Eneida Román, co-founder of Amplify Latinx, has been named the organization’s new president and chief executive officer. Amplify Latinx is a Massachusetts-based nonprofit focused on advancing Latinx leadership representation, economic prosperity and civic engagement.
Civic and business leadership are at the core of Amplify Latinx’s work. The organization runs a program called PowerUp that works to create visibility and opportunity, both fiscally and in terms of connectivity, for Latinx-owned businesses in Massachusetts. Mentorship opportunities, business directories, marketing campaigns and policy advocacy are just a few of the tools used to that end.
Román believes this is a pivotal moment for the Latinx population and hopes to utilize the cultural zeitgeist to advance opportunities across the community.
“As a lifelong entrepreneur, my mindset is focused on building and launching initiatives that solve problems,” shares Román. “In 2023 we are thrilled to launch Amplify Latinx 2.0 (ALX2.0) by unveiling our policy agenda and by expanding our team, board and programming statewide.”
Román is a working attorney and an organizational psychologist who has experienced firsthand the challenges many Latinx business owners face. Advocacy for the Latinx community has been at the core of her work from the beginning, through board leadership roles in the American Bar Association, the Hispanic National Bar Association and the Massachusetts Bar Association. She will take a sabbatical from her legal work to focus her full attention on this new role.
“The Latino community is at an inflection moment due to its exponential demographic growth and potential. We have a collective responsibility to find intersectional solutions that drive home equity and progress. We visualize normalizing the fact that Latino progress is American progress,” says Román.
She hopes to use her 20 years of experience in organizational development, conflict resolution, cultural competence and public affairs to move the needle forward for Latinx residents on a much larger scale. As a co-founder of Amplify Latinx and a former co-chair of its board of directors, Román is intimately familiar with both the needs of the community and the best ways to support them. Her experience will allow her to create new successful programming that avoids pitfalls of previous programming.
“I am delighted to steward Amplify Latinx as we laser-focus on the power, promise and potential of the Latino community,” says Román, “because it is imperative that leaders across sectors understand that when Latinos thrive in a shared prosperity, our entire region thrives.”
