LIFESTYLE

Woman to Watch: Keila Peña

Kristine Bruneau
blogger
Keila Peña

Keila Peña wants to inspire students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math — and help them stick with it financially.

"I really enjoy and have such a passion for helping young people get a degree and educate themselves," says Peña, business performance director with Xerox Corporation's Large Enterprise Operations.

She chairs the Xerox Hispanic College Liaison Program, which provides scholarships and grants to Hispanics with engineering and technical majors. "It's something in my DNA and it's something I will never stop doing," she said.

Peña studied engineering at the Technological Institute of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic and then transferred to the University at Buffalo to complete her bachelor's of science in industrial engineering.

After receiving her undergraduate degree, she received the Arthur Schomburg fellowship to pursue her master's degree in industrial engineering with a concentration in engineering management.

Peña also got involved in the student chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers — the leading national organization aimed at motivating Hispanics to pursue careers in STEM.

While taking on a variety of roles and responsibilities and attending conferences, Peña met many hiring managers with Fortune 500 companies looking to recruit top talent, including Xerox through its Hispanic College Liaison Program.

Upon graduating in 1996, she joined Xerox to take part in its rotational engineering program for high potential Hispanic and African-American women engineers.

During the program, Peña worked in departments where she gained insight into business operations and acquired valuable skills, which have served her well during the past 17 years with Xerox.

"What I love about my current job is the ability to dive into many accounts and really understand what our customer needs and how we can offer that," says Peña, who looks at the whole picture and guides the entire account team as to how to make the account more profitable.

Last September, Peña shared the positive outcomes from the Xerox College Liaison Program at a national conference in New York City.

Since taking over the program in 2000, Peña says that Xerox "provided 3.6 million in scholarship enrichment dollars and touched over 10,000 students."

Statistics, however, only tell one piece of the story. Peña had invited local students to share how they were impacted by the program.

One young man's story of gratitude for the scholarship funds stood out among the rest. His mother had cancer and the medical bills were impacting the family's finances.

Peña wasn't expecting this handsome, slender, well-dressed student to break down during his speech. Neither was she expecting everyone else to be touched by his vulnerability — there wasn't a dry eye in the room.

"Just to know that you're able to fix that situation, to me, is priceless," says Peña.

"And all we do is manage the program. The money that makes a difference comes from the Xerox Foundation. That night showed me how important it is to make the time for those types of programs and give back to others because you never know how deep that impact is."

Personal: Age 43, lives in Greece. Married with three children.

My favorite thing to do in Rochester: Spending time outdoors with my family. There's so much to do in Rochester and surrounding areas.

One thing I've always wanted to do but never have: Go skydiving.

If I could change one thing about myself it would be: Be less transparent. I am not good at making a poker face; what you see is what you get.

The talent I would most like to have: Speak multiple languages other than Spanish.

The one thing I can't live without: My family.

My favorite movie:The Edge.

One of my favorite sayings is:Más sabe el diablo por viejo que por Diablo — "The devil has more knowledge because of his age than because he is the devil."

A person who has inspired me: My husband. He always has a much different perspective that inspires me to see and understand the world from a different point of view.

Community activities: YWCA board member (2013 to present), Latinas Unidas of Rochester member (2010 to present), Xerox Hispanic College Liaison Program chair (2010 to present), and Hispanic Association for Professional Advancement (HAPA) executive board member (2000 to present).