Samí Haiman-Marrero is the President/CEO of URBANDER, a Minority and Women Business Enterprise (MWBE) solution-driven agency that assists the corporate, nonprofit and government sectors overcome their Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Multicultural Marketing challenges. Under Samí’s leadership, URBANDER was awarded the Orlando Business Journal’s 2020 Diversity in Business “Helping Hand” Award for its caused-based work and its impact on underrepresented and underserved communities. Specializing in the Hispanic market and multicultural marketing strategies, her team delivers culturally relevant and inclusive business strategies and programs that bring positive impact to people of diverse backgrounds and language proficiencies. Their Multicultural Navigator platform catapults their clients to new heights.

Casie Arellano has been in education since 2009 and began working with Adult Education programs in August 2017. She currently oversees all English as a Second Language (ESOL) programs with Brevard Adult and Community Education in Brevard County Florida, where for the past two years she has been working on building outreach centers to help adult learners develop a pathway to achieving their dreams using language as a stepping-stone. Their ESOL program is one of their most successful programs, assisting students who are integrating into the life and culture of the United States. Courses cover improving language skills, learning about U.S. culture, and preparing to become a U.S. citizen.

Johanna López is a member of the Orange County Public School (OCPS) Board in Florida and the first Latina to attain such a prestigious role via landslide vote in 2018. It was the culmination of a strategic campaign fully managed by her former students coupled with an impeccable career as an educator and advocate for marginalized youth. Ms. López is fully aware that she has been tasked by the community she has served for over two decades to be the eyes, ears, and voice of students, parents, and educators, especially those who look like her and who experience the most disparities. She takes this responsibility very seriously in her continued work championing minority student empowerment with a special focus on English as a Second Language (ESL), supporting undocumented students, responding to their current needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, and advocating for the provision of better treatment for teachers and non-instructional staff.

Marcos Vilar was born in Puerto Rico and moved to the United States at the age of 14. Vilar has worked in Washington, D.C. in government, labor and non-profit settings. In Chicago, Illinois he worked as a High School teacher and in Florida, as a consultant for several non-profit and political entities. Today, he runs Vilar Strategies a public relations consulting practice in Orlando, FL which serves clients in strategic planning, legislative and advocacy campaigns, issue campaigns, electoral campaigns, and non-for-profit organizational development and management. Vilar led major efforts to activate Latino civic engagement at a national and local level, creating a coalition of organizations working together to increase Latino civic participation in key states. He shares with us how language and cultural proficiency are critical for civic engagement and community impact programs.

Celia Patitucci is a tester-certified HIV educator and has worked on the prevention of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases since 2016. As a Commercial Relationship Specialist with Crew Community Health in Orlando, Florida, non-profit primary care and infectious disease clinic that specializes in reducing sexually transmitted infections. Their in-house team provides quality medical care and culturally competent case management to the community with a specific LGBTQ focus. Celia shares with us key insights regarding the importance of language proficiency in the provision of culturally competent care.

In this episode of LANGUAGE IS YOUR SUPERPOWER, Nicole Lembo, Manager of Talent Management and Academic Programs at JetBlue Airways, joins our host, Lisa March, to discuss the JetBlue Scholars program, and how JetBlue is leveraging LTI’s Language Proficiency Testing to help the company’s employees further their academic and career advancement. LTI is helping JetBlue Scholars offer the airline’s crewmembers the opportunity to earn a fully accredited Associate or Bachelor’s degree with JetBlue covering most of the cost; as well as helping students get credit for courses completed at other colleges, required licenses and certifications, and even on the job experience, including JetBlue training.