Jillian Romero Chaves, a third generation car dealer born and raised in the Inland Empire, recently paused her roles managing OREMOR Automotive Group and serving as President of the Ontario Auto Center to pursue social impact entrepreneurship. She successfully launched the intentional dating logbook Clara for Daters which has garnered recognition in the February edition of Los Angeles Magazine, as an innovative resource to empower meaningful connections in the digital age.

Clara for Daters is not a dating app – it’s a positive technology tool designed to support daters in their post-match efforts to nurture meaningful connections while safeguarding mental wellness in today’s digital era of romantic distraction. Jillian is dedicated to prioritizing authenticity over swipe culture, aiming to fill the post-match gap of support for modern daters by helping them rediscover the value of in-person meaningful connections that transcend the digital realm.

The recent feature in Los Angeles Magazine highlights Clara for Daters’ commitment to addressing the prevalent loneliness and social isolation epidemic in today’s society. Jillian seeks to bridge the gap between dating apps, social media’s digital interactions and genuine human relationships by supporting individuals seeking meaningful social connections.

Looking ahead, Jillian is determined to collaborate with organizations like The Foundation for Social Connection, local community governments, small business restaurants and coffee shops along with traditional dating apps to address the loneliness and social isolation epidemic affecting our communities. She believes in empowering single individuals to engage in the basic exercise of post-match intentional dating with the support of Clara as an introspective and accessible digital resource. Through post-match data gathering, Jillian aims to make a difference by understanding the dynamics of social atrophy, identifying effective interventions, and tailoring initiatives to meet the specific needs of all affected individuals.

Jillian’s mission is clear: to empower social connection, one intentional date at a time.

Karen I (Serrano) Suarez, M.S, VP Collective Impact at MAKING HOPE HAPPEN FOUNDATION.  Karen has more than decade of experience in nonprofit management, community and government relations, education and philanthropy from her previous roles with Wells Fargo under the Social Impact and Sustainability team, The Dominguez Dream, American Heart Association, Inland Empire Division, and serving as a Congressional Field Representative for the 43rd Congressional District.

Known for her contagious energy and passion for people, Karen is a proud daughter of immigrants and first generation college graduate with a dual bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Human Development from California State University, San Bernardino, and a Master’s of Science in Higher Education Administration from Florida State University. She currently serves as the Vice President of Collective Impact, supporting Uplift San Bernardino at the Making Hope Happen Foundation. In addition, Karen serves in various organizations including as the Co-Chair for Inland Economic Growth and Opportunity (IEGO).

Karen values cross-sector collaboration, diversity, equity, inclusion, collective action, and leverages her professional and personal skills as well as her talents to support organizational infrastructure for collective impact work in the region. With a bias for action, and leading with heart, she considers herself a life-long learner and striving “to give more to the world than takes from it.” -Jacqueline Novogratz.

Karen lives in San Bernardino with her husband who is a teacher and product of SBCUSD, two daughters, and three fur babies. Karen enjoys dessert before dinner, reading, traveling, and volunteering. Karen hopes to use her knowledge, skills and abilities in community development and love for learning to empower the next generation to build wealth and make hope happen.

Disclaimer of Endorsement: Accepting requests to be a part of my LinkedIn network does not constitute an endorsement for your products, services, or views expressed on your site(s) and/or profile from me personally, or the organizations I am a part of, including: Present employer, business, and current and past organizations where I volunteer or work.

Natalia Bracco is an Argentine born entrepreneur with a passion for serving the community. After moving to the states as a teenager, she finished college and graduate school at the at the top of her class. Natalia earned a Bachelor’s in Political Science Louisiana State University Shreveport and a Master’s in Spanish Literature and Culture from LSU Baton Rouge. She applied her training in managing a multilingual office for the Louisiana Department of Health, while she built her real estate portfolio.

She spent her first 9 years in real estate in the investment and property management field. After moving to California, she joined Rancon Real Estate which was the largest boutique brokerage in the Temecula Valley, and whose owner had helped develop many communities in the Temecula Valley. Natalia learned from this team of professionals and thrived as a local realtor doing business from Southwest Riverside to Orange County. She has since become a part of First Team Real Estate, the largest privately and owned brokerage in the State of California.

While building relationships with her clients, Natalia realized the great need for support of local Latino businesses and the community in her area. She then helped establish Latino Talk, the first community support group for Latinos in the Temecula Valley. Latino Talk’s mission is to connect the local Latino community with Latino businesses and organizations that provide the services they need. Natalia’s passion for service has lead her to participate in and sponsor numerous community events, from community clean up events, to local school activities and fundraisers.

Hilda Cruz, Regional Program Director, Inland Empire – Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity supports the immigrant community in the Inland Empire through education, direct outreach, and advocacy for policies that transform and empower our most vulnerable communities. One of her passions is hosting intentional gatherings where she encourages immigrants to awaken their God-given personal power to transform their community through stories, prayer, poetry, and songs.

One of Hilda’s accomplishments in 2021-2022 was Project Thrive, a program that paved the way for immigrants and others facing work barriers. Through the California Department of Labor’s SEED Initiative, she promoted the entrepreneurship of immigrants, English language learners, and those who face employment barriers. In 2022, twenty individuals from this program received microgrants to start their businesses. Read more about Project Thrive and its wonderful participants.

For over twenty years, Hilda has been a community leader, organizer, and advocate focusing on faith, social justice, and the fair treatment of every person. She was drawn to the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity work because she aspired to work with an organization that represented her values of being an intentional, multi-faith community guided by diverse faith traditions that live peaceably, respectfully, and lovingly with every person.

Before her current position, she was Director of Social Justice and Outreach for St. Martin de Porres Catholic Church in Yorba Linda. She helped form the North Orange County Interfaith Council, which engaged congregations of many faiths.  She worked as the Justice for Immigrants Campaign Coordinator for the Diocese of San Bernardino, where she connected church leaders with community partners and allies to advance pro-immigrant legislation through outreach, education, and action. For the past 11 years, she has led public, multi-faith prayer services that center on peoples’ stories and invite attendees to deep reflection and action—gaining recognition as a  “Change Maker” and ” Transforming Leader.”

She is currently a Mercy International Global Action Emerging Leadership Fellow, with hopes to raise her voice on a global scale on issues of degradation of the earth and the movement of people.

Wendy Preciado, a Latina woman in construction is our Chief Operating Officer & COO Wendy brings over a decade of experience and expertise in commercial construction and development.

With a strong background in the hospitality industry, she has collaborated with numerous recognized franchises. Wendy’s leadership, business development, and public relation skills enrich MGI team.

Wendy is dedicated and committed in making a difference in our communities with her involvement with different associations in the commercial construction industry. As a Latina and a Mexican immigrant Wendy is leading by example, she knows the importance in making a difference and bringing change by sharing information, guidance and helping others. Wendy’s commitment and passion in building, not only buildings but also business and people; she became part of US Council of Hispanic in Construction, La Voz de Construccion as board of advisors.

Our CEO Wendy Preciado is also highly involved with Latino Hotel Association as the Ambassador for Texas region. She joined forces with President & CEO Lynette Montoya to make a difference in our community.

Mission and Vision is to educate and share information on Hotel Ownership; to give each Latino / Hispanic families the opportunity to
create generational wealth. Change starts with us.