Latina Leading Diversity Angelique Solorio Alvarez

Today on Latina Leading Diversity, Angelique sits down with Heather Cox, President and Co-founder of Certify My Company. In the DE&I space, Heather wears a lot of impressive hats: she’s a business executive, seminar director, public speaker, and subject matter expert, whose business venture is helping to make the business world more closely resemble the real world.

Heather has been entertaining and enlightening audiences of corporate team members and entrepreneurs for years now. Her facility with the subject of supplier diversity programs and the necessity of certification for diverse businesses has impacted numerous businesses for more than a decade, and her expertise truly shines through on this episode of LLD.

Episode Highlights
- Angelique and Heather break down the five types of certification, including women, ethnic, disabled veterans, LGBT, and disability-owned business.

- What actually constitutes a disability? It’s not just the inability to see, hear, or walk.

- The differences between diversity certification in the private and public sectors.

- Why it’s so critical for companies to report their diversity spending.

- The ways businesses can leverage their supplier diversity certification for business growth.

- And so much more!

Check out certifymybusiness.org for more information!

Connect with ATR: LinkedIn and Instagram

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Latina Leading Diversity, empowered by ATR International. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts:

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Featured on This Episode
Religion - it's a topic of conversation many outright avoid in the workplace but doing so only continues to build barriers instead of bridges in your company's culture. Rahimeh Ramezany, founder of her own consulting agency for diversity, equity, inclusion, and intercultural services, has brought that topic of conversation to the forefront of the work world. She specializes in helping organizations embrace Muslim and other religious identities on the job, using her master's in intercultural communication to guide DEI conversations for several years now.

What led her to this career path? Rahimeh said her family background played a major role in her decision since she was born to an Iranian immigrant father and a white American mother. She had many days where she felt like she didn’t quite fit in, an experience which led her to study and pursue cultural communications.

In her own experience, many non-Muslims rarely take the opportunity to get to know a Muslim. Even when they do, they will make their one interaction as a template for every Muslim, a habit which can prevent people from truly getting to know their neighbors and coworkers. She pointed out that faith and spiritual preferences are practiced in different ways by people in the same group. If people take the time to educate themselves, they can better create an inclusive environment for their workplace.

Here are a few of the highlights from this important and insightful conversation.

Highlights on This Episode

Rahimah shares personal experiences from moments when she felt marginalized, even by other Muslims, and how she learned to have meaningful conversations in those situations
We discuss how it’s ok to give yourself the time to sit in uncomfortable situations until you have the language to speak to and address those situations
We talk about how companies can honor religious holidays and be inclusive in celebrations for all faiths
We share ideas about best practices and considerations for dietary restrictions for various faiths at work events or conferences
We dive into how to talk through religious diversity in the workplace and how religious identity should be included in DEI conversations
We highlight ways companies can be more inclusive in their hiring

Follow Rahimeh Ramezany for more educational thoughts and webinars on a wide array of DEI topics.

Connect with ATR: LinkedIn and Instagram

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Latina Leading Diversity, empowered by ATR International. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts:

Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify

Featured on This Episode

Angelique Solorio Alvarez has a lot to say about the current state of DE&I—in fact, as Head of Supplier Diversity & Inclusion at ATR International, she’s the resident expert on the subject. Her leadership landed her on SIA’s 2021 DE&I Influencers List and earned ATR the NMSDC’s National Supplier of the Year Award in 2017.

Join Angelique as she sits down with Founder & COO, Hui Wu-Curtis, of SupportU on Latina Leading Diversity to discuss the untapped diverse workforce. Wu-Curtis is an active speaker at numerous customer service/experience conferences, workshops, and podcasts, which she has shared her stories about company culture, diversity and inclusion, operational innovation, driving customer experience and transformational leadership. She has received numerous awards and recognition for her work in leading contact centers, thought leadership, and work in the community and industry.

Subscribe Today!

This Week on Latina Leading Diversity:


How companies can advocate for minority groups
What organizations can do to mentor new hires
How you can get involved and make a positive difference as it relates to the diverse workforce
The importance of knowing your company values and evaluating whether potential partners align
And more!

Connect with Angelique Solorio Alvarez
Angelique Solorio Alvarez on LinkedIn
Angelique Solorio Alvarez Bio

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Latina Leading Diversity, empowered by ATR International. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts and be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

Angelique Solorio Alvarez has a lot to say about the current state of DE&I—in fact, as Head of Supplier Diversity & Inclusion at ATR International, she’s the resident expert on the subject. Her leadership landed her on SIA’s 2021 DE&I Influencers List and earned ATR the NMSDC’s National Supplier of the Year Award in 2017.



Join Angelique as she sits down with Vice President and Commercial Banker, LaSandra Hunt, on Latina Leading Diversity to discuss the lending landscape, different types of capital, and more. Hunt is a NorCal lead who helps women-, minority-, and veteran-owned businesses improve their workflow processes and system integration to drive operational efficiency. She serves privately held companies headquartered in Northern California with annual revenues of $20M+.



This Week on Latina Leading Diversity:


What companies need to consider before going to market for debt financing
How storytelling is key to securing capital
High-level understanding of SBA verse conventional loans
Benefits of having a rounded group of resources
Advice for an open Rolodex
How to be "bank ready" as a women- and minority-owned business



Connect with Angelique Solorio Alvarez
Angelique Solorio Alvarez on LinkedIn
Angelique Solorio Alvarez Bio



Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Latina Leading Diversity, empowered by ATR International. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts and be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help us reach more listeners, like you.

ATR colleagues Laura Curtin (VP of Sales) and Patrick Barnsley (Client Account Executive) welcome Jim Hogan, an author, fellow diversity professional, and self-described autism activist to the ATR podcast. The emotion, honesty, and graciousness with which Jim shares his experiences convey both the human and business cost of ignoring the issues surrounding inclusion and equity in the workplace—especially the human. He thoughtfully uses his own experience to educate and provide advice and practical actions we can all implement to make a difference. Beyond that, Jim shares his personal journey from being bullied and marginalized to becoming an activist and champion for himself and others. It’s truly an inspirational story and we are so grateful that he accepted our invitation to share it with us.

Deepa, from Boston Scientific, discusses her career journey and the challenges she overcame to get there.