Gena is inspired by her daily interactions with those around her, and the personal stories that reveal all of our common joys and struggles. It's likely for this reason that she gets so excited about speaking Spanish with whomever she can, and is set on improving her Portuguese in order to increase the pool of people she can chat with. One of Gena's favorite parts about working at New Profit is learning about new social entrepreneurs and hearing stories of the people they serve.

Before joining New Profit, Gena lived in San Francisco, where she worked for Wells Fargo Bank. She also interned at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Kennedy School of Government, and spent a semester in Chile researching Bolivian immigration to the northern regions of the country. Upon her return, Gena helped spearhead a local Somerville, Massachusetts, study on immigrant access to health and social services. She has a bachelor's degree in international relations from Tufts University.

In her free time, Gena relishes her extended college life amongst her boyfriend and several roommates, seeks out opportunities to dust off her flamenco shoes, and attempts to tackle projects around her house that call for skills acquired from the Home and Garden channel. She's currently excited about the 2,000 worms that are eating through her compost in preparation for this year's garden.

What books are you reading at the moment?
I'm becoming a faithful short story reader and I recently finished Jhumpa Lahiri's Unaccustomed Earth and Elizabeth Strout's Olive Kitteridge—both incredible books.

Favorite place in the entire world?
The patio of my parents' house in Santa Barbara

If you had a theme song that played whenever you walk into a room full of people, what would it be?
It's a tie between 'Shining Star' by Earth, Wind & Fire or 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody' by Whitney Houston