Hispanic Professional Forum

Melanie Boyer

Executive Director

Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

https://www.linkedin.com/in/melaniemarieboyer/

Melanie Marie Boyer serves as the Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. A CALU and Duquesne University alumna, is a Colombian & United States Citizen. Melanie is a devoted mom to two handsome young boys, ages 10 and 4.

An entrepreneur at heart, she is passionate about helping businesses to reach their full potential and getting funding into the undeserved American entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Her work has been recognized on multiple occasions, obtaining several awards like the 2022 Pittsburgh Magazine- Top Women in Business Award and 2022 Women of Influence Award from the Pittsburgh Business times.

She further serves the community through being a participating member of the RAD advisory board, S&T Bank advisory board, WPXI Gets Real Advisory Board, Port Authority Stakeholder Advisory Group, Neighborhood Allies Asset Building Network, CCAC Community Equity and Diversity Council and the UPMC Community Health Partnership.

In all aspects of her life, Melanie Marie strives every day to be the catalyst of forward movement and positive growth, seeking progress, prosperity and positivity through partnership.

Nayli Russo-Long

VP of People and Strategy

Pittsburgh Pirates

https://www.linkedin.com/in/naylirusso/

As Vice President of People & Strategy for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Nayli Russo-Long actively leads two key departments (People & Culture and Strategy), serving as a strategic advisor to the president and the executive team.  In this role, she is focused on improving the organization's overall performance by identifying key strategic priorities and developing high-performing teams in a collaborative, inclusive, and people-centered culture.

Before joining the Pirates, Nayli worked for 14 years in the healthcare industry. Her most recent role was with Highmark, Inc. as the Chief of Staff to the President and Chief Growth Officer.

A native of Venezuela, Nayli moved to the United States in 2007. As the only female on her youth baseball team, she now combines her passion for the sport and managing diverse teams to deliver desired outcomes.

Rogelio Álvarez

VP, General Manager

Duolingo

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramury/

Business Development professional, with extensive experience in commercial roles which include project management, international sales, business development, and trade marketing.

I'm passionate about technology, and education. My goal is to change the current education system by making education accessible, affordable, and fun for everyone

Ignacio Arana

Assistant Professor, Institute of Politics and Strategy

Carnegie Mellon University

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ignacio-arana-araya-724b6452/

Ignacio Arana Araya (www.ignacioarana.org) is an Assistant Professor in the Institute for Politics and Strategy at Carnegie Mellon University. He studies the impact that the individual differences of heads of government have on executive governance. He also specializes in executive-legislative relations, informal institutions, gender and politics, and judicial politics, with an emphasis on Latin America.