Meet the 2026 Bay Area Latinos 40 Under 40™

By Esteban Montero

San Francisco, April 22- Negocios Now today unveiled the San Francisco Bay Area Latinos 40 Under 40™ – Class of 2026, marking the third consecutive year of this initiative, made possible through the support of BMO Bank.

“I would like to once again thank BMO Bank for joining us in our mission to recognize and elevate emerging Latino talent,” said publisher Clemente Nicado. 

  “We are thrilled to bring together Latino leaders from a wide range of sectors, including business owners, engineers, educators, corporate executives, nonprofit professionals, and more. They are not only making a difference today, but also have a bright future ahead”, said Nicado.

 Negocios Now would like to thank organizations such as the Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement (HACE), the National Hispanic Corporate Council, the Latino Business Action Network (LBAN) at Stanford University, Es Tiempo LLC, and Latinos for Education for their support and for helping us identify these outstanding honorees.

With this new class, the program now includes a total of 840 young Latino leaders across Chicago, New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Houston.

The celebration event will take place on May 15 at The Prestige Venue in San Jose.

Below is the list of the Latinos 40 Under 40™ Class of 2026.

1.- Giselle Andrade
Title: Associate Director of Talent Acquisition
Organization: KIPP Public Schools Northern California
Age: 28

2.- Crystal Arrizon
Title: Associate Partner
Organization: Bay Ed Fund
Age: 37

3.- Valeria Avila Guerrero
Title: Owner of Aprumo Design LLC and President of #LatinaGeeks Silicon Valley
Organization: #LatinaGeeks and Aprumo Design LLC
Age: 30

4.- Talina Avila
Title: Assessment Manager
Organization: Voices Language Academies
Age: 35

5.- Jesus Castillo
Title: Camera Optical Engineer
Organization: Apple
Age: 32

6.- Christopher Castro
Title: Senior Director, Operations
Organization: Rocketship Public Schools
Age: 37

7.- Marlene Castro
Title: Planning and Impact Lead
Organization: Stanford | Accelerator for Learning
Age: 35

8.- Fabian Contreras Aguilar
Title: Lead Solution Engineer
Organization: Salesforce
Age: 32

9.- Aurora Diaz
Title: Founder & CEO
Organization: The Jefas
Age: 36

10.- Michael Diaz-Jimenez
Title: AI Product Manager
Organization: Conectado
Age: 25

11.- Elizabeth Fernandez
Title: Founder & CEO
Organization: Business Coach for Therapists | Podcast Host
Age: 30

12.- Jorvan Garcia
Title: Owner
Organization: Jorvan’s Micheladas
Age: 36

13.- Marysela Garza Granados
Title: Product Manager
Organization: Khan Academy
Age: 32

14.- Will Gaviria Rojas
Title: Co-Founder & Field CTO
Organization: Coactive AI
Age: 34

15.- Christie Gil
Title: Coordinator, Game Presentation and Live Events
Organization: San Francisco 49ers
Age: 27

16.- Brenda Gonzalez
Title: Puente Counselor and Co-Coordinator
Organization: Diablo Valley Community College
Age: 36

17.- Vanessa Karel
Title: Founder CEO
Organization: Greether
Age: 35

18.- Enrique Labrada-Prieto
Title: Creative Producer
Organization: Duckfat Productions
Age: 29

19.- Mathias Lemos Castillo
Title: Founder / Chief Engagement Officer
Organization: Mobilize, Listen & Connect (MLC) Consulting, LLC
Age: 29

20.- Nicolas Lopez
Title: CPO
Organization: Horizon AI
Age: 24

21.- Dr. Josué López
Title: Principal
Organization: DCVC
Age: 32

22.- Gabrielle Lucatero-Divers
Title: General Manager
Organization: Accurate Firestop
Age: 33

23.- Zoe Lynch
Title: CEO
Organization: Variant
Age: 23

24.- Sara-Maria Menendez
Title: Principal
Organization: San Bruno Park School District
Age: 35

25.- Tanya Menendez
Title: Founder
Organization: Nearshore AI
Age: 38

26.- Gerardo Nuñez
Title: Strategic Finance
Organization: LinkedIn
Age: 38

27.- Edgar Ochoa
Title: Director of Community Engagement
Organization: Mexican Heritage Plaza
Age: 36

28.- Christina Ortega
Title: CEO
Organization: Mission Bit
Age: 37

29.- Christina Peña
Title: Senior Product Manager, Student Product Group
Organization: Adobe
Age: 35

30.- Benjamin Perez
Title: Founder
Organization: Perez the Advisor
Age: 38

31.- Kenia Piña
Title: Senior Business Analyst
Organization: Pg&E
Age: 32

32.- Jacquelyn Quiñones
Title: News Reporter
Organization: KSBW Action News
Age: 35

33.- Daira Ramirez Ontiveros
Title: Senior Dean of Operations
Organization: Summit Public Schools
Age: 34

34.- Jordan Ruiz
Title: Owner Operator
Organization: McDonald’s
Age: 39

35.- Lynda Ruiz
Title: Software Engineer
Organization: Disney Streaming
Age: 31

36.- Martin Vargas-Vega
Title: Senior Software Engineer
Organization: LiveRamp
Age: 33

37.- Carlos Vasquez
Title: Sr. Site Reliability Engineer
Organization: Adobe
Age: 34

38.- Felipe Ventura
Title: CEO
Organization: Blueprint
Age: 37

39.- Ricardo Yupanqui
Title: Senior Industrial Engineer
Organization: NVIDIA
Age: 27

40.- Jimmy Zuniga
Title: Director, District & Community Partnership
Organization: Bay Ed Fund
Age: 35

About Negocios Now

Negocios Now is a U.S.-based media platform dedicated to covering the Hispanic business and professional community. Founded in Chicago, it delivers news, analysis, and profiles of Latino entrepreneurs, executives, and organizations shaping the economy. Negocios Now is the creator of the Latinos 40 Under 40™ program—now expanded to New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Houston—and the Who’s Who in Hispanic Business special edition and Gala, which recognize influential leaders across industries. Through its digital platforms, print editions, and signature events, Negocios Now highlights leadership, entrepreneurship, and the growing economic influence of Latinos in the United States. It is part of Nicado Publishing Company.

Tickets are available here.  For more information, email us at 40under40@negociosnow.com