Hi there!
My name is Renée and I am a recent Belmont grad moving to Panamá for a year with Lumos.
I’m Honduran American and grew up in Nashville by way of Cape Cod, MA. While at Belmont I studied Entrepreneurship and Economics and I am fascinated with the role small businesses play in both community and economic development. I’m a firm believer in economic empowerment, community-led change, and nonprofit excellence. Though it has its fair share of imperfections, I am a lover of the nonprofit world and its ability to increase human flourishing, influence policy, and bring people together.
Throughout the last few years, I’ve been privileged to work as a consultant with various start-ups and nonprofits, help develop and implement the strategic vision for the nonprofit Feeding Nashville, create and lead a multidisciplinary team to develop nutrition education programs, and put my entrepreneurship education to good use developing internal systems and operational processes for a local start-up called Placemat.
I have had the opportunity to consult with inmate entrepreneurs nearing parole, volunteer with local nonprofits serving the refugee and immigrant communities in Nashville, along with learning more about the nuanced nature of domestic and international economic development. These experiences have provided me with an excellent foundation of tools and experiences, but most importantly, have cultivated and refined a desire to live connected to the communities I'm serving, develop sustainable programs and organizations, and advocate for those in need around me. Practically, that looks like listening, problem-solving, building relationships, and intentional action.
My Lumos project will be split between program and organizational development. Organizationally, I’ll be working alongside the Director of Calicanto in initiating new partnerships within the city, grant-writing, and implementing their strategic vision. Program-wise, I’ll be working with their team of Program Managers to survey and measure the effectiveness of current programs while developing small business training and resources to serve their alumni network. I am a natural developer and mobilizer and am at my best in situations where I can help people, programs, or organizations grow. I’m looking forward to a lot of growth myself this upcoming year and am so grateful for this opportunity. Vamos chicos!