La Poderosa Ana Roca-Castro

Entrepreneur, blogger, and mom of four -- there aren’t enough adjectives to describe the talents of Ana Roca-Castro. And in 2007, Roca-Castro stood apart from her tech-world peers when she launched Premier Social Media, a company that helps businesses grow through social media. Among her impressive clients are ambassadors, government agencies, nonprofits and big-name companies such as Walmart, FedEx and Toshiba. Her dual passions for education and social engagement resulted in notable cooperation with the U.S. Department of Education. By developing social game, Roca-Castro will help bring national attention to the agency’s work and agenda.

But her signature achievement -- and the one she’s now best known for -- was launching Latinos in Social Media, or LATISM, the largest organization for Latinos working in, or using, social media. Her goal, simply, was to empower la comunidad “in the areas of education, technology, health and business,” and “through the use of tech innovation and social media.” The result? The social, civic and economic improvement of Latino lives.

To that end, Roca-Castro and the LATISM team are organizing a conference this fall that will bring together experts from various industries to exchange ideas on how emerging technologies and social media can help. Roca Castro calls the event “historical,” noting that “now is the time to bring our fuerza together and see how we can find synergies of collaboration.” She wrote, “There is no doubt in my heart that we can move mountains if we bring our resources to the same table.

Photo: latism.org