Influential Woman · Non Profit
Yanel Rivera
Founder & Program Director, Women Speak Up US
Perth Amboy, NJ 08861
Her Story
About Yanel
Yanel Rivera serves as Founder and Internship Program Director at Women Speak Up, a nonprofit based in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. In this role, she manages the internship program, a growth and inclusion initiative that provides college students with training in communications, media, marketing, and nonprofits, while also overseeing annual campaigns and the organization's 10th annual gala. A first-generation college student and business builder, Rivera started Women Speak Up as an event at age 19 or 20 before transitioning it into a thriving nonprofit. She attributes her success to being hardworking and resilient, always getting back up and finding solutions even in unideal circumstances. Rivera is also the Arts Council Secretary in her town, where she contributes to creative arts projects, festivals, and murals. Through the Shielder program and other efforts, she highlights and recommends other nonprofits across New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut to support women in need. Her core values include kindness, transparency, adaptability, and a commitment to learning, which she instills in the women she mentors. Rivera advises young women entering the field to believe they belong in any room they choose and to embrace their authenticity without letting others polish away their unique qualities.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Yanel
01What do you attribute your success to?
I was very hardworking. I've never given up on anything. I think if I've given up at some point, I've never stayed down too long, and I don't believe in ever staying down too long. I've always gotten up, figured out a solution, figured out a plan, figured out a way to keep on going, even when the circumstances are unideal.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Don't let someone try to change every part of yourself to fit. There's certain things that you don't need polishing for. You don't need to be polished to the point where they lose that authenticity, or they lose that uniqueness. There is... It's a superpower, and you being a little weird, and you being a little loud, and you being a little bit too much for some... for certain people, because too much for, you know, for someone else might be just enough for the person that you're working with.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Never stop asking, and I wouldn't say asking, but never stop believing that you belong in a room. It doesn't matter who you are there. If you hold on to that idea, it will... you will find what you're looking for. You'll find that job, you'll find that opportunity. You'll find a way to figure it out. You just always remember that you belong in whatever room you want to be in.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
With this economy, there's always things that come about, right? As the demand gets higher. And I think that even during a time like this, where you don't know what's gonna happen. You know, for certain women that are in the organization. And this can just be for them, right? How do we help navigate women who are going through a tough time?
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I think that one of my biggest values is being a kind person. I think there's being kind and being approachable is... it works in any way, in your personal life, your career, your partnerships, your... you know, even in your own relationship or marriage. I think that being kind and... Remembering that kindness goes a long way will... will, again, just be... something that I... I mean, I teach the women that here at Women Speak Up is being kind, but also being, you know, adapting to everything, right? And adapting to what you're learning and what you're seeing. And, you know, some of those values is just being kind, being transparent, and being eager to learn.
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