her life, the loss of her father provided the impetus to leverage her empathy to help families avoid a similar fate. Giving birth to Carter along the way only intensified her passion to educate, serve and protect families. Crystal’s passion for her profession is only exceeded by her passion to be an exceptional mother for Carter.

Carter Bradley Insurance Solutions, allows for competing firms to offer her clients solutions to meet their industry-specific and business-specific needs. Such an arrangements ensures all recognized business coverages are available in a timely manner, with expectations for the best quality and prices.

Crystal’s community involvement provides good symmetry with her professional objective of helping others. She has served as Ambassador for the Corona Chamber of Commerce since 2018. Moreover, she was recognized by the Chamber as the “Rising Star of 2019” and is currently serving on its Board of Directors. She is also an Ambassador with the National Latina Business Women Association, a member of the Eastvale Chamber of Commerce and NAWBO. Crystal enjoys volunteering at the Corona Public Library where she reads books to small children during story time.