Every Woman Deserves to Thrive.

Patty Arvielo built a company from the ground up, starting at 16 in an entry-level clerical role, helping her mother clean offices on weekends, and rising through every level of an industry that wasn't designed to make room for her. Today she is the Co-Founder and CEO of New American Funding, the nation's largest Latina- and woman-owned mortgage company, with more than 5,400 employees and 297 locations nationwide.

She is the first Hispanic woman to have a university school of business named after her — Vanguard University unveiled the Patty Arvielo School of Business and Management in 2023. Forbes named her to its 50 Over 50 list. She is an EY Entrepreneur of the Year Hall of Fame inductee, a Bloomberg Linéa 100 Influential Latinos honoree, has been named one of the Most Powerful Women in Mortgage, and a Top 100 Most Influential Latina by Latino Leaders Magazine.

She was recognized as one of HousingWire's Women of Influence in 2024 and 2025. She also made Inc.'s 2025 Female Founders 500 List and now serves as an Advisory Board member. Most recently, she was awarded the Homeownership Council of America's Trailblazer Award in 2026. Her mentorship brand, Thrive and Lead, has been developing the next generation of leaders for years.

Vanessa Santos started her first business at 13 and never stopped building. She worked her way through corporate America, expanding Gilt.com to 120+ countries, winning a CES Innovation Award at Mastercard for a digital platform serving millions of students across Latin America, then crossed into entrepreneurship, co-scaling #WeAllGrow Latina to multi-millions and an acquisition in 2025.

A Forbes Most Powerful Women of Latin America honoree and Kennedy Center inaugural entrepreneur award recipient, she has spent two decades in rooms most women are still trying to get into — and has made it her life's work to hold the door open.

Today she is the founder and CEO of Build The Dream Holdings, a media and lifestyle company centered on the belief that success should not require self-erasure. She advises women founders on decision-making, business architecture, and building without breaking themselves apart. She writes Letters from the In-Between, a bi-weekly newsletter read by 10K+ subscribers. She serves on the Board of Directors for Wellness For The People Foundation.

She hosts the Build The Dream Collective — a monthly gathering where she mentors hundreds of women who are done shrinking, building boldly, and integrating their whole selves as they build a business and a life without breaking themselves apart to do it.