Diana Bolivar, Principal Diana Bolivar & Associates
Diana Bolivar is the immediate past president/CEO for the award winning Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Orlando where she served for seven years as Director of Marketing, Vice President and the latter 4 years as the chamber’s President/CEO. With more than a quarter century of experience at the local, national and international levels encompassing the nonprofit, legal, medical and construction industries, Bolivar is the principal for Diana Bolivar & Associates.

Bolivar is a native of Medellin, Colombia, whose first language is Spanish. At the age of nine, she moved to the US alongside her family. Bolivar is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, in Amherst, with a degree in Political Science.
Her firm contributes to the success of companies and organizations across the globe because they invest in results. Diana’s cultural elasticity has allowed her to become an expert in reaching both the Anglo and Hispanic markets for her clients through training, advocacy and business development.
Diana is a graduate of Leadership Florida, Leadership Seminole and Leadership Orlando.  She serves on several boards and committees, including Heart of Florida United Way, Florida Abolitionist, Children’s Movement of Florida and Valencia Community College, Dr. Shughart’s advisory committee.
Diana’s most recent recognitions and awards include:

2016 Latina Role Model of the year by Latina Role Model TV
2015 Ana G. Mendez University Presidential Medal of honor and graduation commencement speaker
2015 Leadership Award, Women of Distinction, by Girl Scouts of Citrus
2015 Executive of the Year, by Florida Association of Chamber Professionals (FACP)

For a complete list of awards and recognitions, or more information visit: www.dianabolivar.com
True Grit and 6 Other Tips for Change
From immigrating to Massachusetts at age 9 to starting her own business in 2017, Diana Bolivar has experienced many major life shifts. I sat down with her to glean a few tips for thriving through change.
1. Remain Open and Malleable
Change is difficult (and constant) for everyone, she points out, yet we are not typically taught to how to handle change. Immigrants, Diana believes, are more comfortable with change because they have had to be. Leaving one’s country, culture, and language to move to another place is huge change on many levels. When she was little, “Coming to this country…and seeing what my parents and my older and younger sibling went through with schools, language—that was a very difficult time,” she says.
As a little girl, she learned to not be afraid of something new—and even to embrace it. When you deal with huge change by accepting it right away, changing as quickly as possible, and remaining malleable, she reports, incredible opportunities lie around every corner.
2. Embrace Diversity to Find Happiness
After a lifetime of change, Diana says it’s people never have the same likes, beliefs and customs as you. To embrace those differences allows you to avoid self-segregating, following your pack and sticking with what you know. And that is when you become wealthy in knowledge and happiness. Diversity enriches us all.
For her, life’s most important lesson is to understand what love and happiness are. “When you accept that everything out of your comfort zone is different, you’re going to be filled with love and happiness, which is what every human being should strive for.”
3. Make the Call when “This Is Not Working”
Being afraid of change spills over into every aspect of your life. Yes, it’s very difficult to make the decision that “this is not working out” when you’re not happy or fulfilled. It’s easy to wonder, looking back,