Violeta is a first-generation immigrant from Mexico. She is passionate about social justice and changing the trajectories of underserved and under-resourced communities at the local to global levels, especially BIPOC and minority communities. Currently, Violeta is leading the work of the Catalyst Coalition, a consortium of eight nonprofit Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI). Catalyst is dedicated to fostering a vibrant ecosystem for BIPOC entrepreneurs and their businesses in Minnesota, as well as reducing racial income and wealth disparities in the state.
As seasoned and respected community development professional with nearly 20 years of experience, Violeta brings to LEDC and the Catalyst Coalition a diverse set of experiences and skills in various industries, including the corporate, public, nonprofit and philanthropic sectors at the local, state, national and international levels. She has managed staff, projects and programs in the areas of legislative and policy affairs, equity and inclusion, international development, K-higher education, grant management and writing, human resources, commodity merchandising, and business. Her most recent success story is helping her own brother’s business grow from a startup in 2018 into a company that operates several locations in Minnesota. Violeta’s passion for local and international affairs has taken her to 10 countries around the world and various states in Mexico and the U.S.
Violeta holds a Bachelor of Arts from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota with degrees in international organizational and business management and Spanish, and a Master of Development Practice in international development from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.
