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Dorene C. Dominguez
Founder & Chairman
Ms. Dorene Dominguez is the Chairman and Founder of The Dominguez Dream in Memory of H. Frank Dominguez.
Her philanthropic activities are many and varied, however, none is more important than Ms. Dominguez's long-term commitment to helping others achieve the American Dream by working with and inspiring underserved elementary and high school students that aspire to attend Universities that may seem to be out of their reach. She is especially committed to her alma mater, the University of Notre Dame, in developing access for these students and seeks to accomplish this goal through her strategic vision of an educational pipeline predicated on a four-prong approach.
First, Ms. Dominguez founded The Dominguez Dream, a public non-profit organization in memory of her late father, which serves elementary schools in underserved communities by empowering children to achieve their full potential through literacy and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math), enrichment activities and parent engagement. Through this seventeen-year concerted effort of implementing essential programs in ten partner schools, The Dominguez Dream has served more than 150,000 students.
Second, moving onto the high school level, she has partnered with the Nicholas Academic Centers (www.naccenters.org) and other organizations "to provide support to underserved high school students to improve their academic performance, achieve their full potential, promote their admission to colleges and universities, retention and graduation and to impart the skills and knowledge necessary to live successful and productive lives." On the
theory that "if you get them on campus and show them it is not out their reach, students can learn to hope and dream," Ms. Dominguez has sponsored students in their junior year in high school for summer school on site sessions at Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, to encourage them to "dream big!"Third, Ms. Dominguez is a current member of the University of Notre Dame Board of Trustees. Ms. Dominguez is the former Chairwoman and a former member of the University of Notre Dame Latino Studies Advisory Board. Through her mentoring and provision of emotional and financial support, a number of "her students" have been admitted to Notre Dame and other distinguished institutions of higher learning.
Fourth, believing that a professional platform is key to a strong career start, several mentored have been provided employment opportunities Ms. Dominguez upon graduation from their respective universities.
As a business owner, Ms. Dominguez is cognizant that upward social mobility is tied directly to a healthy economic environment. To that end, she actively serves on the Board of Directors of organizations committed to economic development, access to capital and opportunities for all.
Currently, Ms. Dominguez serves on the following non-profit boards:
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University of Notre Dame Board of Trustees
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PRIDE Industries
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Catholic Association of Latino Leaders
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Latino Donor Collaborative
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California Chamber of Commerce
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Catholic Association of Latino Leaders
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Catholic Education Foundation of Los Angeles
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Los Angeles Latino Chamber of Commerce
She has formerly served on the following boards:
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National Council of La Raza (now known as Unidos USA)
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New America Alliance
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Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE)
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University of Notre Dame Latino Studies Advisory Board as Board Chair
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Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE)
In recognition of her national business, philanthropic, and community efforts, Ms. Dominguez has been recognized by the following:
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2017, 2018, and 2019 ALPHA with "Fortune" magazine recognized Ms. Dominguez as one of "The 50 Most Powerful Latinas”
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2019, Ms. Dominguez was an honoree of the prestigious Cardinal’s Awards Dinner - Celebrating Extraordinary Catholics
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2019, California Latino Legislative Caucus presented the Latino Impact Award
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2017, LA Latino Chamber of Commerce presented the ALAS Award in recognition and honor for uplifting everyday people in the Los Angeles community
Ms. Dominguez graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelor's degree in finance and holds a Certificate in Corporate Governance from Harvard University.