Drift

“You know there’s ups and downs, two steps forward, one step back. In the last 30 years, we’ve created great change, great opportunity. So that keeps me going.” Kevin Marinacci visited Nicaragua for the first time in 1996. Little did he know then that he would be getting involved with an organization that now defines his over 25-year career in service. On this episode of The American Dream, Kevin explains why he's stayed committed to the Fabretto Children's Foundation for so many years, the impact the foundation has had on thousands of children and their families, and he shares what's next for the foundation as it continues to pivot and innovate. Be sure to hit the subscribe button to get new episodes when they drop every other Tuesday. In the meantime, be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias on Twitter at @eliast and @DriftPodcasts and Kevin on LinkedIn.

Kevin Marinacci

President, Fabretto Children's Foundation

The President of Fabretto Children's Foundation explains why he's dedicated his career to helping improve the education of children in Central America.


How a Post Grad Missions Trip Turned Into a Life Dedicated to Service (With Fabretto Foundation's Kevin Marinacci)

How a Post Grad Missions Trip Turned Into a Life Dedicated to Service

Kevin Marinacci visited Nicaragua for the first time in 1996. Little did he know then that he would be getting involved with an organization that now defines his over 25-year career in service. 
On this episode of The American Dream, Kevin explains why he's stayed committed to the Fabretto Children's Foundation for so many years, the impact the foundation has had on thousands of children and their families, and he shares what's next for the foundation as it continues to pivot and innovate.


Celina Miranda, the Executive Director of Hyde Square Task Force, is no stranger to being the only Latina in a room of white people. Feeling the sense of "otherness" firsthand, and witnessing the Latin heritage get lost as Latinos attempt to assimilate into white culture, Celina and her team at Hyde Square Task Force are on a mission to help all Latinos feel like they can bring their whole selves to every room.&nbsp; In her conversation with Elias, Celina shares the three key components constituting Hyde Square Task Force, why she believes wholeheartedly in the power of collective action, and what Thanksgiving looks like in her Afro-Latin household. Be sure to hit the subscribe button to get new episodes when they drop every other Tuesday. In the meantime, be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias on Twitter at @eliast and @DriftPodcasts and Celina on LinkedIn.

Celina Miranda

Executive Director, Hyde Square Task Force

The Executive Director of Hyde Square Task Force, Celina Miranda, explains why it's so important to preserve Latin Heritage in the Greater Boston area.


How Can We Feel at Home No Matter Where We're From or Where We Live? (With Hyde Square Task Force's Celina Miranda)

How Can We Feel at Home No Matter Where We're From or Where We Live?

Celina Miranda, the Executive Director of Hyde Square Task Force, is no stranger to being the only Latina in a room of white people. Feeling the sense of "otherness" firsthand, and witnessing the Latin heritage get lost as Latinos attempt to assimilate into white culture, Celina and her team at Hyde Square Task Force are on a mission to help all Latinos feel like they can bring their whole selves to every room. 


"Ask. Keep going. Don't stop. Be your mama, be your grandmother. Elegant, but still be that, and you will get through." Martha Montoya, CEO of Agtools - a dashboard platform for agribusiness operators - follows this mindset every day, as she aims to transform the agriculture industry and create more food security for all. In this episode of The American Dream, Martha breaks down what the agriculture industry looks like both in the United States and globally. She and Elias discuss how technology can help lessen food waste and why it's so important to cook with intention. Be sure to hit the subscribe button to get new episodes when they drop every other Tuesday. In the meantime, be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias on Twitter at @eliast and @DriftPodcasts and Martha on LinkedIn.

Martha Montoya

CEO, Agtools

CEO of Agtools, Martha Montoya, explains how a mix of technology and cooking with intention will help solve the global food security problem.


Cook with Intention, and Both the Planet & Your Body Will Thank You (With Agtool's Martha Montoya)

Cook with Intention, and Both the Planet & Your Body Will Thank You

"Ask. Keep going. Don't stop. Be your mama, be your grandmother. Elegant, but still be that, and you will get through." Martha Montoya, CEO of Agtools - a dashboard platform for agribusiness operators - follows this mindset every day, as she aims to transform the agriculture industry and create more food security for all.


"I always say do not be afraid to take risks, especially early in your career. Even if everything doesn't work out perfectly. I believe it's important to reframe failure as learning and experience." Lidia Fonseca (Chief Digital &amp; Technology Officer at Pfizer) immigrated from Mexico when she was 10 years old. She taught herself English by watching television shows, and she paved her own way to the University of Berkeley. Then, she traveled abroad again, moving to the Netherlands to earn her Master's degree. All of these situations made Lidia uncomfortable, but she kept going. Now, Lidia credits her immigrant resiliency for getting her to the position of leadership she holds today. In this episode of the American Dream, Lidia and Elias discuss the importance of mentors at every age, the importance of taking risks and not fearing failure, and how Lidia got into the "room where it happened" at Pfizer. Be sure to hit the subscribe button to get new episodes when they drop every other Tuesday. In the meantime, be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias on Twitter at @eliast and @DriftPodcasts and Lidia on LinkedIn.

Lidia Fonseca

Chief Digital & Technology Officer, Pfizer

Lidia Fonseca (Pfizer’s Chief Digital & Technology Officer) explains why immigrants' resiliency is the characteristic that will define them as changemakers.


Why Immigrants' Resiliency Will be One of the Key Drivers for Change (With Pfizer's Lidia Fonseca)

Why Immigrants' Resiliency Will be One of the Key Drivers for Change

"I always say do not be afraid to take risks, especially early in your career. Even if everything doesn't work out perfectly. I believe it's important to reframe failure as learning and experience." In this episode of the American Dream, Lidia Fonseca (Chief Digital & Technology Officer at Pfizer) and Elias discuss the importance of mentors at every age, the importance of taking risks and not fearing failure, and how Lidia got into the "room where it happened" at Pfizer.


"A lot of people are afraid to dream big because they think they will fail, but if you don't ask for it, you won't get it." Rocío Medina van Nierop co-founded Latinas in Tech to empower Latinas across the globe to grow in their tech careers. Frustrated that the majority of Latinas in tech get stuck in entry-level positions, Rocío is on a mission to empower Latinas to ask for the raise, to encourage more well-represented individuals to be allies to Latinas in their companies, and to ultimately close the Latinas in tech pipeline gap. On this week's episode of The American Dream, Rocío challenges Elias with the statement, "The American Dream is broken." Be sure to hit the subscribe button to get new episodes when they drop every other Tuesday. In the meantime, be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias and Rocio on Twitter at @eliast , @rociomedina, and @DriftPodcasts.

Rocio Medina van Nierop

Co-Founder & CEO, Latinas in Tech

Latinas in Tech Co-Founder and CEO explains the work her organization is doing to fix the Latinas in tech pipeline problem.


How Do We Fix The Latinas in Tech Pipeline Problem? (With Latinas in Tech's Rocio Medina van Nierop)

How Do We Fix The Latinas in Tech Pipeline Problem?

On this week's episode of The American Dream, Rocío challenges Elias with the statement, "The American Dream is broken."


“Part of the reason I think diverse teams outperform is because a lot of the times you have people that are hungry to succeed and you have people who are not just doing it for themselves.” Miriam Rivera paved her own way into tech. Growing up a Puerto Rican in New York, Miriam found her way to a private high school in New Hampshire, went onto Stanford, which introduced her to tech, and from there, onto Google. Miriam learned a lot of things on this journey, like what "old money" vs "new money" looks like, the value of ownership, and the importance of diversity from the top down. She and Elias get into all of these learnings on this week's episode of The American Dream. Be sure to hit the subscribe button to get new episodes when they drop every other Tuesday. In the meantime, be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias on Twitter at @eliast and @DriftPodcasts.

Miriam Rivera

CEO, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Ulu Ventures

Miriam Rivera (CEO & Co-founder of Ulu Ventures) talks with Elias about how she paved her way into opportunity and established a career in tech.


How This Ex-Google Exec & CEO Paved Her Way Into Opportunity (with Ulu Ventures' Miriam Rivera)

How This Ex-Google Exec & CEO Paved Her Way Into Opportunity

Miriam Rivera paved her own way into tech. Growing up a Puerto Rican in New York, Miriam found her way to a private high school in New Hampshire, went onto Stanford, which introduced her to tech, and from there, onto Google.

Miriam learned a lot of things on this journey, like what "old money" vs "new money" looks like, the value of ownership, and the importance of diversity from the top down. 

She and Elias get into all of these learnings on this week's episode of The American Dream.


"Don't overcomplicate decisions because nothing is final." This week's American Dream episode highlights the lessons Elias has learned from being a student at the University of South Florida to CEO and co-founder of a billion-dollar valued company today. We're throwing it back to a discussion Elias had with the Harvard Business School Class of 2020. In the virtual discussion, Elias shares the lessons he's learned from navigating multiple economic crises, how to pick the right co-founder, and the importance of always being curious. Be sure to hit the subscribe button to get new episodes when they drop every other Tuesday. In the meantime, be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias on Twitter at @eliast and @DriftPodcasts.

Host Elias Torres advises Harvard Business School students on how to think about their career trajectories without focusing only on rewards.


Why You'll Get the Biggest Rewards When You Don't Focus on the Reward (Featuring Host Elias Torres)

Why You'll Get the Biggest Rewards When You Don't Focus on the Reward

In this episode of The American Dream, we're throwing it back to a discussion Elias had with the Harvard Business School Class of 2020. In the virtual discussion, Elias shares the lessons he's learned from navigating multiple economic crises, how to pick the right co-founder, and the importance of always being curious.


Get the American Dream Newsletter

Did you know that only 1% of startups that have achieved unicorn status are led by Latin American founders? Drift's co-founder and CTO, Elias Torres, is on a mission to change that. Every other Tuesday, he has honest, inspiring, and authentic conversations with underrepresented leaders in tech. Hear from people who have achieved their own version of the American Dream, as well as those who are creating a more equitable future for the next generation.

How a Post Grad Missions Trip Turned Into a Life Dedicated to Service (With Fabretto Foundation's Kevin Marinacci)

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Today's Host

Elias Torres

Today's Guests

Kevin Marinacci

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