FINRA Latino Affinity Network Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month
Lizzie Westin
Aaron Carreras
In the early hours of Sept. 16, 1810, church bells rang to signal a call to arms in Dolores, Mexico, beginning the Mexican War of Independence. By 1821, what was once called New Spain, became the nations of present-day Central America. By 1836, most of Latin America gained independence, except for Puerto Rico, which became independent in 1897, and Cuba, which became independent in 1902.
In 1968, President Lyndon Johnson established legislation that created Hispanic Heritage Week, taking place on the days surrounding Sept. 15 and 16. It wasn’t until 1988 that President Ronald Reagan extended the commemorative week to take place over the course of one month between Sept. 15 and Oct. 15.
Several historical dates of importance fall within these 30 days. While Mexico celebrates their independence on Sept. 16 and Chile theirs on Sept. 18, many Central American countries celebrate their independence on Sept. 15.
“This national initiative helps highlight and pay tribute to the generations of Hispanic Americans who have influenced and enriched the country,” says Lizzie Westin, Associate Director of Product Management. “There is so much that brings the Hispanic nations and cultures together, but at the same time, each country is unique and there is even immense diversity within each of those countries.”
Lizzie participates in the FINRA Latino Affinity Network (FLAN), one of many Employee Resource Groups at FINRA, uniting Hispanic and Latino staffers and welcoming anyone interested in learning about the diverse cultures represented.
“When I joined FINRA 10 years ago, I signed up for many ERGs [employee resource groups], including FLAN,” says Lizzie, who was born and raised in Bolivia and moved to Washington, D.C. as an international student before starting her own career and family. “I attended events occasionally, but it wasn’t until the pandemic that I became a regular; that’s when FLAN’s bi-weekly conversations series began. Conversation topics vary and include art, culture, travel, holidays and more. They offer a chance for fun chats and to practice or learn Spanish. I hosted a few of the bi-weekly conversations over the past few years, including one as part of a travel series in which I was able to share about the rich culture of my home country.”
This year, FLAN hosts a series of events in the name of Hispanic Heritage Month called Pioneers of Change: Shaping the Future Together, encapsulating the “spirit of innovation, resilience, and unity that define the Hispanic experience.”
“FLAN has great programming throughout the rest of the year as well, but this month is super-packed with a variety of great events,” Lizzie says. “A few examples include a virtual cooking lesson, informal conversations in Spanish about art and music, and a forum to learn more about FINRA Technology with department leaders as guest speakers.”
One of the guest speakers at the forum was Aaron Carreras, Vice President of Data Management and Transparency Services Technology.
“I covered Transparency Services’ trade reporting, how that helps investors and industry transparency, and what other activities happen in support of trade reporting,”Aaron says. “There were two other panelists from Technology as well. Sumalatha Bachu spoke to Technology Operations, particularly regarding the scale of processes FINRA runs and its impressive data footprint. Chase Skipper covered GenAI at FINRA, where the opportunities are, how we can mitigate the concerns, and when and what that might look like in production.”
Sumalatha Bachu is a Senior Director of Technology for Delivery Services and Chase Skipper is a Senior Director of Technology for Business, Legal and Enterprise Systems.
Aaron plans on attending more events hosted by FLAN.
“I can relate to FLAN because my father is Cuban and my wife is Mexican,” Aaron says. “I have a real appreciation for the value FINRA places in all of our ERGs.”
Lizzie shares the appreciation for the opportunities that ERGs, like FLAN, provide to the broader FINRA community.
“FINRA does a great job highlighting Hispanic cultures,” she says. “There are so many events planned that allow colleagues to connect with each other while they learn more about Hispanic culture. I know there is a great deal of effort and teamwork that goes on behind the scenes to bring such rich programming to the FINRA community. FLAN has been a wonderful way to network with colleagues from across FINRA who I would not have met otherwise or not connected with at the same level.”
