Lorena Patterson is the Chief Executive Officer of [email protected] Corp, a global firm in the field of international business, with focus on promoting cross-cultural understanding, facilitating international trade and commerce, and fostering cultural proficiency practices. Lorena is responsible for creating and managing programs that help government and community leaders to positively integrate and serve the changing population in U.S communities. She is currently managing programs to Mexico and other Latin American countries in the areas of education/workforce and law enforcement.

Lorena connects leaders with a specific country to learn best practices to be applied in North Carolina and other states. Leaders gain a deeper understanding to guide decisions through global challenges applied to local opportunities.

Lorena also serves as the diversity supply chain consultant for the Global Initiative part of the Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council. Lorena helps companies understand the basics of doing business internationally. She helps connecting supply chains (direct or productive) and MRO (indirect or non-productive) buyers in other countries. She facilitates finding complementary capabilities suppliers (secondary processes + customs & logistics) and assist with identification of the best regions and markets to sell & operate based on industry specific demands.

Prior to her current roles, Lorena worked as the director of the Latino Initiative for a global organization part of the North Carolina University System. Lorena coordinated international programs connecting policymakers and business leaders to countries such as China, India, Germany, Singapore, and Mexico. The programs had a focus on international business, trade, education, and law enforcement in areas of strategic importance to North Carolina.

Lorena earned a bachelor’s degree in international studies with a focus on International Relations and a Master of Public Administration from North Carolina State University. She holds a certificate on diversity and social justice from City College of San Francisco and a certificate on Italian language from the Università per Stranieri in Perugia, Italy. Lorena is a native of Mexico City and the first Mexican woman to earn a MPA from NC State University since the program’s inception in 1968.

Lorena serves as the vice-president on the board of the Latino Community Credit Union, serves as a director on the board of the North Carolina Hispanic Chamber of commerce, is the founder of the North Carolina’s Hispanic/Latino Action Coalition (HLAC), is the president of the global network of Mexican professionals abroad (Red Global MX) part of the Mexican ministry of foreign relations North Carolina chapter and vice coordinator of the North American region with focus on bilateral business. Lorena was the first to be selected to seat on the board of Guanajuato State board of education while living outside Mexico. Lorena believes that North Carolina has the potential to be the first state in the nation to have a unique model of cultural/global community.