National Hispanic Business Association

The main responsibilities of the Board are to determine the organization's mission and vision, ensure the organization's future, and define long-term goals. The Board is comprised of professionals who have demonstrated substantial previous involvement with NHBA and share a passion for the organization.

National Board of Directors

Antonia Bernal

Verizon Communications
Video Retail Solutions

Currently, Antonia works as a Customer Experience manager at Verizon. She is responsible for the roll-out of FiOS TV, Verizon’s fiber-optic video service. Her role includes providing direction to franchising teams, interacting with advertising agencies and managing customer experiences.

Previously, Antonia worked in the Hispanic Marketing Communications group, where she helped develop and implement Verizon's consumer and small business marketing campaigns; and the National Sponsorships group, where she helped coordinate the Verizon Ladies First Tour, Verizon Music Festival and Verizon Presents Elton John Concert Series.

Antonia has served as the Public Relations and Publications Officer for NHBA as well as the Public Relations Officer for The University of Texas chapter.

Antonia earned her BBA in Marketing from the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin.

Giovanni (Gio) Carranza

JPMorgan Chase
Personal Banker

Gio currently works for JPMorgan Chase as a Personnel banker in Buckeye, AZ. At Chase Gio matches the services offered with the needs of each client, from student loans to retirement plans. Gio has also been recently admitted to the Arizona State University MBA program for the 2008 fall semester.

Previously, Gio worked as an Account Executive with Con-way Freight, responsible for establishing and maintaining a customer base in the San Bernardino and Riverside counties in California. Gio started with Con-way in their Management Trainee Program where he learned every aspect of the company including sales and operations. Prior to his responsibilities with Con-way, Gio interned at the California-Mexico Trade Center in Santa Ana, CA. This non-profit organization assisted small business owners with the procedures and legal documentation for the import/export of goods..

Gio received his Bachelor of Arts degree at the young age of 20 in International Business with a language concentration in Spanish from the California State University, Fullerton. During this time at Fullerton, he served as the Alumni Relations Officer for the Latino Business Student Association.

Chris Castillo

Wrigley Sales Company
Territory Sales Manager

As a Territory Sales Manager for Wrigley Sales Company, Chris is responsible for the growth of Wrigley confections throughout the East Texas region. With over 1,000 accounts, Chris specializes in the distribution, shelving, merchandising, and pricing of Wrigley confections in all major outlets.
Chris earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in History with a minor in business at Texas A&M University (TAMU). He recently completed his Master of Education degree in Sport Management from Hardin-Simmons University. Chris' past involvement with the Hispanic Business Student Association chapter at Texas A&M University included a two-year term as NHBA Representative, where he won the Representative of the Year in 2001. He is also a member of the Texas High School Coaches Association and the American Football Coaches Association.

Angela Davila

Presidential Management Fellow/Management Analyst
US Agency for International Development (USAID)

As a Presidential Management Fellow/Management Analyst for the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Angela is responsible for the management and evaluation of the United States Government's global health programs. In this role, she overseas workforce capacity planning, budgeting and forecasting, needs assessments and program evaluations.

Prior to her employment at USAID, Angela worked at the National Office of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) as a Senior National and International Field Relations Manager. While at MADD she was responsible for all international development and for the oversight of all MADD operations in 19 states throughout the United States.

In addition to serving as a member of the Board of Directors for the National Hispanic Business Association, Angela is a member of the Sigma Iota Epsilon Business Society.

Angela earned her undergraduate degree in Business Management from Texas A&M University (TAMU) in 2001. In 2006, she earned her Masters of Business Administration degree with a specialization in non-profit management from the University of Dallas. Angela's past involvement with the Hispanic Business Student Association chapter at TAMU included support roles such as Social Chair and Caliente Co-Chair.

Lorraine (Lori) R. Guzmán

MBA Candidate,
The Ohio State University

Lori is currently enrolled at the Ohio State University Fisher College of Business as an MBA candidate. She was recently employed with JP Morgan Chase in Chicago culminating a five year career which began at JPMC in Houston, Texas, as an analyst in the Leadership Development Program (a management training program). This position called for Lori to rotate between the different lines of businesses that are housed within JPMC. Lori saw different areas of the bank (Chase Card member Services, Chase Home Finance, Chase Regional Bank, etc.) and how they operate throughout the entire United States. Her last rotation in Arlington, Texas groomed her to undertake a management role as the head of the Houston Telesales Department where she managed a team of 15 bankers. From there, Lori transitioned into Chase Home Finance as a Home Equity Loan Officer, and later a Home Equity Wholesaler in Chicago.

In addition to serving as a member of the Board of Directors for the National Hispanic Business Association, Lori is a member of JPMC's Adelante, a Hispanic-networking group, and has been an active member of LULAC council # 4476 for the past six years. She is an active keynote speaker and has spoken for groups such as the IRS, LULAC, the American Medical Association, and the Miller Brewing Company. Lori earned her undergraduate degree in Business Management at Texas A&M University (TAMU). In addition, she earned a certificate in Latin American Business Studies and a certificate in International Business. Lori's past involvement with the Hispanic Business Student Association chapter at TAMU included a two-year term as President.

Adrian Islam

Account Executive,
HSBC

Adrian Islam is currently working as an Account Executive for the HSBC Credit Center in Pasadena, TX. In this role, he solicits and services clients in need of bettering their financial situation through the use of personal loans, home equity loans and mortgage/auto refinancing. Previously, Adrian worked as a financial analyst for Goldman Sachsʼ Private Wealth Management Development in New York City. His responsibilities included analysis of the recruiting, training, development, and business practices of the global Private Wealth Management group.
Prior to this, Adrian earned his Bachelor of Business Administration from the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin. He graduated with highest honors while completing a major in Finance and minor in Accounting. As a student, he was an active member of the Hispanic Business Student Association. He also served as the Chief Financial Officer of NHBA for the 2004 Leadership Conference.

Ruben Santillan

Deloitte Tax LLP
Tax Consultant

Ruben is a Consultant for Deloitte Tax LLP in which he helps clients assess multistate tax liabilities, performs legal research for compliance issues, and determines the reduction of tax expenses for large corporations and high-level partnerships. Some of the projects he has worked on include the analyzing of state compliance for energy trading firms initiating the sale of ethanol, and the audit defense of a major energy company for a potential refund of $2.7 million on exempt transactions. Prior to this, he obtained three meaningful internships with a Fortune 500 energy company, a government agency in Washington DC, and with another Big Four accounting firm.

While attending the University of Houston, Ruben served as the Chief Financial Officer for the local Hispanic Business Student Association (HBSA) chapter, the Vice President of Corporate Relations for the National Hispanic Business Association (NHBA), and the Communications Officer for the Finance Association. He also won first place in the annual Leadership & Ethics Business Case Study competition. In 2006, he graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting, a Bachelor of Science in Economics, and minors in Asian Studies and Finance.

Rocio Sotelo

Assembly Test Development
Finance Division
Intel Corp.

Rocio joined Intel Corporation as the Business Indicators Analyst for ATTD (Assembly Technology Test Development) Finance Pathfinding Team in Arizona. She is a recent graduate with a degree in Finance and a Certificate of International Business from Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. Parallel to her Finance studies in the U.S. she took some semesters away overseas. She studied at Universitat of Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain through a reciprocal exchange program, her concentration was Economics. Following her studies in Spain, she intern in London for Digital Look, a financial firm where she led the finance consulting projects. Currently, Rocío is an active member the National Hispanic Business Association (NHBA) where she is currently serves as Secretary and leads the Strategic Alliance Committee.