Board Member Bios

Ariana Ulloa-Olavarrieta

Ariana Ulloa-Olavarrieta, a Mexico native, is the Director for the Latino Small Business Development Center. She manages the Columbus office which primarily serves the Hispanic community by providing one-on-one counseling, training and business referrals. She also serves on the New Directions Career Center board.
Ariana holds a Masters in Financial Economics from Ohio University where she also received a BA in Economics while specializing in Latin American Studies, Spanish and German.
Community service has always been tremendously important to Ariana. She is a United Way volunteer, Junior Achievement teacher, taught English as a second language and is on the scholarship committee for the Fund for Appalachian Ohio.

Brad Kessler

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Cathy Mantilla Falkenberg

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Christian Gonzales

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Deb Hill

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Eric Thompson

Eric B. Thompson is a Financial Planner and Manager, Financial Services with Prudential Financial. Eric has over 28 years experience in the financial services industry. Eric conducts financial planning seminars on a regular basis for several Fortune 100 & 500 companies, as well as numerous schools, colleges, and universities throughout Ohio. In addition to serving on the board of the Hispanic Chamber of Columbus, Eric has volunteered as a math and reading tutor with Columbus Public Schools and has written several articles dealing with financial planning issues for various publications over the years including the Building Industry Association News of Central Ohio.

Fernanda Cárdenas

Fernanda Cárdenas is a native of Cuenca, Ecuador. She earned her professional degree in Economics from La Universidad de Azuay in Ecuador and she is a member of the Colegio de Economistas del Azuay since 2003. She came to the United States in 2004. Her hard work and dedication helped her to work her way up the ranks in the banking industry relatively quickly. Now she is the Branch Manager for Chase Bank of the Ohio State University branch. In 2007, she earned her Master’s in Business Administration.

Guadalupe Velasquez

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Joe Altieri

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Joel Diaz

Joel Díaz is currently the Community Engagement & Marketing Manager at the Wexner Center for the Arts, where he spearheads university and community outreach and engagement initiatives. Joel most recently served on Mayor Coleman’s Create Columbus Commission, is a member of the Board of Directors for the Columbus AIDS Task Force and was the co-chair for the 2009 HRC Columbus Gala Dinner. Joel holds a BSBA from the Ohio State University’s Max M. Fisher College of Business and is a graduate of the Leadership Columbus Class of 2009 and United Way of Central Ohio’s Pride Leadership -Cycle 1.

Kenny Ramos

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Lair Marin

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Laura Jurcevich

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Mariangee Merino

Mariangee Merino was born in Barinas, Venezuela and has resided in Columbus Ohio for the last 20 years. Merino lives by her quote, “It is no longer the time to tolerate diversity, but the time to embrace it.” She is a corporate marketing specialist for U.S. Bancorp. She currently manages multi-language bank collateral pieces as well as oversees U.S. Bank’s brand and image for multicultural projects in its 24-state retail footprint. A Bachelor of Business Science graduate from The Ohio State University, Merino focused her studies in International Business. She is currently pursuing her MBA in Project Management. Merino enjoys her free time hiking and spending time with her husband and four dogs.

Michael Daniels

Michael Daniels is co-owner and co-publisher of Outlook Media, the progressive, urban, GLBT media company of central Ohio, where he is responsible for sales, partnerships, staffing and administration, and also does most of the political commentary and endorsement coverage.Michael is active in many community organizations, a frequent guest commentator on local radio and television and a regular panelist on Columbus On The Record, and a speaker at local networking organizations, colleges and businesses, consulting on GLBT marketing and overall brand/marketing/image issues.
He and his husband, Robbie, spend their free time traveling with their basenji, Meena.

Nathan A. Farr

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Pilar Powell

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Ramona Reyes

Ramona Reyes is the immediate past president of the HCC. She currently sits on the Columbus Board of Education where she is the first Hispanic member. She is also an HR professional at Nationwide Insurance, a bilingual trainer for Working Partners, and the Associate Publisher for Columbus Latino Who’s Who.Ramona, awarded the Campbell Soup Scholarship for children of migrant families, graduated from The Ohio State University. She is an alumnus of the National Hispana Leadership Institute, a Grass Roots Leadership program. Over the last several years she has committed herself to volunteerism and community service, including Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Todd Christian

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Victoria Nunes

Victoriais responsible for community advertising sponsorships, Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) compliance, providing technical assistance to small businesses, and providing financial education/resources to non-profits.
She serves organizations including United Way of Central Ohio, Franklin County’s EITC Coalition, Latino Empowerment Outreach Network (LEON), the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), and the Hispanic Chamber of Columbus. Some of her awards and recognition include:
2006-Ohio Bankers Association for Outstanding Youth Program
2008-LEON for Financial Education to Youth
2008-LULAC Corporate Advocate 2009-Ohio Chambers of Commerce Corporate Advocate
2009-Latino Achievers Inaugural Publication

Xanath Van Frayen

Xanath Van Frayen works as a business development officer for Stewart Title Agency of Columbus. She has worked there for six years. Prior to that, she worked for North American Title in Denver Colorado. Van Frayen graduated from Mount Union College in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Business and Economics. She is currently the Secretary of the Hispanic Chamber and have been for the last two years. Van Frayen is also involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters and join their efforts every year to raise money with Bowl for Kids Sake. In her personal life, she is married and has 2 year old twins. She resides with her family in Bexley, Ohio.