Juan Pablo Montoya – Founder of Fórmula Sonrisas: Juan Pablo Montoya is a NASCAR race driver, on the Chip Ganassi Racing team, and a former Formula One driver.  Juan Pablo was born in Bogotá, Colombia, where he was taught the techniques of karting from an early age by his father, Pablo, an architect and motorsport enthusiast.  Since then, he has enjoyed great professional success, particularly in major open-wheel racing series, and has become a “crossover” winner of races in Formula One cars, Champcars, IndyCars, Grand-Am Prototype cars, and stock cars.  The highlights of Juan Pablo’s career thus far include winning the International F3000 championship in 1998 and the CART Championship Series in 1999, as well as victories in some of the most prestigious individual races in the world.  Juan Pablo is the only driver to have won the premier North American open-wheel CART title, the Indianapolis 500, and the 24 Hours of Daytona, all on the first attempt.  He also is one of only two drivers to have won the CART title in his rookie year, one of only two drivers who have won both the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500, and the only driver in history to have competed in all three major racing events at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 

Ángela Patricia Janiot – Founder of Colombianitos: Born in Bucaramanga, Colombia, Patricia Janiot is an internationally recognized journalist and television news reporter.  Before becoming a journalist, Patricia studied social communication at the Universidad de la Sabana in Bogotá, and she was first-runner up in the 1983 Miss Colombia pageant.  She also holds a degree in English from the University of Cambridge.  In 1992, Patricia joined CNN, where she hosted the Noticiero CNN Internacional.  Patricia has been with CNN en Español since its launch in 1997.  Currently, she is the main anchor and serves as advisor to the Senior Vice President of the network.  During the course of her career, Patricia has traveled throughout the world to cover major news events and has conducted interviews with many heads of state and other international figures.  She has also received several journalism awards, including the Golden Mike Award and the Colombian Simón Bolívar Journalism Award, and was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1990.   

Orlando Ayala – Director of Give to Colombia: Orlando Ayala is a senior executive at Microsoft Corporation.  Born in Cali, Colombia, Orlando earned a bachelors degree in management information systems from the Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano in Bogotá before joining NCR in 1981, where he held various international assignments and ultimately became product and sales manager for Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East.  He joined Microsoft in 1991 as senior director of the Latin America region and, during his four-year tenure in that position, grew the region from four to nine subsidiaries and increased revenues by 90%.  Since then, Orlando has held a number of other important positions at Microsoft, with similar success, and has become one of the most recognized Colombians in the international business world.  At present, he serves as Microsoft’s Senior Vice President, Emerging Segments Market Development Group, spearheading the company’s efforts to close the digital divide by creating new products and programs for the estimated five billion people who are not yet realizing the benefits of technology. 

Juan Esteban Aristizábal – Founder of Fundación Mi Sangre: Juan Esteban Aristizábal, better known as Juanes, is a rock musician from Medellín, Colombia.  During the 1980s and 1990s, Juanes was a member of the Colombian heavy metal band Ekhymosis.  He left that group in 1998 to pursue a solo career on the international stage.  Juanes’ 2000 solo debut album, Fíjate Bien, enjoyed commercial success and led to his winning three Latin Grammy Awards, including best new artist.  His second album, Un Día Normal, was certified platinum throughout much of the Spanish-speaking world, and its lead single, "A Dios le Pido," topped the singles charts in 12 countries.  Un Día Normal won Latin Grammy Awards in 2003 for song of the year, record of the year, and album of the year.  Mi Sangre, Juanes’ third album, fared equally well, debuting at number one on the Billboard Top Latin Albums list, producing three number one singles, and winning three more Latin Grammy Awards.  At this stage of his career, Juanes has become one of Colombia’s most successful popular musicians ever, with more than 10 million albums sold and 12 Latin Grammy Awards. 

Gabriela Febres-Cordero – Founder of United for Colombia and Director of Give to Colombia: Gabriela Febres-Cordero was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from University of San Francisco.   Throughout her career, Gabriela has served on various boards of directors in the private sector, including the World Trade Center Association in New York; Bellsouth, Colombia; and Cerámicas Caribe, Venezuela.  She also held a cabinet position as Trade Representative of Venezuela; was President of the Venezuelan Export Fund, Director of the Andean Financial Corporation Fund, and Ambassador at Large for Trade to the Andean countries; and for seven years was an active diplomat as the wife of the Ambassador of Colombia to the United States.

Carolina Esquenazi- President, Executive Director for Genesis-Foundation: As Executive Director of the Foundation and President of the Board of Directors, Carolina executes the Board’s vision and manages Genesis’ day-to-day operations. She began her career as a print journalist in Colombia, covering foreign affairs, reporting mainly from Venezuela and the Middle East. Upon moving to New York, she continued her career in journalism, expanding to radio broadcasting. She also worked in various Middle Eastern policy initiatives at the Council on Foreign Relations. Upon obtaining her MBA from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business, Carolina ran two Internet ventures and became involved in investing and managing a family office. Carolina has a Bachelor’s Degree from Georgetown University in Sociology and Government, and Master’s Degrees in Journalism and International Affairs from Columbia University.