Empowering Hispanic Communities: Career Pathways in Healthcare and Financial Services

Empowering Hispanic Communities: Career Pathways in Healthcare and Financial Services

In case you missed the event, watch the replay here: https://bit.ly/mec-latinx-0927_recording.

Join us for this virtual panel discussion with moderator Marilu Galvez, vice president for community engagement and development, WABC-TV. She is joined by special guests:
• Dr. Gezzer Ortega, physician, scientist, and instructor at the Center for Surgery and Public Health at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School;
• Mr. Sergio Ramirez, head of global client group and head of Americas, co-chair of diversity and inclusion committee, PineBridge Investments.

About the Panelists

Moderator: Marilu Galvez
Marilu Galvez is vice president of community engagement and development for The Walt Disney Company’s ABC Owned Television Station WABC-TV, the nation’s number one local news station. Through strategy, synergy, and innovation, her leadership has helped expand and elevate internal and external multicultural presence. She also develops and executes multiplatform campaigns designed to support station initiatives that serve viewers. Galvez aligns news, programming, marketing operations, as well as station talent, with key cause-related events and campaigns important to the community. She also leverages opportunities to develop advertiser support for these outreach efforts. Galvez is the committee lead for DMED Networks diversity, equity, and inclusion team. She leads a group of 15 employees across DMED Networks (Disney Channel, ABC Owned Television Stations, FX, Freeform, National Geographic, ESPN), which focuses on cultivating the pillars set forth by Disney’s CEO Bob Chapek. In 2020, she was named one of the “Top 10 Latina Executives of the Year” by Latina Style Magazine. Previously, Galvez served as WABC’s managing editor, overseeing editorial content of the station’s multiplatform assets across linear television on Channel 7, ABC7NY.com, and the ABC7NY app. Prior to that, she served as assignment editor for Eyewitness News, joining the team in 2001.

Guest: Dr. Gezzer Ortega
Dr. Gezzer Ortega is an instructor of surgery and lead faculty for research and innovation for equitable surgical care at the Center for Surgery and Public Health in the Department of Surgery at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), Harvard Medical School. Dr. Ortega is also adjunct faculty at the Patient Reported Outcomes, Value, and Experience Center. He serves as the project director for the Provider Awareness and Cultural Dexterity Toolkit for Surgeons Trial, an NIMHD R01 project to develop and evaluate a curriculum for surgical residents to improve cross-cultural communication and engagement. Born in a low-income Brooklyn neighborhood to immigrant parents from the Dominican Republic, Dr. Ortega’s work centers on improving surgical care for low-income and historically underserved populations, while promoting language concordant care for patients with limited English proficiency. Dr. Ortega endeavors to diversify the academic physician workforce and was recognized as Health Provider of the Year in 2020 by the Building the Next Generation of Academic Physicians. He is the co-founder of the Latino Surgical Society, which supports the advancement of Latinx surgeons. The National Hispanic Medical Association honored Dr. Ortega as Young Physician of the Year in 2020, and he participated in the Emerging Leaders Forum for the National Academy of Medicine. Dr. Ortega received his medical degree from Howard University College of Medicine, Master of Public Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Bachelor of Science from Syracuse University.

Guest: Sergio Ramirez
Sergio Ramirez is a senior executive at PineBridge, focused on leading the firm’s growth, client engagement, and business strategy efforts across all markets. With more than 20 years at the firm, his experience spans establishing client-focused best practices and setting the growth trajectory across all investor channels. Mr. Ramirez leads an integrated business, client acquisition, and relationship management team, including client advisory, consultant relations, and client relations, along with specialized groups for retirement, insurance, wealth management, and intermediary channels. Mr. Ramirez is also chair of the firm’s Corporate Responsibility Steering Committee, co-chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and a member of the firm’s Management and Governance Committees. Mr. Ramirez joined PineBridge in 2000 and has played a significant role in growing the firm’s business in the U.S., Canada, and Latin America. He has also been responsible for implementing a business development strategy for the Asia and Japan regions. Mr. Ramirez received a Bachelor of Science in Finance from St. John’s University and an MBA in Finance and Management from the Fordham Graduate School of Business.