Board of Directors
President | Cesar Bravo
Cesar Bravo is a native Angeleno and now resides in the Columbus Ohio area. Real Estate agent by trade and has been involved with the Hispanic Chamber of Columbus for more than six years. Currently serving as the President. Cesar is passionate in serving his community specifically connecting its members to resources and programs that aid the mission of the organization.
Lair Marin-Marcum
Before taking on the Strategic Director role for The LIBRE Initiative-Ohio, Lair worked for the state of Ohio for almost 14 years, as the State Regional Outreach & Hispanic Community Manager for the Ohio Department of Transportation and before as the Community Liaison for the Ohio Latino Affairs Commission. Lair also worked at Nationwide Financial in the Corporate Insurance Markets for five years. Lair’s professional career began in Europe where she worked for Canon as Marketing Training Manager for four years, and at Virgin Records in international and national artists management for almost eight years. Lastly, Lair worked at SAP as the Europe, Middle East, and Asia Corporate Event Director.
In her other many roles in the community, Lair has been part of the Hispanic Chamber of Columbus for almost 20 years and is currently the Vice President and Education Chair. Lair is also the 1st Latina to sit on the South-Western City School District Education Foundation board of trustees and is one of the founding members of the Latina Mentoring Academy “LMA”, where she’s led as the President and Chair for fourteen years. Lair also sits on the Metro Early College High School Community Council. “Metro” is a STEM Focused semi-public, non-charter privately funded high school located in Columbus, Ohio on the OSU campus.
Lair has received many awards and recognitions in Ohio, among them, the 2012 LULAC Ohio Woman of the year award. Lair was highlighted in the 2014 5th Edition of Who’s Who Latino Columbus. In 2015, Lair was selected by the Ohio Women for Economic and Leadership Development Organization as one of the Women You Should KnowTM and Welding the Way. In 2018 Lair was awarded the Champion of Change award by The Ohio Diva Movement Extraordinary Women and was recognized by the Columbus Create Foundation for her work in the community. At the Columbus Crew’s 2018 Hispanic Heritage Month game she was highlighted on the field for her diverse roles and work in our Ohio communities. In 2021, the City of Columbus commemorated the 1st Hispanic Heritage Month celebration at City Hall, where Marin-Marcum was honored with the 1st “Esperanza” hope award by the Columbus City Council and the Columbus Mayor. The Columbus City Hall was lite up in the colors of the Mexican and Spanish flags. Lair’s other volunteer work encompasses the Red Cross, LULAC, Femergy, Alianza614, The Guadalupe Center, the Mid-Ohio Food Bank, Fraklin Co. Sheriff’s Office and The Ohio Annual International Women’s Conference committee.
Lair was brought up between the USA and Spain and studied pre-med at the University of Minnesota and Economics & Languages at the Universidad Complutense of Madrid. Lair also studied violin & voice at the Music Conservatory of Madrid in Spain and continues to perform at local venues, churches, conferences, events, and sports stadiums in Ohio. Lair’s passion is focused on working with all minorities & diverse communities. Marin-Marcum is a strong advocate for Diversity & Inclusion, Civil Rights, Health Equity, Education, Mentoring, Music, the Arts, Entrepreneurship & overall Minority Leadership. Lair lives in Grove City, Ohio. She’s married to Tim Marcum, a very supportive, understanding, and amazing husband. She has a daughter Mackenzie, and three grandchildren, Colt, Daniel & Wyatt.
Secretary | Ana Lilia Rosas
Ana Lilia Rosas is a Residential Mortgage Loan Officer at NFM Lending with over a decade of experience in Marketing and financial advising for diverse customers. A graduate from Ohio Dominican University with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management; Ana grew up in Carson California where she began her career working in media such as La Opinion Spanish-Language Newspaper, Los Angeles Times and The Columbus Dispatch. Ana is a proud mother, wife and Professional Latina who enjoys giving back to the community she loves and cherish, the Latino Community.
Office Manager | Annette Vasquez
Born and raised in California by her single mother who migrated from Mexico with her family when she was 12. She grew up in Pomona with her Abuelos, 10 tias and tios, 3 cousins, her mom, and little brother. When she was in second grade she moved to Rancho Cucamonga and started a new school that didn’t have much diversity and struggled with her English. By the fifth grade, she was translating and filling out school and doctor forms for her mom and family. She began working at 13 helping her mom at her car dealer. She is married to her best friend Jesus, at the age of 19 she had her daughter Dalilah, 5 years later her son Andrew and just recently a baby girl Ximena. Transitioning into motherhood has made her realize how much she appreciates all the strong women in her life. Her abuela had a great influence on who she is as a mother, daughter, and woman. Both her grandparents instilled life values in her that made her view the world humbly. Her abuelo always said he didn’t need much money or “cosas de lujo”, as long as he had his family he was the richest man in the world, and that will always stay with her. In 2018 she said goodbye to her familia and the only place she ever lived and moved to Columbus with her family and just 2 bags each.
In 2020 she opened FLOWER day-ze, a floral business where she aspires to help people express their special message into a beautiful bouquet when words cannot. Additionally, provide floral needs to events. In 2022 she started El Mercadito, a year-round traveling pop-up market that highlights the Latine community by supporting local artists and small businesses. Mercadito provides a safe space that helps to connect the very diverse Latine Hispanic community that we have here in Columbus and a space for people to learn more about our cultures, our music, our food, and our community as well as support our small businesses. They are more than just vendor markets, they serve as beacons in our community. Throughout the year, they organize various drives, including a back-to-school drive in July, a food drive in partnership with Mid-Ohio Food Bank in September, a winter coat drive in October, and a toy drive with Buckeye Ranch in November.
Also, an Alumni of E.L.L.A (formally known as LMA) graduated Cycle 13 Currently, she is the Office Manager for the Hispanic Chamber of Columbus Annette’s vision is to not only strive to provide excellent customer service through her businesses but to also provide hope to the community. Using dedication, perseverance, and hard work she utilizes the skills she’s learned over the years, both professionally and personally, to fabricate her businesses to support the people in the communities around her.
Community Liaison | Nicole Estrada
Nicole Espinoza is a proud Buckeye who graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a minor in Hospitality Management from The Ohio State University. She currently serves as the Chair of the Community Outreach Committee for the Hispanic Chamber of Columbus. In 2024, Nicole earned the title of second runner-up in the Miss Ohio Latina Pageant. Nicole is also the owner of La Patrona Multiservicios, providing expert notarial and reliable services for legal and ofNicial documents, including power of attorney, notarizations, apostilles, translations, and more.
Board Member | Wolfgang Teran
Wolfgang is the Vice President of Dispositions at Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing, a non-profit low-income housing tax credit syndicator headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Wolfgang joined Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing in 2014. Prior to joining Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing, Wolfgang worked in banking, economic development, and real estate development for many years for institutions such as BB&T, JPMorgan Chase, and Wachovia in several markets including New York City, and South Florida. Wolfgang earned his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Florida International
University. He also holds a Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from The Ohio State University, where he focused on real estate and economic development, and a Master’s in Business Administration from The Ohio State University, where he focused on finance and real estate.
Governance | Rodrigo Horna
Originally from Peru, Rodrigo is an attorney who attended law school in both Latin America and in the United States. Rodrigo’s practice focuses on areas of estate planning, business law, tax, and trust and estate administration.
Prior to coming to the United States for law school, Rodrigo lived in Lima, Peru where he graduated law school summa cum laude at San Marcos University. While attending San Marcos, he completed a thesis dissertation focused on business succession planning and development in Latin American countries.
Rodrigo’s estate planning practice focuses on providing legal advice and representation for individuals, families, and businesses, while advising on general aspects of federal, state, and local taxation.
Rodrigo’s business practice involves counseling clients on issues pertaining to their businesses and operations, including entity formation, general business transactions, corporate governance, and business reorganizations.
He takes great pride in helping individuals and businesses navigate everyday concerns as well as generational legal issues. Outside of work, Rodrigo enjoys spending time with his family, traveling and experimenting with Peruvian cuisine.
Education & Programming | Christian Espinoza
Dr. Christian Espinoza earned his Bachelor of Science in Materials Engineering from San Jose State University in 2009 and a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2014.
His career began with Engineers Without Borders, where he contributed to the Guatemala Biosand Water Filter Project, improving access to clean water for rural communities. As a Materials Scientist, Dr. Espinoza later specialized in developing diamond glass clusters for use in abrasive slurries and fixed abrasive pads—technologies critical to polishing and grinding glass, ceramics, and hard semiconductors.
Dr. Espinoza holds seven publications, five patents, and seven trade secrets in collaboration with institutions such as the University of Illinois, NASA, Owens Corning, and Hyperion Materials & Technologies.
Passionate about mentorship and community service, he supports aspiring engineers through the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE). He currently serves on the boards of See Kids Dream and the SHPE Columbus Chapter. In recognition of his leadership and impact, he received the 2024 Next Up Columbus Award from the Columbus Young Professionals.
Outside of work, Dr. Espinoza enjoys outdoor adventures with his son, running, and is currently training for the Lima, Peru marathon. He lives with his family in Westerville, Ohio.
Board Member | Ezra Escudero
Ezra C. Escudero is a dynamic business leader with expertise in public policy, health care, finance, publishing, technology, ethics and theology. After graduating from Ohio State, he moved to Pittsburgh where he joined the Hispanic Chamber of Western Pennsylvania, becoming Board Secretary and Scholarship Committee Chair. Returning to Columbus, he helped re-establish the Hispanic Chamber of Columbus, serving as its first President in 2000. In 2002, he launched Ohio’s first bilingual Spanish-English newspaper: Nuestro Ohio.
In 2003, at age 29, Ezra became the youngest Executive Director of the Ohio Commission on Hispanic/Latino Affairs, creating the “Advise-Connect-Build” business model which is still in use, impactful and effective after over 20 years. He also collaborated with the Ohio Department of Development to establish the nation’s first Latino Small Business Development Center (SBDC), which grew to three locations in Ohio.
In 2013, Escudero was chosen State Director of the Ohio SBDC Network, overseeing 30+ locations, including the aforementioned Latino SBDC sites. In 2015, he became the founding Strategic Director for The LIBRE Initiative in Ohio, engaging the Latino community with others in public policy projects over the next ten years.
Currently, Ezra leads the Health Care Practice at E.E. Shaw, LLC, promoting the Direct Primary Care (DPC) model, which delivers better, patient-centered health care benefits to employees while ensuring lower costs and stability for employers.
Escudero received his Master of Theology degree from Ohio Dominican University in 2021, and his current community service includes serving on the board of Honor Flight Columbus, volunteer work with the Diocese of Columbus especially in Hispanic Ministry. Ezra lives with his family in Gahanna, and together with his wife Beth and son Samuel, they are awaiting the adoption of a new family member, a son or daughter, later this year.