HACE’s ERG Symposium

Erick Quijada

GEICO - Bilingual Insurance Service Manager

Erick is a seasoned Bilingual Insurance Service Manager with more than eight years of experience at GEICO. Fluent in both English and Spanish, he is known for his ability to connect with and support diverse clients and team members, ensuring clear culturally aware communication across every interaction. As a co-chair for GEICO's Familia ERG, Erick plays a key role in fostering inclusion, community and cultural celebration within the organization. He is deeply committed to mentoring and developing talent, helping team members grow into confident, high performing professionals. Beyond his managerial expertise- Erick is passionate about training, sharing knowledge and creating an environment where others can thrive.

Musi Lee

JPMorgan Chase - Executive Director, Global Head of Autism At Work & Director of Neuroinclusion Strategies

As the Director of Neuroinclusion Strategies and the Global Head of Autism at Work, Musi is responsible for augmenting and implementing neuroinclusive strategies in firmwide practices and process across the firm, with a universal approach. She leads a team focused on advancing and executing comprehensive disability and neurodiversity strategies to enhance and foster neuroinclusion for employees with disabilities and neurodivergent individuals. This involves developing end-to-end talent lifecycles with an ecosystem of support while ensuring best practices in training, developing, supporting and advancing employees with disabilities and neurodivergent employees, from hire to retire She has held several roles at JPMorgan, from managing and mitigating financial risk associated with Acquisition and Trading of Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities (RMBS) and Whole Loans in Corporate Investment Bank, to leading the Default Transaction Management in Loan transfers and also served as a trusted Risk Advisor & Credit Officer in Consumer Credit & Capital Markets Risk Management. Musi has been recognized and awarded as 2022 Top 50 Women We Admire in Dallas, among other women leaders who have paved the way for the City’s success for her tireless efforts and dedication in implementing and executing strategies in creating a talent pipeline for autistic individuals seeking employment. Additionally, she is Untapped’s Top DEIB Leaders of 2022 “Walk The Walk” Award winner, among other leaders who challenge the status quo and push the DEIB forward in their organizations and communities. Raising a son with a hidden disability has certainly amplified her “why” in her profession and purpose and is now pursuing a PhD in Law & Public Policy. She has been with the firm for 20 years and is intentional in driving disability inclusion globally!

Nate Bennett

Comerica - SVP Chief Inclusion Officer

Nate Bennett III is responsible for leading the company’s Inclusion office. This office has been established to drive key diversity initiatives supporting culture, leadership and outreach on a national basis. 

Mr. Bennett joined Comerica in 2009 and served as the Senior Vice President, Head of Talent Acquisition through 2015. In mid-2016, he was named the Chief Diversity Officer which has evolved in practice and in name to the Chief Inclusion Officer.  During this time Mr. Bennett has been instrumental in guiding the Comerica’s reputation as being a leader in inclusion and fairness while being named to the Fair 360 Top 50 Companies in 2024.

Before joining Comerica, he worked for several Fortune 500 companies in various roles in Talent Acquisition all in two major industries; Consumer Retail and Financial Services.  Prior to joining Comerica Bank, he led Talent Acquisition Services for a 17,000-employee division at Bank of America.  His 20+ years of experience in Human Resources Talent Acquisition covers the areas from executive recruitment through global recruitment where he spent time in Seoul, Korea leading various recruitment efforts for Walmart Stores.

Mr. Bennett holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Rice University.

Among his professional and community affiliations, he serves as the board Chair for Mi Escuelita Pre-Schools in Dallas, a board member of the National Colleges Resource Foundation and a board member of HACE, Hispanic Association of Career Enhancement.

At Rice University, Mr. Bennett was a four-year varsity letterman in football where he went on to earn All Southwest Conference 1st Team Honors.  

Molly Stevens

JPMorgan Chase - Senior Associate, Business Manager, Diversity Opportunity and Inclusion

Molly Stevens serves as a Business Manager in Finance and Business Management at JPMorganChase, where she supports the Diversity, Opportunity and Inclusion division. Molly works closely with the Office of Hispanic and Latino Affairs and the Office of Asian and Pacific Islanders, championing initiatives that promote inclusion and representation throughout the firm. 

With five years of experience at JPMorgan Chase, she previously held the role of Relationship Manager in Early Career recruitment, partnering with Asset and Wealth Management, Corporate Investment Bank, and MBA programs to help attract and nurture emerging talent. Molly is dedicated to business optimization and efficiency, consistently seeking ways to improve processes and drive impactful outcomes. 

She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business and Healthcare Management from UT Dallas and her MBA from UT Tyler. Beyond her professional life, Molly owns an event management and rental business and was her university’s mascot during college. She is passionate about building inclusive environments and empowering others to succeed.

Maria Guzman

Smurfit Westrock - HR VP Technology & Operations

Maria Guzman is a transformative HR executive with over two decades of experience driving organizational change, talent strategy, and HR technology innovation across global enterprises. Currently Vice President HR Technology & Operations at Smurfit Westrock, Maria is currently leading the transformation of HR technology by simplifying processes, enhancing system efficiency, and delivering strategic HR counsel to functional leaders. Previously, as Senior Director of Human Resources at Smurfit Westrock, Maria partnered with commercial leaders across North America to drive growth through strategic initiatives. She led a major business reorganization, formulating the strategy to redesign commission plans, all while strengthening alignment between operations and sales teams to boost engagement and clarity around company goals. Earlier, Maria led HR strategy for Smurfit Westrock’s ERP implementation, focusing on change management, talent transitions, and employee engagement. Prior to that, Maria spent 20+ years at Mohawk Industries, where she held senior roles including Sr. Director of HR Corporate Function and Director of Global HR Systems & Employee Relations. There, she spearheaded enterprise wide restructuring, launched the company’s first HR Data & Analytics team, and introduced automation and compliance solutions that delivered measurable impact. Known for their strategic mindset, coaching expertise, and ability to build high-performing teams, Maria is a trusted advisor to senior leadership and a catalyst for transformation. Maria holds a bachelor's degree in business management from Shorter University, MBA from GA Tech, and Executive Coaching certification from UGA. 

Patricia Mota

HACE - President & CEO

Patricia is an innovative trailblazer, start-up entrepreneur, author, connector, public speaker, and compassionate leader with a particular strength that exemplifies the mission of the Hispanic Alliance of Career Enhancement (HACE) to positively impact the workforce by cultivating the pipeline of Latinx/a/o and underrepresented talent by providing the insight, access, and support to their careers. Patricia serves as the President & CEO for HACE, leading strategy, fundraising & development, leadership programs, and expanding organizational reach on a national and international scale. Patricia’s story of transition is one that is representative of many of the stories of those positively impacted by programs and opportunities through HACE. Since stepping in as CEO in 2015, the budget has quadrupled, membership has tripled to over 150,000, built over 250 corporate partnerships, and extended the organization’s reach across the U.S. and 50 countries. Under her leadership, HACE now offers enhanced programming for youth, senior leaders, entrepreneurs, and diverse audiences worldwide. The year 2020 saw her leadership take 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. Then in 2025, made another purposeful pivot point to meet the evolving DEI landscape. 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. 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 earned a double Bachelor of Arts degree from Indiana University-Bloomington in Spanish and Communication & Culture and a Master’s in Public Affairs (MPA) in Public Management from Indiana University’s School of Public & Environmental Affairs (SPEA), along with executive leadership certificates from both Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. Patricia is also a certified coach and Insights Discovery© licensed practitioner, and a proud 2022-2024 World Economic Forum Delegate, 2019 Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow and 2019 Aspen Institute Festival of Ideas Scholar. Patricia is a proud Mexican-American, Latina, daughter of immigrants and first-generation college graduate. She is a fitness enthusiast, health and lifestyle aficionado. She grew up in East Chicago, Indiana, and currently resides in Chicago.

Jorge Almeida

AT&T - Principal Project/Program Management and HACEMOS, Chief of Public Relations

Jorge has over 15 years of experience in marketing, working at Anheuser-Busch InBev (yes, the beer company) and most recently Avocados From Mexico (yes, free avocados). For AT&T, he has developed award winning advertising campaigns for Fiber and helped AT&T get recognized as the 2025 Hispanic Marketer of the Year by the Hispanic Marketing Council. 

Jorge is originally from the border town of El Paso, Texas but lived in multiple South American countries growing up. He went to St. Edward’s University in Austin for his undergraduate studies in Marketing and graduated with his MBA from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University in 2021. He’s currently a part-time instructor at the SMU’s Business Leadership Center presenting on Change Management and Marketing.

Jorge is an avid marathon runner (24 marathons and counting) and is married to Fabiola and has two daughters, Ximena (3 years old) and Fernanda (1 year old). 

Lynette Aguilar

AT&T - VP Customer Care

Lynette Aguilar serves as Vice President of Customer Care at AT&T, leading a global team supporting more than 100 million mobility and broadband customers. She oversees 2,700 employees and 9,000 vendor partners across 64 locations in the U.S., Europe, South America, the

Philippines, and India, managing operations spanning technical support, digital and voice care, back office, and escalations.

Previously, Lynette was Vice President and General Manager for AT&T’s $5 billion North Texas region, where she led a team of 1,100 employees across 300 retail locations serving 16 million residents. In this P&L leadership role, she drove sales growth, operational excellence, and

customer experience transformation across consumer and business segments.

Earlier, Lynette led strategy, culture, and large-scale program management in AT&T’s Customer Advocacy organization, where she advanced the company’s customer-centric operating model.

While based in Mexico City, she directed contact centers for U.S. consumer and small business wireline and mobility services and drove strategic initiatives for AT&T Mexico, including launching a fixed wireless broadband product and contributing to the 2.5 GHz spectrum auction.

Lynette earned her BBA in Marketing and MBA from St. Mary’s University. She completed the HITEC-KPMG Board Readiness Program and advanced executive training through AT&T. She also  serves as AT&T’s corporate partner with the Hispanic Technology Executive Council (HITEC) and as Executive Advisor for the HACEMOS employee resource group.

Lynette sits on the boards of the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum and Ignite MindShift, and previously served on St. Mary’s University’s Advisory Council of Executives. Her honors include Top 50 Women Leaders of Dallas (2025), HITEC 100 (2023–2025), Marquis Who’s Who in America (2024–2025), Most Influential Hispanics in Technology (2017), and multiple President’s Volunteer Service Awards.

A proud second-generation Mexican American, Lynette is driven by her family’s legacy of perseverance and service. She is passionate about empowering women and people of color in the workplace and giving back to her Dallas community, where she resides with her two daughters.