Yessica Xytlalli Holguin (she, hers) leads the Community Wealth Building Network (CWBN), an initiative that promotes strategies for an inclusive economy. Most recently, Yessica was a Country Director at Project Gettysburg-León (PGL), an international sister-city organization that works to empower Nicaraguans to be the leaders of their own development. In this role, Yessica worked with local leaders, organizations, and government agencies to build capacity and create partnerships that leverage resources and promote sustainable development.
Prior to PGL, Yessica served the United States of America as a Small Business Development Specialist in the city of Estelí in northern Nicaragua through the Peace Corps. In this capacity, Yessica worked with small businesses to help them grow from micro enterprises to small and medium-sized businesses. She also worked with local leaders to organize savings and lending circles to promote savings and affordable access to credit in their community.
Prior to her work in Nicaragua, Yessica worked at the Denver Scholarship Foundation where she was among the initial staff of the organization that helped design the college and financial aid advising program in Denver high schools. Yessica earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Information Systems, a minor in Latin American literature, and a Master of Science in Management and Organization with a track in Human Resources from the University of Colorado Denver.
Yessica grew up in the Swansea neighborhood in Denver and has done grassroots community organizing with immigrant groups and low-income communities across the Denver Metro area since 2000. She has dedicated her life to empowering disenfranchised communities to break the cycle of poverty through education and economic development. She enjoys running, reading, and spending time with friends and family while drinking coffee.
“Through TLC, I look forward to building my community of movement builders to tap into our collective power to inspire, transform, and foster an environment where everyone can thrive, including ourselves.“