Deborah Aguiar-Vélez, Chief Executive Producer

“The inspiration for Escúchame came in 2009, during my first week of the National Hispana Leadership Institute (NHLI – www.nhli.org ) Program, when a group of Latina sisters struggled to tell their life experiences.  Over the din of stories, women from all walks of life shouted, “¡Escúchame!” – “Listen to me!  Listen Up!”

Each woman had something meaningful to say, and they needed to say it NOW.  These women were from different backgrounds, geographically dispersed and from a wide range of ages and nationalities.  Our varied experiences enabled us to share different types of expertise.

With Escúchame.org, we now have a forum where Latinas can share their expertise at an international level.  We can showcase Latinas as assets to a society who has traditionally treated us as part of a disposable workforce.  I have used words to fight these incorrect perceptions for 30 years, but there is still a lot of work to do to change people’s perception of Latinas. Through Escúchame, now I can do it with my sisters from around the world.”

Mrs. Aguiar-Vélez has a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico. She has been president and CEO of Sistemas Corporation, an engineering firm, since 1983. In addition to serving on a corporate board in the financial industry, Mrs. Aguiar-Vélez is the 2011 Girl Scouts, Hornets’ Nest Council’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Woman of Distinction. She travels across the country to speak on a variety of topics including entrepreneurship and financial independence. She has spoken at a variety of institutions, including Harvard University, Princeton University, Smith College, and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Raquel D. Vélez, Chief Technical Officer

Ms. Vélez graduated with a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology in 2007, where she was the recipient of the prestigious Mabel Beckman Prize. She is a technology expert, with 8 years of experience as a robotics engineer in the United States, Germany, and Italy.  Ms. Vélez speaks five languages and has worked at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the MIT Lincoln Laboratory.  Her passions include education reform, traveling, learning new languages, baking, and eating great food.

Contact Us

Escúchame, Inc.

10612-D Providence Road #343

Charlotte, NC 28277

(704) 780-1837 (office)

(704) 780-1863 (fax)

listen@escuchame.org