Biographical Information

Dr. Herrera grew up in Caracas, Venezuela. Historically, due to its geographical location, Caracas has been a community where the positive impact of immigration has led to rapid economic development. Spending her early years in a context where education was perceived as the great equalizer and the engine of such prosperity, Dr. Herrera learned how a focus on cultures would yield a career she would enjoy and allow her to build the skills she would need to serve in the community. In 1995, she finished her undergraduate studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville with majors in Psychology and Spanish, and a minor in Portuguese.

Dr. Herrera’s dedication to intercultural ethics began with a transformative chapter in her life—her move to Tennessee in 1989. Her experience as an immigrant inspired her to step into a leadership role, helping others adapt and thrive in a new cultural environment. Guided by a vision of prosperity for individuals and communities, she recognizes selflessly investing her time, talents, and resources in others is key to achieving this mission. A lifelong learner and culture philanthropist, Dr. Herrera champions the intentional application of positive cultural conduct to advance economic prosperity and social innovation. She firmly believes sharing the values of our heritage can empower society to overcome its most significant challenges. Teaching is her true vocation, and she weaves intercultural ethics into every lesson, enriching the lives of her students and other educators.

As she advanced in her career as an educator in languages and in human resources, Dr. Herrera recognized obtaining advanced degrees would provide her with more skills to continue on her mission. In 2010, she graduated with a Master’s of Education from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. A decade later, in 2020, she obtained a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership from the American College of Education. Her advanced degrees have a focus on research methods and instructional design for the development of intercultural competence. She holds certifications in ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and Six Sigma Green Belt. Dr. Herrera provides free basic Spanish training to educators with the objective of bridging the communication gap between teachers and the parents of first-generation immigrant students.

Dr. Herrera’s testimony about the power of our heritage in the advancement of leadership skills includes awards at the local level with the Chattanooga’s Choice Latino Leader Award (La Paz of Chattanooga), a proclamation by the Chattanooga City Council as a valuable contributor to American society, national recognition as the Hispanicize 2016 Positive Impact Award Person of the Year, and a team nomination by Dr. Lawrence Edward Carter, Sr. to the Nobel Peace Prize for 2020 with the International Paint Pals (The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum).

In 2022, together with a team of leadership-minded community contacts, they incorporated the Cultural Value Leadership Institute (CVLI). The institute operates as a non-profit organization to further research in the field of cultural value leadership and offers online tools for the quantification of sociocultural leadership in communities around the globe. CVLI acts as a non-linear space to advance leadership through the value of our heritage. The institute awarded the first scholarship in 2024 to a cultural value leader at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga.

Visit Dr. Herrera’s LinkedIn profile here