The ELHAN leadership team provides strategic direction, resources, and professional expertise to assist with carrying out the mission of the vibrant alumni network that is ELHAN. Our team of dedicated alumni leaders meet regularly to brainstorm ideas on how we can improve and grow the alumni network. Feel free to reach out to them through LifeLongElon with ideas or suggestions for ELHAN or just to say hello!

We are excited for what this year will bring, and with your support, learn how we can positively impact our Latinx/Hispanic community at Elon and beyond. If you are interested in supporting ELHAN’s missions, consider joining our leadership board – please contact the Office of Alumni Engagement for details.

Get to know some of our members, and read about their journey from Elon to where they are now:

President — Anajulia Almonte ’14

Anajulia graduated Elon in 2014 with a BS in Biotechnology/ Molecular Biology with a minor in Neuroscience. While at Elon she devoted herself to creating opportunities / resources to enrich the Latinx experience for students on campus. Some of her contributions included establishing and serving as president for the Latin American Student Organization (LASO), piloting African-American/Black, Latinx/Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, Native American, Alaskan Native, and Multiracial (ALANAM) first women’s conference, chartering the Beta Psi Chapter of Chi Upsilon Sigma National Latin Sorority Incorporated and supporting in the creation of Elon’s first Latinx Hispanic Alumni Network.

Currently Anajulia lives in Washington D.C. and serves as a Research Scientist for a private BioTechnology company. She is a proud Dominican and Colombian who enjoys cooking, boxing, and dancing!

Chief of Staff — Jovani Mendez-Sandoval ’22

Jovani Mendez-Sandoval is a 2022 Elon graduate who is originally from Garner, North Carolina. His parents are from Mexico and arrived in the U.S in the late 90’s in hopes for a better life.

At Elon, Jovani majored in economic consulting and minored in leadership studies. Jovani conducted undergraduate research to understand U.S detention centers and was able to publish literature and present his work at different conferences. In addition, Jovani was an orientation leader, RA, president of the consulting club, co-founder of the Underrepresented Business Student Alliance Network and Hermano of the La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity.

In his free time, Jovani loves a good hike, run and planting something new in his garden.

 

Professional Development Co-Chair — Kevin Amaya '15

Inclusion & Diversity Leader | Human Resource Professional | Job Plus Coach | Advocate in the LGBTQIA+ Community | Active Volunteer

Kevin’s passion stems from helping others become better versions of themselves. He is currently an Inclusion & Diversity Business Lead at GlaxoSmithKline aligned to global efforts in the inclusion and diversity space. He has also led global efforts in volunteerism with local and global nonprofits. Kevin graduated from Elon in 2015 and majored in International Business & Marketing. His favorite memory of Elon is being a Teaching Assistant for Elon Academy in the summers where he would support local high school students get ready for college.

He is from Cali, Colombia and is currently living in Brooklyn, New York. In his personal life, he enjoys playing tennis, blogging about my food adventures and taking road trips with friends and family to local hiking trails.

Professional Development Co-Chair — Carolina Lage '22

Carolina Lage is from Havana, Cuba. She graduated in 2022 with a dual degree on Music Production and Recording Arts, and Piano Performance. At Elon, she served as Co-Chair of Hospitality of the Leading Women in Audio Conference, which helps to close the gap between men and women working in the Audio Industry.

Currently, Carolina lives in the New York City area and works as a production assistant for SixtyFour Music. She also teaches piano both as a private instructor and in Paganini Institute of Music. You can connect with her via Linkedin and Instagram.

Communications Co-Chair — Joyce Llopiz-Martell '21

Joyce Llopis-Martell Moros Nahim is an Elon University Spring 2021 graduate. She graduated with a major in Strategic Communications with a double minor in Sociology and Photography. While attending Elon University, Joyce was involved in many organizations, serving in leadership roles. Some achievements she is proud of are serving as Director of Photography for The Edge Magazine, Vice President for the Latinx Hispanic Union, and becoming a member of Corazones Unidos Siempre, Chi Upsilon Sigma National Latin Sorority, Inc.

Currently, Joyce resides back home in Miami, Fl and is exploring her many different passions. Joyce is Cuban, Venezuelan, and Lebanese and speaks three languages because of it. She has a global perspective on the world since being bicultural and has never identified with just one culture and way of thinking. You can connect with her via LinkedIn and Instagram.

Campus Outreach Co-Chair, Events Team — Gabriela Jimenez ’21

Gaby Jimenez is a 2021 Elon grad majoring in Political Science and minors in Philosophy, Criminal Justice Studies, and Latin American Studies.

While at Elon she was worked as a student coordinator for the CREDE, specifically with El Centro. At El Centro, Gaby was one of the Co-Directors for the 2021 Intersect Conference and was one of the founding members of the Siéntate y Hablemos podcast. Additionally, Gaby served in leadership roles as the President of the Latinx-Hispanic Union, and as a student consultant on the Presidential Working group, which helped reform Elon’s bias report system.

Currently, Gaby is attending law school in New York City, hoping to practice criminal and immigration law in the future. You can connect with her on Linked.

General Board Member — Sary Martinez ’19

Originally from Honduras, Sary Martinez is a 2019 graduate currently located in Durham, North Carolina. Sary’s background is in Public Studies with a minor in Business Administration.

During her time at Elon, Sary was a recipient of the Odyssey Scholars program and pursuit her passion for youth development through internships with the Center for Access and Success: “It Takes a Village Project,” and “The Elon Academy.”

During her free time, Sary enjoys exploring her passion for professional development, practicing strength training, and spending time outdoors.

 

ELHAN needs you! There are several open positions to be filled by engaged alumni.

If you’re interested in volunteering for one of these roles, please complete the Affinity Network Leadership Board Interest Form.

Chief of Staff/Vice President

The Chief of Staff will work directly with the ELHAN President on short term and long term goals and objectives for the alumni network, in particular as it relates to oversight of the various ELHAN committees and leadership team members. Primary responsibilities of Chief of staff include:

  • Assisting the President with co-leading the Network
  • Divide ongoing preparation responsibilities of board meetings and retreats
  • Keep track of network activities and keep track of minutes and attendance during monthly calls and retreats
  • Provide ongoing support to project team leads with the support of the President

Communication Team Co-Lead (Two Positions Open)

  • The Communications lead will lead the communication efforts for ELHAN. This includes developing communication materials and a strategy for ELHAN that highlights ELHAN’s purpose, goals, and objectives.
  • The communications team lead will work alongside project focused communications team teammates, to develop the communications strategy to promote ELHAN and upcoming Elon alumni activities.
  • Use social media to elevate the voices of ELHAN alumni and create content that inspires connection between alumni, you’ll schedule posts, respond to messages, and promote the work of all other ELHAN teams to ensure alumni are aware of opportunities to connect and engage with the network
  • Collaborate with the Alumni Engagement office by drafting language to be used in network-wide emails, and quarterly newsletters, E-Net articles or submission to the Magazine of Elon
  • Coordinate with the CREDE liaison on university updates to ensure current students are aware of ways to engage with alumni Work with the Office of Alumni Engagement to regularly update website information

Alumni Community Engagement Team Lead

  • Helps coordinate and support all regional ambassadors in planning and organizing regional events.
  • Supports team to engage ELHAN membership both regionally and virtually (through LinkedIn group)
  • Supports alumni engagement team and executive team with strategic planning efforts to connect ELHAN members to one another

Alumni Professional Development Ambassador

Working alongside the rest of the board, utilizing feedback and requests from the ELHAN network to help develop professional learning opportunities for the ELHAN network, will work alongside the Alumni Engagement office and potentially other departments at Elon to support the development of virtual learning opportunities for our network. Topics could include: financial literacy, home buying, etc.)

Alumni Engagement Regional Ambassadors:

  • Alumni Engagement Ambassadors (AEA) are responsible for promoting ELHAN’s presence among Latinx/Hispanic-identifying alumni of Elon.
  • Alumni Engagement Ambassadors promote engagement in the alumni network and greater Elon Alumni community through planning and hosting events (virtual or in-person) in the city/region they are located in, reaching out to ELHAN alumni to form connections, and promoting events within ELHAN and the Elon Alumni space.
  • They will reach out to new members to welcome them to the network and connect them to our online connection hub (LinkedIn Group).
  • We are looking for AEAs who will work with the Office of Alumni Engagement to have a presence at current alumni events, with a focus on targeted regions where we have the most alumni, this includes: South Florida, Washington DC (Tri-State), New York, North Carolina (Charlotte/RDU/Alamance), California (LA), international alumni, and one who is interesting in connecting with alums based outside of our target US alumni regions.

Campus Outreach Ambassador

Responsibilities of this position include supporting major on-campus events sponsored by
the Elon Latinx/Hispanic Alumni Network, the CREDE, and the Office of Alumni Engagement to connect students with alumni. The campus outreach coordinator shall lead in developing and maintaining ways to connect students and alumni and on-campus connections. Primary responsibilities of the Campus Outreach lead include:

  • Connecting with the CREDE and Latinx/Hispanic identified student groups on campus to develop and maintain ways to connect students and alumni.
  • Responsible for serving as a liaison between the university and its various Latinx/Hispanic life entities, including CREDE, El Centro, and Admissions.
  • Oversee the communication and engagement with our university connections team (student, admissions, the CREDE/El Centro liaisons).
  • Work alongside the communications team to ensure events are being well marketed to reach our ELHAN alumni to engage them with our alma mater.
  • During board meetings, may work alongside the other teams to support their programming efforts.