Ana Valdez Executive President of The Latino Donor Collaborative

Ana Valdez is the Executive Director of The Latino Donor Collaborative, and a Principal and Co-Founder of Valdez Productions & Consulting, Inc. An American marketing, media, and political consultant, Ana was born and raised in Mexico City, studied and worked in Spain, Switzerland, and the U.S., and currently lives in Los Angeles. Together with the incredible group of national business leaders on the board of the LDC, she works every day to create a realistic image of the American Latino community nationwide. Ana and her team accomplish this by partnering with top universities and think tanks to present information that clearly shows the importance of Latinos for the economy and growth of the US, and by partnering with media and PR giants to distribute such information. Additionally, the LDC has developed close partnerships with ad agencies, CMOs, and content creators to create a realistic portrayal of Hispanics in media, avoid stereotypes, and show the kind of impact this community has at all levels. Ana brings along her 25 years of experience in marketing, media creation, and communications. She is an expert in the New American Economy.

Welcome to the Pandocap show Ana. I am honored and delighted to have you on the show.

Q: Can you share a bit about your background with our audience?

A: We create our narrative of who Latinos are based on facts. Our data is sourced from the top leaders in data in the US, to show contributions that Latinos are making every day. The Latino Donor Collaborative’s GDP report, Latino wealth creation report, Latino media report and others, show the critical economic and cultural contributions of Latinos, and I dare say indispensable for this country.

Q: How has the pandemic impacted you?

A: Everyone’s experience has been challenging, and we all have had to adapt to changes. My silver lining is having my children at home which I love. On the professional side it’s been a lesson of adapting to the times. The novel by Garcia Marques, Love in the Time of Cholera, offers me lessons, only I paraphrase the title to Love in the Time of COVID. At the beginning of this pandemic, it was so surreal, but I have tried to make it joyful and have been very productive. The Latino Donor Collaborative, we are creating the coronavirus report to show who is really stepped up and who is saving the day during the pandemic. And, no surprise, Latinos are saving the day. Latinos and other essential workers are stepping up to the table. I see our community stepping up to keep our society functioning from gardeners, hospital cleaners, and other service workers, to accountants and office personnel. We have compiled a ton of research to build this report, all while still working remotely.

Q: Can you share more about LDC and the data we should be proud of?

A: The Latino Donor Collaborative’s mission is to create data that demonstrates the roles of Latinos in the US and their sizable contributions. It’s really a joy to do this because every single study shows the extraordinary contributions of Latinos to this country ranging from cowboys in the Western legend to the intellectual property amassed by them in some of the most prestigious universities. Let me give you an example: if you itemized what Latinos contribute to the American economy that we would be the seventh-largest economy and the third fastest-growing. Morgan Stanley created a report of the 13 most important industries in consumer goods and out of the 13, ten would have failed if it wasn’t for Latinos. They went as far as having their clients start investing in the stock of companies of organizations that were investing in their Latino customers. We have the capacity to contradict any stereotype with our influential and productive community.

Please see The LDC Latino 2020 GDP Report

Thank you for being such a role model for women in our community and the world.