Melissa Gutierrez- Matos serves as the Compliance Chief of Staff at a Fortune 100 company and is responsible for overseeing board governance, business operations and complex business initiatives, and has held various roles in the financial services industry for over 24 years. As a product of the Edgewood School District and first-generation college graduate, she recognizes the importance of serving our community by empowering and guiding others to pursue their passion.

Originally from Los Angeles, California, Sunny has lived in San Antonio for the last seven years and works as a College Coordinator of High School Programs at St. Philip's College. Sunny’s passion is educational equity has led her to pursue her Ph.D. at The University of Austin in urban education policy. As a former AmeriCorps, City Year - SA and a Masters from Dartmouth, Sunny is well equipped to serve our BRP Scholars well with direction and support to complete their educational goals.

Michelle can best be described as a cheerleader for all women. She uses her platform to champion for women through conferences, workshops, her digital publication and group coaching. Michelle’s passion for creating change is obvious to all around her. Her winning attitude and stand-out personality command a response. She is a natural-born entrepreneur with her first business being a newspaper girl at the age of 12. She is a Marketing Executive by training, an author, sought after Keynote speaker, Founder of She Is International, Editor-in-chief of She Is Magazine, a Certified Transformation Coach, an Ambassador for Brown Brown Skin Brunchin’; an international social group, founded in 2018 around a simple idea - brunch and a CASA Advocate.

Salena has over a decade of experience working in M&A, succession planning, business strategy and development for financial firms across the country.  Years of working in the male-dominated financial sector drove Salena to create and develop The Boardroom Project (BRP). Her ability to forge prosperous strategic partnerships in the non-profit and corporate world is her real forte, a skill-set she hopes to share with other future female leaders throughout the country. Since inception in 2018, Salena has been dedicated to the BRP's mission of developing future board leaders, one girl/woman at a time. Under Salena's leadership, BRP has grown to Dallas, Austin, the Rio Grande Valley, and can be felt as far away as Kenya, Africa. 

Now accepting applications for our 2025 Board Scholar.