Latino Business Speakers Bureau: Ana Larrea-Albert
story by: David Gomez
Ana Larrea-Albert has a perfect analogy for the work that her company does, “Inclusion and diversity open the doors to the party, but when we get to the party,we need to have the right moves when we get to the dance floor.”That is exactly what Ana does each day through the work of Latina Leadership Collective (LLC), the company she founded and leads. LLC provides a platform to coach and mentor Latinas who are growing in their careers to have the “right moves.” Those right moves usually receive the label of “soft skills” when in reality they are indispensable. She believes the keys to success, or the “right moves” are leadership, personal branding, and networking. LLC works with very successful Latinas; “We are good at what we know,” says Ana. However, many times the next steps towards success may require additional skills. This is the opportunity that Ana addresses through the work of LLC.
From an early age, Ana knew she was going after big goals. She was born in the capital city of Quito, Ecuador, and by the sixth grade she already knew she wanted to be Ecuador’s president one day. Thatchildhood dream has fueled her to overcome her own challenges. She uses this passion to help Latinas. In addition, she has seen disparities in wages between males and females and she feels passionate about helping Latinas to assert themselves to narrow that gap or make it disappear entirely. Through the work of LLC, she has attracted Latinas who are educated, ambitious, competent and ready to step into leadership roles. She feels that she has integrated her passion and her purpose by providing a platform for Latina leaders.
The fuel of her childhood dreams has given Ana a new perspective that allows her to reach out to Latinas from an early age. Ana has a passion for helping “Latinitas” and she has found a great way to do it. She has published a children’s book after her fur friend ZeeZee. The book is titled “ZeeZee Can” and through her stories and adventures, ZeeZee teaches “Latinitas” the value of mentorship and that they can achieve their dreams and goals.
With all of the success that Ana has already achieved, it becomes more impressive to see that she is not satisfied. She is currently working on her Master of Public Administrationat the Kennedy School at Harvard. In addition, she also balances motherhood with all of goals and accomplishments. How does she do it all? She has a clear concept of integration rather than balance. She explains that the concept of balance simply means that one item will outweigh the other and there is a lot of giving and taking away. Instead she describes integration as a Venn diagram. There is a happy middle where all of the things she loves fit right into the dreams and goals that she is pursuing. To provide an example, she once took her son to NASA during one of her speaking commitments. She was able to give her son an enjoyable experience in one of earth’s coolest places while at the sametime inspire Latinas in leadership. Ana gives one last piece of advice about working out herlife integration, “have flexibility and forgive yourself when you miss something.”