On March 13, it was announced that Association of Latino Professionals For America (ALPFA) Nashville was formally activated as a professional chapter. 

“The ALPFA Nashville Professional Chapter aims to connect and inspire the next generation of Latino, Latina, & Latinx leaders and position them to make a significant impact in the Nashville area. We open doorways to guidance, networks, careers, and capital, while simultaneously creating the pipeline of leaders that our economy demands,” said ALPFA Nashville in a LinkedIn post.  

With the announcement of the newly activated chapter came the announcement of its board members. 

Led by Chapter President Juan Loaiza, the chapter’s board members are Melanie Chavez, Katie Andrulis, Saul Camarena, P.E., and Sebastián Larrea.

Meet the board members here: 

Juan Loaiza

Loaiza is the chapter’s President. 

He holds a BA in Political Science: Public Policy and Administration and a BS in Economics from Michigan State University. He also has a Master of Public Policy in Social Sciences from the same university. 

He’s currently the Senior Director of Strategy & Performance at Ankura. He was previously the Commercial Director of AJ Boggs.

Melanie Chavez

Chavez is the Executive Vice President of Membership & Marketing for ALPFA Nashville.

She received a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies with an emphasis in Psychology & Global Studies at Marymount California University. 

In 2018, she volunteered as the co-director of student development for Seattle ALPFA.

Chavez is currently a Talent Sourcing Specialist at Viatris. She previously worked as a Talent Sourcer at Highspot and National Recruiter at Year Up.

Katie Andrulis

Andrulis is the Executive Vice President of Program Operations. 

She has a degree in Accounting from Wittenberg University and a Master of Accounting from the Ohio State University Fisher College of Business. 

Andrulis is currently the Technical Writer at MASSIE R&D Tax Credits. She previously worked at EY as a Senior Tax Accountant. 

Saul Camarena, P.E.

Camarena is the Senior Vice President of Corporate Development. 

He has a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Lipscomb University. 

He is currently the President of SC Engineering, LLC. He has previously worked at Dewberry as an Electrical Senior Project Manager/Client Manager. 

Sebastián Larrea

Larrea is the Executive Vice President of Finance & Compliance. 

He has a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Affairs from Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Quito, Ecuador. He also has a MBA from Universidad Europea de Madrid.

He most recently worked at Vanderbilt University as a Research Program Coordinator. 

Nashville now joins other prominent regions such as Philadelphia and Los Angeles with a professional ALPFA chapter. The 47th ALPFA Convention was held there in 2019. 

ALPFA is the United States’ first national Latino professional association, with the goal of empowering and developing Latinos into leaders in every sector. The association celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022.