Name: Viridiana (Viry) Romero
Pronouns: she/her/ella
Title: Manager of Strategic Initiatives
Email: [email protected]

Viridiana brings a breadth of experience from the nonprofit, philanthropic, and private sectors. As NCG's Manager of Strategic Initiatives, Viridiana manages and develops philanthropic programs, collaboratives and networks to help advance our collective impact. She is also the Program Director at Blue Heart, which funds grassroots organizations and social justice art collaborations.

She most recently served as Portfolio Manager in Immigration at Emerson Collective, leading philanthropic investments championing immigration reform, and managed grantee capacity-building programs as Manager of Philanthropy Programs. She kicked off her career in philanthropy at the Sobrato Family Foundation and has a background in program management for youth-based nonprofits, and management and operations in education and career focused tech companies. Viridiana has a Masters in Social Work from the University of Michigan, specializing in management and community organizing, and B.A.s in Community Studies and Sociology from UC Santa Cruz.   

Viridiana’s journey as an immigrant woman strongly impacts her passion for social justice, her commitment to community driven change, and her continuous involvement in Latinx based issues and the Latinx student/professional pipeline. She is a lifelong resident of San José and an avid supporter of community building, cultural and performing arts efforts in the city.  You can find her baking sweet treats, improving her yoga skills, traveling with her husband Cobán, and exploring the outdoors with her new pup Koa.