"One Woman at a Time"

I am 40 years old and feel very blessed for the amazing opportunities I have experienced throughout my life.  I don’t believe things happen coincidently, I have always believed in the bigger picture, the journey of my life and my purpose.  

I was born in Colombia raised by a single working mom.  Money was scarce but my mother provided all the necessities my older brother and I needed: food, clothing and a roof over our shoulders.  By the age of 7 we embarked on a life-changing journey to America, a place that was both cruel and pleasant but where hard work and education could lead to great opportunities.  I completed my college degree in International Studies, did my Master’s in Diplomacy and Economic Development, studied and worked abroad in Mexico, Guatemala, France, and now Spain. You could say that I chose this route because of my fascination with the World and the beauty of diversity, culture and languages.  Leaving Colombia was a necessary risk my mother chose to take for us because she believed in a brighter future.

Now that I am mother I look at life and the World and wonder what the future would be like for my children.   I chose to start Solutions for Economic Expansion (SEE) because I want a healthier World for my children and future generations to come. 

Solutions for Economic Expansion (SEE) is a NY registered 501 (c) (3) non-profit organisation incorporated in 2015 and with presence in Spain. Its Mission is to stimulate job creation through the development of local community revitalisation projects and its Vision is to create a society that embraces community development and education as a source for sustainable balanced living. Since moving to Spain, I witnessed the aftermath of the financial economic crises of 2009 that resulted in alarming unemployment rates reaching as high as 24% and poverty affecting vulnerable groups such as women and children. 

Through SEE, I have been able to work with many women entrepreneurs committed to social impact by providing consultative services to help develop their mission, vision and purpose, budget and in some cases fundraising strategies for their projects.  I learned that even though some of these women are unemployed and have an amazing drive to further develop their social projects, they failed in having the professional skills needed or community support for their projects to actually get started or expand.  Through my own experience as a social entrepreneur and in seeking community to further develop SEE ‘s mission in Spain, I have realised that it is important and critical to help women entrepreneurs, not only to continue SEE’s purpose of stimulating job creation, “one woman at a time”, but also in building community and community revitalisation projects that have a social purpose.

For the last year in a half I have led numerous workshops for women Entrepreneurs and Professionals.  Many of the workshops focus on building leadership qualities that help connect women with their purpose, the mission and vision of the projects they would like to create.  As a community and network, SEE seeks to build strong relationships with these women so their projects have long-term success but also have the financial support to grow.  SEE believes that women entrepreneurs are pillars of transformation and advocates for economic growth and social impact, not only for creating employment but in the long term vision of building sustainable communities.

I ask for your support in helping build this community of women entrepreneurs and professionals. We need financial support to build the legal structure of SEE in Spain and to improve our marketing and communication tools so that we can reach more women globally and become an international network building communities “one woman at a time”.  Thank you

Liliana