With two decade’s worth of experience in capacity building and leadership, Lillian Rivera has dedicated her life work to creating environments that celebrate our unique journeys. She has developed Diversity & Inclusion strategies for a variety of organizations including the New York City Department of Education, Con Edison, and Fossil. She partners with organizations working towards addressing the issues impacting under-represented communities. She has developed trainings focused on system racism, implicit bias, gender inequalities and intersectional perspectives. Ms. Rivera has worked extensively within youth organizations to develop programs that are grounded in the belief that all young people are “at potential” not “at risk”. As a mentor to young people, she works to shine the light on their gifts and talents. She has inspired young BIPOC youth by leveraging her own lived experience for hope and possibility.

As a Latinx lesbian mom who grew up in an under-resourced community on the east coast, she always knew that statistics about her future would not determine her life trajectory. Ms. Rivera has appeared on numerous media outlets including MIC, AOL’s Bold, CNN en Español and NBC Latino, offering her expertise on issues impacting the lives of folks living at the intersections. Some of her published works can be found on the Huffington Post, the Advocate and the Feminist Wire. She is a recipient of the Rockwood Fellowship on Race and Gender and served as the Executive Director at Hetrick-Martin Institute: New Jersey. In her most recent position, she serves as Director of Education & Evaluation at The Hollywood Commission. In this position she oversees evaluations activities and provides education sessions on creating inclusive entertainment workplace.