Yulkendy Valdez

Yulkendy Valdez is a social entrepreneur, storyteller and public speaker. As the co-founder and managing partner of Forefront, she helps businesses and their leaders enable their cultural competence and inclusive leadership skills to meet the demands of the new workforce.

Yulkendy brings a diverse set of both corporate and nonprofit experience to the table. She’s worked with Bank of America, EY, Puma and Innosight Consulting as well as the International Institute of St. Louis and Betty Jean Kerr People’s Centers. While working in social impact, Yulkendy’s work focused on community-based projects ranging from financial equity for low-income immigrants to affordable health care.

She has received numerous fellowships including the Resolution Project, Young People For, Opportunity Nation Leaders Program, Future Founders Fellowship, Net Impact Racial Equity Fellowship, Harvard Kennedy School Public Policy Leadership Conference, StartingBloc, and PPIA Indiana University.

Yulkendy is a proud alumna of Babson College, the no. 1 school for entrepreneurship. More recently, she was named one of the Latino 30 Under 30 honorees by El Mundo Boston and a top millennial in Boston by Get Konnected. With roots in her hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, Yulkendy has traveled to more than 30 countries for both work and fun.