I built one of the largest mortgage companies in the country helping Latino families build wealth through homeownership”— Patty Arvielo
LAS VEGAS, NV, UNITED STATES, September 9, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Patty Arvielo, who serves as Co-Founder and CEO of New American Funding, and Vanessa Santos, the Founder and CEO of Build The Dream, are set to jointly host Thrive & Lead at AVANCE Global. This exclusive three-day leadership event, scheduled from September 14–16, 2026, at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, will gather more than 200 Latina founders, executives, operators, and investors. Crafted to unite Latina decision-makers in a single setting for meaningful discussions, strategic connections, and enhanced pathways to influence and funding, the program will cover leadership, wealth, AI and technology, health, and personal branding. Speakers are chosen based on the depth of their work and their standing within their sectors, not their social media popularity, with crucial sessions held without phones and off the record to promote open dialogue.
For Arvielo, Thrive & Lead represents an extension of a career devoted to broadening economic prospects and wealth generation. Beginning her journey in the mortgage industry at age 16 in a clerical position, she later co-founded New American Funding, which currently stands as the nation’s largest mortgage firm owned by a Latina and a woman, employing over 5,200 people across nearly 300 offices nationwide. She holds the distinction of being the first Hispanic woman to have a university business school named after her, is recognized as a Forbes 50 Over 50 honoree, and has been inducted into the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Hall of Fame. “I built one of the largest mortgage companies in the country helping Latino families build wealth through homeownership. Thrive & Lead is the next chapter of that work,” stated Arvielo. “It is about giving the next generation of Latina leaders a different starting line, the access, the rooms, and the relationships I had to build the hard way.”
“Latinas contribute $1.3 trillion to this economy, and in most rooms where power actually moves, we are still the best kept secret. We are done negotiating with our power. We are the economy, and we build our own rooms,” remarked Santos. “Thrive & Lead is where the women behind the brands, building the brands, and moving the capital finally sit at the same table.” Santos has guided companies and platforms at the crossroads of technology, culture, and the women’s economy, including scaling Gilt.com to over 120 countries and steering the nation’s largest Latina digital ecosystem through periods of growth and acquisition. Her efforts have infused more than $20 million into the Latina economy, and she has delivered a keynote at Forbes Most Powerful Women of Latin America.
The economic weight behind this gathering is considerable. According to the first U.S. Latina GDP Report, Latinas added $1.3 trillion to the U.S. economy, while the overall U.S. Latino economy hit $4 trillion in 2025. Still, Latinas are underrepresented in many settings where leadership and capital choices are made. Thrive & Lead was designed to narrow that access gap by ensuring participants leave with substantial relationships, practical contacts, and a peer network of influential figures. Arvielo and Santos intend to grow Thrive & Lead into quarterly events anchored by an annual summit, delivering year-round opportunities for Latina leaders to cultivate connections, share ideas, move capital, and broaden their combined impact.
Brielle Cotterman
Influential Leader Agency
+1 7657760492
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