Moneda Moves

Lyanne Alfaro
  • 5.0 (17)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Biweekly

Telling stories about Latinos leading in business, our relationship with money and contributions to the American economy. ✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿

  1. 2d ago

    How Trust Builds Interdependence with Deepa Iyer, Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives at Building Movement Project

    Moneda Moves is back for Latino Heritage Month. This season asks one question: who gets trusted in the U.S. economy right now, and how is that trust built? All month, we'll be talking with experts in business, politics, ecosystem building and social justice to dig into it. Deepa Iyer is a writer, lawyer and advocate who helps individuals, organizations and networks bring about lasting and effective social change. She's worked in the nonprofit sector for more than two decades. She moved from Kerala, India, to Kentucky when she was 12. After 9/11, she spent 15 years in policy advocacy and coalition building with Asian American, South Asian, Muslim and Arab communities. That work took her through the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, the Asian American Justice Center, South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) and Race Forward. Today she's the Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Building Movement Project, where she leads projects on solidarity and social movements. She created the Social Change Ecosystem Map, a framework of 10 roles people play in movement work. She's written three books. Her first, We Too Sing America, won a 2016 American Book Award. Social Change Now is her guide to the ecosystem map. She also wrote We Are The Builders. Most of our conversation centered on trust. Deepa explained how you build it when the institutions meant to protect you have treated you as a threat. She made the case for interdependence over individualism, and why leaning into it takes trust with community. She broke down how the ask changes depending on the role you play. And she walked me through what repair looks like after trust breaks.

    How Trust Builds Interdependence with Deepa Iyer, Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives at Building Movement Project

  2. Sep 30

    What It Takes To Gain The Trust of Latino Voters Today with Maria Teresa Kumar, CEO and President of Voto Latino

    Moneda Moves is back for Latino Heritage Month and this season centers on a guiding question: who gets trusted in the U.S. economy right now and how is that trust built? Throughout the month, we will be speaking with experts across business, politics, ecosystem building and social justice to explore that question more deeply. María Teresa Kumar is an Emmy-nominated MSNBC contributor and founding President and CEO of Voto Latino, who since 2004 has raised over $75 million to build the country's largest Latinx voter registration and advocacy organization, registering more than 600K new voters ahead of 2020, and whose pioneering use of technology, social media and celebrity earned her recognition from Fast Company and Elle. In our Moneda Moves conversation, we speak about how growing up an immigrant shaped her thinking about power and trust, and what makes someone trustworthy in public life. With her experience she is able to identify the intersection between politics and money and where trust is breaking down, and how institutions build credibility with historically excluded communities. This episode was recorded earlier this spring, but especially as we approach midterm elections, it connects civic participation to Latino economic power amid federal policy volatility and what comes next. Tune in to hear how Voto Latino has built trust with Latino voters over the last 20+ years and what's next. Follow Maria Teresa on Instagram: @mariateresakumar Follow Moneda Moves on Instagram: @monedamoves Follow your host Lyanne Alfaro on Instagram: @lyannealfaro Main podcast theme song from Premium Beat.

    What It Takes To Gain The Trust of Latino Voters Today with Maria Teresa Kumar, CEO and President of Voto Latino

  3. Sep 23

    How Trust Opens Doors In Venture with Lolita Taub, Author & General Partner at Ganas Ventures

    Moneda Moves is back in 2026 for Latino Heritage Month: September 15 to October 15. In this era, Moneda Moves is talking about the intersection of capital and trust. Who has it, who's asked to give it, and how it gets built inside the big ecosystems that decide where money goes. Latino entrepreneurs start businesses at some of the highest rates in the country. The capital rarely follows at the same pace. So we asked a simple question across every conversation: what does it take to build trust on purpose, and how do we use it to create a more equitable ecosystem for Latinos and other underfunded entrepreneurs doing great work? Most people enter venture without a roadmap. Lolita Taub has sat in every chair: founder, angel, LP, GP and ecosystem builder. She's the General Partner at Ganas Ventures, where she writes $100K checks into pre-seed and seed community-driven software companies. Over nearly 20 years across big tech, startups and venture, she's invested in more than 100 companies, including Brex and AngelList. She co-founded The Community Fund and has built a community of more than 100,000 founders, funders and friends. Forbes named her to its Culture 50. ¡HOLA! counted her among its 100 Latina Powerhouses. She received the Stella Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award and has spoken at SXSW, Stanford, Harvard, TEDx and Cannes Lions. She's a dual US-Mexico citizen raised in South Central Los Angeles. Today she lives in San Diego. We talked about her book, What Actually Matters: Startups, Capital, and the Rules Nobody Taught Us, out September 15. It's a practical guide to venture for people who didn't inherit a seat at the table. We started with why she got into investing and what a good investor owes the wider ecosystem. From there, we walked through the chairs she covers in the book and how ecosystem builders create infrastructure that outlasts a single cycle. Then we got into the thing that shapes everything: most venture deals still move through warm introductions. That makes trust the real currency. It works like a distribution system. Lolita's argument is that you can build it on purpose instead of waiting to be let in. For her, community is capital, and she explained what a real one is built on. Tune in to hear how you can build credibility in venture and what’s next for Lolita. Follow Lolita on Instagram: @lolitataub Follow Moneda Moves on Instagram: @MonedaMoves Follow your host Lyanne Alfaro on Instagram: @LyanneAlfaro Main podcast theme song from Premium Beat.

    How Trust Opens Doors In Venture with Lolita Taub, Author & General Partner at Ganas Ventures

  4. 11/05/2025

    How Ownership Builds Generational Wealth with Patricia Mota, President, CEO at Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement (HACE)

    This season on Moneda Moves, we have been expanding how we talk about capital, because it’s not just about money. It’s also about power and access, across sectors.  In our last episode of the season, we speak with Patricia Mota – an innovative trailblazer, start-up entrepreneur, author, and more. Today, she’s President and CEO of Hispanic Alliance of Career Enhancement (HACE), on a mission to boost the national workforce by cultivating the pipeline of Latine and underrepresented talent by providing the insight, access, and support to their careers.  Since Patricia stepped in as CEO in 2015, the budget has quadrupled, membership has tripled to over 150,000, HACE has built over 250 corporate partnerships, and extended the organization’s reach across the U.S. and 50 countries. Under her leadership, the nonprofit now offers enhanced programming for youth, senior leaders, entrepreneurs, and diverse audiences worldwide.  In 2020, her leadership took a front seat to increasing activity around a newly virtual workforce, where she acted with urgency, communicated with transparency, sought diverse opinions from her team and board, and led with empathy, ultimately leading a thriving organization during such a tumultuous time.  In 2021, Patricia added Co-Founder to her list of accolades, collaborating to build SHENIX™, a Fintech startup that is leading the development of a financial tool to help close the wealth gap. (Her cofounder, Olga Camargo, has also been on Moneda Moves in years prior and has been a part of our Forbes coverage.)  Patricia chairs digitalundivided, helping women founders gain access to capital, and serves on the boards of the Chicago Foundation for Women, Associated Colleges of Illinois, Chicago Theological Seminary Board of Trustees, and the Northeastern Illinois Foundation Board. Patricia is a proud Mexican-American, Latina, daughter of immigrants, and first-generation college graduate. She is a fitness enthusiast and health and lifestyle aficionado. She grew up in East Chicago, Indiana, and currently resides in Chicago. In this week’s season finale episode, Patricia shared what she and her team at HACE are doing to close the wealth gaps in the Latino community. While striving for higher titled positions in your career does bring in more income, it doesn’t allow people to access the generational wealth that would help close the current wealth gaps. HACE works to bridge the gap in industries where there is historically limited representation with a focus on ownership. This looks like making sure Latinos negotiate for wealth levers like equity, stock options, profit sharing, and restricted stock units.  Patricia also shared how she and HACE partnered with #WeAllGrow to keep the Amigahood community alive in its new chapter.  Tune in to hear how you can build more generational wealth and what’s next for Patricia and her team. Follow Patricia on Instagram at @PMota7 and @HACEOnline.  Follow Moneda Moves on Instagram: @MonedaMoves Follow your host Lyanne Alfaro on Instagram: @LyanneAlfaro Main podcast theme song from Premium Beat. Our music is from Epidemic Sound. Podcast production for this episode was provided by CCST, an Afro-Latina-owned boutique podcast production and copywriting studio.

    How Ownership Builds Generational Wealth with Patricia Mota, President, CEO at Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement (HACE)

  5. 10/29/2025

    How Banks Can Partner with Local Businesses with US Bank’s Vanessa Sancha, AVP, Business Access Advisor, US Bank

    This season on Moneda Moves, we have been expanding how we talk about capital, because it’s not just about money. It’s also about power and access, across sectors.  Today, we’re talking about what it takes to gain access to one of the most traditional forms of capital: loans. According to the Latino Business Action Network, the odds of loan approval from national banks are 60% lower for Latino-owned businesses than for comparable white-owned businesses in 2024. And for Latina-owned businesses, the gap is even wider — with just 39% average approval rates from both national and local banks. That’s why voices like Vanessa Sancha matter. She is an Assistant Vice President and Bilingual Business Access Advisor for the Chicago/Milwaukee region of U.S. Bank, providing support in both Spanish and English. In her role, Vanessa helps bridge critical gaps in information, connections, and capital, which otherwise can limit growth and opportunity for small business owners. A seasoned financial professional and community leader, Vanessa is driven by a mission to empower diverse business owners through access to capital and resources. Her financial services career spans over 16 years, including a notable tenure at PNC Bank, where she advanced through leadership roles in business banking and branch management. Vanessa also served as a Relationship Manager at local CDFI, Milwaukee Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), managing and underwriting a commercial portfolio. Her expertise lies in building strong client relationships and offering tailored guidance to help businesses thrive across diverse industries. Beyond her professional accomplishments, Vanessa is deeply committed to giving back. She serves on the board of the Wisconsin Veteran Business Alliance and the WWBIC loan committee. She has developed and led financial education programs for youth and adults through organizations like Journey House, WRTP, Milwaukee Christian Center and Running Rebels, inspiring participants to achieve their goals and contributing to more equitable economic outcomes in her community. She is committed to advancing opportunities for underserved communities and helping build a more inclusive economy where every entrepreneur can succeed. When she’s not connecting with business leaders or volunteering, Vanessa enjoys spending time with her daughter, cheering her on at basketball and volleyball games. In this week’s episode, we’re talking about how banks can partner with local businesses and open the door to opportunities that have historically been closed to them. Financial capital, like loans, offers local businesses the chance to grow and create more financial stability for the community. With these programs, big banks are reaching out to entrepreneurs to offer guidance, help them navigate the financial challenges they’re facing, and help them increase their chances of getting loans. Tune in to hear more about these programs and how local entrepreneurs can grow their businesses through financial capital.    Follow Vanessa on Instagram @_v.s.anabel_ and on her LinkedIn.  Check out the US Bank’s Access Commitment here!  Follow Moneda Moves on Instagram: @MonedaMoves Follow your host Lyanne Alfaro on Instagram: @LyanneAlfaro Main podcast theme song from Premium Beat. Our music is from Epidemic Sound. Podcast production for this episode was provided by CCST, an Afro-Latina-owned boutique podcast production and copywriting studio.

    How Banks Can Partner with Local Businesses with US Bank’s Vanessa Sancha, AVP, Business Access Advisor, US Bank

  6. 10/22/2025

    How to Honor Both People and Profit with Vanessa Santos, Entrepreneur, Investor, Community Builder, Writer

    Many people say business isn’t personal, but for Vanessa Santos, nothing could be further from the truth. To her, everything is a transaction, whether it’s a personal connection or a business deal. When she became CEO and Partner of #WeAllGrow Latina, Vanessa made it a point to live by that philosophy by engaging in meaningful exchanges of spirit, profit, and energy. Today, we’re exploring how she intentionally balances purpose and profit and how she and her business partner, founder Ana Flores, led through the company’s sale earlier this year. (Special thanks to our peer, Giovanna González, for recommending the Locatora Radio interview that inspired this conversation.) Vanessa Santos is a conscious business architect, keynote speaker, investor, and trusted advisor who has scaled and exited 8-figure businesses. As the former CEO & Partner of #WeAllGrow Latina (acquired in 2025), she helped propel the platform into the most recognized community for Latinas in the U.S., and over its 14-year history, channeled more than $20 million into the Latina economy while creating 30,000+ professional pathways for Latina changemakers and entrepreneurs. With two decades of experience leading global expansions, architecting award-winning campaigns, and driving cultural impact, Vanessa is known for her candid perspective on what it really takes to succeed as a woman of color in business. Her work interweaves well-being and leadership, guiding founders and executives to scale without losing themselves in the process. Today, she writes Letters from the In-Between while building her next venture from a place of consciousness and clarity. She continues to advise and speak to global audiences about conscious leadership, sustainable scaling, and the future of women founders in business. In this week’s episode, Vanessa Santos shares why she views money as energy and how she made the best decision she could with her partner when selling #WeAllGrow Latina. Vanessa’s view of money and community is not based on anything performative. Instead, she views it as an intelligent long-term strategy, a strategy that has benefited her both in the corporate world and as a partner in a new company. Her mission to be effective and alchemize money into opportunities has led her to invest in successful, conscious companies. Tune in to hear how Vanessa honors both people and profit in her business practices and how she’s managing her era of being in between. Follow Vanessa on Instagram @vanessasantosfein and on her LinkedIn.  Follow #WeAllGrow Latina on Instagram @weallgrowlatina and inside their membership.  Follow Moneda Moves on Instagram: @MonedaMoves Follow your host Lyanne Alfaro on Instagram: @LyanneAlfaro Main podcast theme song from Premium Beat. Our music is from Epidemic Sound. Podcast production for this episode was provided by CCST, an Afro-Latina-owned boutique podcast production and copywriting studio.

    How to Honor Both People and Profit with Vanessa Santos, Entrepreneur, Investor, Community Builder, Writer

  7. 10/15/2025

    Building Community Capital That Lasts Generations with Berto Aguayo, Attorney, Co-Founder, and Policy Co-Chair, Latino Leadership Council

    Welcome to a brand new era of the Moneda Moves podcast. In 2025, Latinos in the U.S. face palpable changes. From a Supreme Court ruling that enables federal agents to stop suspects based solely on their race, language, or job to immigration policies that create ripple effects on crime, public health, and the education of children from mixed-status families, the ground beneath us is shifting. That’s why Moneda Moves is evolving, to meet the moment. We’re extending the definition of what capital looks like. On Moneda Moves, we’re not just talking about assets and cash anymore; we’re talking about capital in all its forms: financial, social, political, and cultural.  One of the topics I wanted to explore is how we use our organizing and politics to nurture, protect, and expand the collective power our communities have built. That’s why this week I sat down with nonprofit founder and organizer Berto Aguayo. Berto Aguayo is an attorney at K&L Gates and the founder of Increase the Peace Chicago, a nonprofit that empowers youth with the tools and mentorship to become community leaders. From his transformation as a former gang member to an advocate, Berto has helped over 700 young people access employment and civic leadership training, fostering safer and more inclusive environments. He also cofounded the Annual Black and Brown Unity Car Parade, a public celebration of racial healing and pluralism uniting Black and Latino groups. By speaking to Berto, I heard firsthand how Increase the Peace is using social and financial capital to strengthen the Latino community in Chicago. And it doesn’t stop there. He’s working alongside Black leaders to create a space where we can actually listen to each other and move in alignment. In this week’s episode, we break down how Berto and his team are building power that lasts generations. Berto is determined to use his capital to protect Latinos in Chicago because he wants to be the person he needed when he joined a gang at thirteen. Now, he’s working on solutions to intercommunity violence and supporting people impacted by ICE raids and deportations. There’s so much to learn in this week’s episode and so many ways you can take action. Tune in to hear how Berto is using his social and financial capital. Follow Berto on Instagram @berto_aguayo and on his LinkedIn.  Follow Increase The Peace Chicago on Instagram @itp_chicago and on their website.  Follow Moneda Moves on Instagram: @MonedaMoves Follow your host Lyanne Alfaro on Instagram: @LyanneAlfaro Main podcast theme song from Premium Beat. Our music is from Epidemic Sound. Podcast production for this episode was provided by CCST, an Afro-Latina-owned boutique podcast production and copywriting studio.

    Building Community Capital That Lasts Generations with Berto Aguayo, Attorney, Co-Founder, and Policy Co-Chair, Latino Leadership Council

  8. 10/08/2025

    How This Founder Builds Wealth Wellness For All with Margarita Quiñones Peña, Founder, Latina Sweat Project

    Welcome to an evolved era of the Moneda Moves podcast.  As the environment changes around us and our communities face palpable threats to livelihoods and built wealth, we too are realigning, and you’ll notice that our episodes are going to sound a little different moving forward. We are extending the definition of what capital looks like for our community.  Now on the Moneda Moves podcast, we're not just talking about assets and cash, we're talking about capital in all of its forms: financial, social, political, and cultural. We are an incredibly powerful and resilient community. There’s no better time to pull all our levers of power to not just survive but continue to thrive in any economy and administration. From entrepreneurs to innovators, we are rewriting what growth looks like.  One of the topics we plan to explore on Moneda Moves is how we can support our community with our capital. We as a community have access to capital in our everyday lives. Via supporting value-aligned and good businesses, grants, community funding, and more, businesses can balance accessibility and sustainability. By tapping into these resources, we can support the most vulnerable people in our community.  Today, we are highlighting the  Latina Sweat Project, a Chicago-based wellness nonprofit dedicated to making yoga and holistic health accessible to underserved communities. I am also highlighting LSP as I also now sit as board co-chair, as I fully believe in their mission and how health becomes a fundamental pillar to building complete wealth.  Margarita Quiñones Peña is the Founder and Executive Director of the Chicago-based nonprofit.. A first-generation Mexican immigrant, Margarita’s journey crossing the U.S.-Mexico border as a child shaped her lifelong commitment to equity, healing, and representation. She is also the author of Homecoming: El Viaje a Mi Hogar, a children’s book that uplifts the voices of migrant youth. Through Latina Sweat, she creates community-centered yoga classes, yoga teacher trainings, and wellness programs that empower women and families to reclaim their health, culture, and leadership. In this week’s episode, Margarita and I discuss how founding the Latina Sweat Project is building holistic wellness for entire communities. By making her classes financially accessible, the most vulnerable people in Chicago neighborhoods can participate in classes ranging from yoga to strength training. The Latina Sweat Project has grown from having to operate pop-up style to finally having its own studio, which launched earlier this fall. They plan to continue providing access to wellness for underserved communities while also growing as a thriving Latina-owned business.  Follow Margarita on Instagram @mquino4.  Follow The Latina Sweat Project on Instagram @latinasweatproject and on their website.  Follow Moneda Moves on Instagram: @MonedaMoves Follow your host Lyanne Alfaro on Instagram: @LyanneAlfaro Main podcast theme song from Premium Beat. Our music is from Epidemic Sound. Podcast production for this episode was provided by CCST, an Afro-Latina-owned boutique podcast production and copywriting studio.

    How This Founder Builds Wealth Wellness For All with Margarita Quiñones Peña, Founder, Latina Sweat Project
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About

Telling stories about Latinos leading in business, our relationship with money and contributions to the American economy. ✊🏼✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿

Information

  • Creator
    Lyanne Alfaro
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    77
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Lyanne Alfaro
  • Show Website
    Moneda Moves

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