Patty Arvielo and Vanessa Santos to host Thrive & Lead at AVANCE Global in Las Vegas

Patty Arvielo and Vanessa Santos will co-host Thrive & Lead at AVANCE Global Sept. 14-16 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, bringing more than 200 Latina founders, executives, operators and investors together for leadership, wealth, AI, health and personal-brand programming. The event is designed to widen access to capital, influence and peer networks for Latina decision-makers.

Why it matters: - Thrive & Lead is built to connect Latina leaders with the rooms, relationships and capital that often shape business outcomes. - The gathering targets more than 200 Latina founders, executives, operators and investors. - The event is positioned as a response to Latinas' outsized economic role and continued underrepresentation in leadership and capital discussions.

What happened: - Patty Arvielo, co-founder and CEO of New American Funding, and Vanessa Santos, founder and CEO of Build The Dream, will co-host Thrive & Lead at AVANCE Global. - The three-day leadership experience runs Sept. 14-16, 2026, at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. - Programming will cover leadership, wealth, AI and technology, health, and personal brand. - The event will feature phones-down and off-the-record sessions to encourage candid discussion. - Speakers are chosen for the substance of their work and leadership, not social follower count.

The details: - New American Funding is now the nation's largest Latina- and woman-owned mortgage company. - New American Funding has more than 5,200 employees and nearly 300 locations nationwide. - Arvielo entered the mortgage industry in a clerical role at 16 before co-founding New American Funding. - Arvielo is the first Hispanic woman to have a university school of business named in her honor. - Arvielo is a Forbes 50 Over 50 honoree and an EY Entrepreneur of the Year Hall of Fame inductee. - Santos has led companies and platforms at the intersection of technology, culture and the women's economy. - Santos scaled Gilt.com to more than 120 countries. - Santos also led the country's largest Latina digital ecosystem through growth and acquisition. - Santos says her work has injected more than $20 million into the Latina economy. - Santos has keynoted Forbes Most Powerful Women of Latin America. - The inaugural U.S. Latina GDP Report found Latinas contributed $1.3 trillion to the U.S. economy. - The broader U.S. Latino economy reached $4 trillion in 2025.

Between the lines: - The event is as much about access as it is about inspiration. - By focusing on private, substantive sessions, the organizers are signaling that relationship-building and deal flow matter more than public-facing spectacle. - The planned quarterly gatherings and annual summit suggest a longer-term effort to build a recurring network for Latina leaders.

What's next: - Arvielo and Santos plan to expand Thrive & Lead into quarterly gatherings anchored by an annual summit. - The organizers want to create year-round opportunities for Latina leaders to build relationships, exchange ideas, move capital and expand influence. - Attendees are expected to leave with actionable contacts and a stronger peer network of decision makers.

The bottom line: - Thrive & Lead is trying to turn economic clout into lasting power by putting Latina leaders in the same room with the people who can shape capital and opportunity.