Inspiring and empowering! The winners of the Mujer Tec 2021 Awards

Recognizing women who through their actions support other women and their communities is the purpose of the Mujer Tec Award, which has unveiled the winners who are receiving the award in 2021.

Felisa González, Director of Tec de Monterrey’s Human Dignity Recognition Center, noted that presenting this award is key to promoting women’s empowerment.

“Rewarding their achievements and making their work visible is another step towards gender equality while also contributing to social development,” she said.

In its ninth year, the award received 230 nominations for women from the four institutions that make up the Tec: Tec de Monterrey, TecMilenio, SorteosTec, and TecSalud.

On March 8, International Women’s Day, the award will be presented virtually to the winners in nine categories, as well as two special awards.

Here is the list from CONECTA of those who will be recognized with the Mujer Tec 2021 Award, as well as some of their most important work:

#SHE4SHE Category 

 

1. Women for the Future 

The Guadalajara campus student group brings together students and former students from different engineering fields to teach robotics courses to girls in vulnerable situations.

Its members have been invited to promote the dissemination of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) areas at events of Tec de Monterrey’s Artificial Intelligence Hub and the National Mathematics Olympiad.

 

 

2. Laura Eugenia Romero Robles

As vice president of the Latin American and Caribbean Consortium of Engineering Schools, the Monterrey campus professor has led projects in STEM areas to foster women’s development.

In addition, she is the National Development Committee Leader for Women in Engineering and Sciences at the Tec, which promotes activities such as webinars with successful female engineers.

 

 

3. Mayra Hernández Figueroa 

She’s a member of the Security Council for the State of Jalisco, where she promotes proposals on areas such as the eradication of gender violence, disappearances, and human trafficking.

The Tec graduate from the Guadalajara campus has been involved in activities to demand justice and security, and has also spoken up for women, girls, boys, and adolescents who suffer abuse in Mexico.

 

 

Art and Cultural Management Category

 

1. Melissa del Mar Pontigo Torres 

She’s a poet, cultural promoter, and current student in Communications and Digital Media at the Tec’s State of Mexico campus.

She has given talks for TEDx, the National Young Writers Conference, and the International Book Fair, among other forums.

 

 

2. Claudia Aracely Rico Arenívar 

She’s a violinist in the Chihuahua State Philharmonic Orchestra and Director at the Libélula Collective, a space that provides art workshops and talks on the prevention of violence.

The Tec graduate from the Chihuahua campus has also worked via YouTube to provide asynchronous music teaching to those who cannot attend virtual classes.

 

 

3. Diana Ivette Urquiza Flores 

The program director at the Mexico City campus is a researcher, businesswoman, music producer, sound engineer, and music therapist.

She’s also part of the Sound Girls association, which seeks to connect women around the world to build a support network that works on issues ranging from employability to combating sexual harassment.

 

 

Science Category 

 

1. Deshiré Alpízar Rodríguez 

The holder of a medical degree from the Monterrey campus, she’s currently head of the Research Unit at the Mexican College of Rheumatology.

She belongs to various international rheumatology research working groups such as the European League Against Rheumatism, the Emerging Eular Network, and the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance.

 

 

2. Karla Mayolo Deloisa 

She holds a PhD in Engineering Sciences from the Tec’s Monterrey campus and has been a research professor at the institution since 2017.

She was recently awarded the Marie Slodowska Curie – Horizon 2020 – Tecniospring Industry scholarship, which will allow her to continue attempting to create a medicine based on peptides and developed through nanotechnology that diminishes and/or eliminates the problem of antibiotic resistance.

 

 

Citizenship with Gender Perspective Category 

 

1. Ana María de Guadalupe Alvarado Larios 

She has been teaching as a professor for nearly four decades in the Law Department at the Monterrey campus.

She was the founder of the Oral Trials Court at the Monterrey campus, which became the first of its kind in a private university in Mexico.

 

 

2. Lorena Lazos Ríos 

She was a student in economics at the Monterrey campus, where she is Director of the Citizen Responsibility area of the Federation of Tec Students (FETEC).

She is the creator of SheSafe, an app for women that gathers data to support their testimony, as well as offering lines of action and support to ensure their peace of mind and safety at all times.

 

 

3. Ana Elena Bañuelos Zetina 

She holds a degree from the Mexico City campus of Tec de Monterrey, as well as a master’s from TecMilenio University.

She’s the founder of a civil society organization dedicated to fighting against domestic violence suffered by women, mainly adolescents and girls.

 

 

 

Sports and Sports Management Category 

 

 

1. Fernanda de Paola Corral Granados 

The Tec graduate in marketing from the Monterrey campus was a high-performance athlete for 16 years, as part of the Borreguitas basketball team on the campus.

She is the creator of Athlete Booster, a talent management and branding agency, business consultant, and commercial consultant for athletes.

 

2. Erika Gómez Lozada 

She’s an assistant coach for the school’s Men’s Basketball team at the Tec’s Hidalgo campus.

She’s been recognized as the top representative for basketball in the country, as captain of the national team and having been on the Mexican national team for 20 years. She was also a professional basketball player in Spain for 10 years.

 

Entrepreneurship Category

 

 

1. Adriana Lizeth Rubio Aguirre 

She’s a student in Industrial Engineering at the Tec’s Monterrey campus, as part of the Leaders of Tomorrow program with the special  “Eduardo Villarreal Bell” distinction.

She created Brinhup, a project that fights against inequality, which seeks to make people aware of their actions and make them part of the solution to current problems.

 

 

2. Karla Ahumada Aramburo 

The holder of a master’s degree in education from Tecmilenio University, she’s a member of the DISRUPTIVO TV, a media company and platform for social entrepreneurship education in Spanish.

She has participated as a leadership and business mentor in Latin American hackathons. She was considered one of the young drivers of female social empowerment in 2020 during the pandemic in Mexico by the Líderes Mexicanos (Mexican Leaders) magazine.

 

3. Ivonne Navas Corona 

She holds a degree in communications science from the Tec’s Monterrey campus. During her student years, she worked as a publishing editor in the Communications and Environmental Quality departments.

Since 1998, she has been based in Vancouver, Canada, where she has begun entrepreneurial and community projects in areas such as education, immigration, multiculturalism, and the environment.

 

 

 

Environment Category

 

 

1. Karla Andrea González Rodríguez 

The international high school teacher at PrepaTec’s Santa Catarina campus is the creator of Bodega Cero, a supermarket where products with low environmental impact are sold to more than 21,000 conscientious consumers.

At the EGADE Business School, she served as coordinator of outreach and support for SUSTENTUS, a program responsible for creating strategies to connect the school with Nuevo León’s civil society.

 

 

2. Andrea Balcázar González 

The current student at the Monterrey campus has begun to make progress in the energy sector with a focus on the transition to sustainable energy.

She is the outgoing President of the Student Energy at Tec de Monterrey group, which allows young people to interact with leaders in that sector. In 2020, she was also named a “Featured Program Member” by the global Student Energy organization.

 

 

3. Teresita Alcántara Díaz 

The Tec de Monterrey graduate has 15 years of experience in the areas of urban planning, public administration, Land Use Planning for Disaster Risk Management (DRM), and climate governance.

She’s currently an academic tutor at the School of Government and Public Transformation, as well as project coordinator for the Chilean Network of Municipalities for Climate Change for the Adapt Chile association.

 

 

Transforming Power Category

 

 

1. Gladis Guadalupe Araujo Sánchez 

A global business leader with 30 years of experience in managing supply chain and quality operations, developing new markets, operations, and leading multicultural work teams, among others.

She holds a Master’s in Quality and Manufacturing from the Monterrey campus. She’s currently the Vice President of Global Operations at Mattel Inc., Malaysia.

 

 

Health and Wellness Category

 

1. Faryde Lara Rodríguez 

She’s Director of the SAK Foundation, which helps prevent suicide. She’s considered a speaker with national reach on issues related to the promotion of mental health.

The PrepaTec graduate from the Querétaro campus is also a film director and visual artist, promoting inclusive art, culture of peace, and social responsibility.

 

In addition:

 

Special Award: Career

 

Claudia Margarita Félix Sandoval

She has been working at Tec de Monterrey for 26 years, where she’s currently the Vice President of the Western Region, as well as Director of Tec de Monterrey’s Guadalajara campus.

She has also worked for companies such as Cemex, Promotora de Hogares, and Provida Desarrollos.

 

 

Special Award: Pioneer

 

 

María Esperanza Burés Ramírez

The founder of the Department of Administrative Sciences at Tec de Monterrey in 1980 and professor at the university for 46 years.

She has collaborated on various community projects such as Alianza Cívica (Civic Alliance), the San Pedro Garza García DIF (National System for Integral Family Development), and the Monterrey Center for Special Education. In addition, she has continually fought for wage equality.

 

 

All winners will be given the “Muliere Amet” award, designed by C37 and inspired by the sculpture “Fearless Girl” by the artist Kristen Visbal.

 

 

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