Board of Directors
Rosa Mendoza
ALLvanza Founder, President and CEO
Rosa Mendoza is the Founder, President and CEO of ALLvanza. Rosa’s own experience as a first-generation college student sparks her passion to help others and gives her particular insight to advocate for education and opportunity. Her vision, experience (both personally and professionally), and knowledge of underserved communities gave birth to ALLvanza and sets the tone for its critical mission to ensure all Americans have a fair opportunity for success in our innovation- and technology-driven world.
As ALLvanza’s Founder, President and CEO, Rosa was recognized as one of Washington DC’s 500 Most Influential People of 2024, 2025 and 2026 by Washingtonian magazine.
Prior to founding ALLvanza, Rosa served as the Executive Director of the Hispanic Technology and Telecommunications Partnership (HTTP), where she informed elected officials, policymakers and other stakeholders on how telecommunications and technology policy issues impact the Latino community. As the leader and face of the organization, Rosa represented HTTP at forums public and private, expertly analyzing telecommunications and technology policy to bring the needs of Latinos to the forefront.
Prior to joining HTTP, Rosa served as the Manager of Special Projects for The Raben Group, where she assisted clients with coalition building, strategic planning and lobbying, with a particular focus on the firm’s LatinStrategies division. Rosa worked with clients including Google and MasterCard.
Rosa also served as the Assistant Finance Director for Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX). As the primary point of contact for Congressman Cuellar, Rosa communicated with donors and constituents, coordinated fundraising events and managed logistics.
Earlier in her career, Rosa worked as the Media Relations Executive for the Hispanic Communications Network (HCN), which designs customized radio, television and print media campaigns for the Latino market. In this role, Rosa built relationships with media affiliates, assisted with program development and helped execute the firm’s large-scale media campaigns.
Rosa holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication with an emphasis in Public Relations and a Master’s Degree in Education with an emphasis in Higher Education Administration from Washington State University.
ASSOCIATIONS AND AFFILIATIONS
Member: AT&T Consumer Advisory Panel
Former Member: Federal Communications Commission’s Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee, under former Chairman Ajit Pai’s leadership
Former Member: Federal Communications Commission’s Communications Equity and Diversity Council, under former Chairwoman Rosenworcel’s leadership
Danny Vargas
Founder/President of VARCom Solutions
Raul “Danny” Vargas is an award-winning noted business and community leader, accomplished media commentator, and marketing/public relations professional. A product of the mean streets of New York City, he has created opportunities, overcome challenges and beaten the odds all his life. He has made a mark not only in business but in the community as well. Danny is a proud US Air Force intelligence veteran, serving seven years on active duty.
Danny is the Founder/President of VARCom Solutions, a nationallyrecognized, marketing, public relations and professional services firm. And he is the Chairman of the Friends of the National Museum of the American Latino, advancing its creation within the Smithsonian.
Vargas is a regular media commentator in both English and Spanish, appearing on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, Univision, Telemundo, and more and has penned op-eds for Wall Street Journal, NBC, etc. A successful businessman, Danny was an executive at AOL, France Telecom, Global One and Raytheon. Virginia’s Governor appointed him Chairman of the Virginia Board of Workforce Development to ensure the future economic vitality of the commonwealth.
He served as Chairman of the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce (the first Latino to chair a mainstream chamber in Virginia history) and is on the board of the Northern Virginia Chamber. Active in politics and the community, he was a candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates, was one of the top races in 2015 and was endorsed by the Washington Post where they called him “one of the region’s more impressive first-time candidates for the House of Delegates in recent memory.”
The Speaker of the Virginia House appointed him to the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and a commission promoting economic opportunity for the underserved. He is on the Northern Virginia Regional Council for the “GO Virginia” initiative and the board of Virginia FREE and has served on boards of various nonprofits.
Danny has advocated for commonsense solutions for a variety of causes—workforce development, veterans support, economic development, health IT, immigration reform, transportation and more. A sought-after public speaker, Mr. Vargas is committed to keeping his community and our nation vibrant, thriving and strong.
Kim Keenan
Co-Chair of the Internet Innovation Alliance
Kim Keenan is Co-Chair of the Internet Innovation Alliance and a Mediator/Arbitrator, JAMS. She is also a consultant for Odyssey Media. She is a former General Counsel and Secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Previously, she served as the President and CEO of Multicultural Media, Telecom, and Internet Council. Keenan also serves as Co-Chair of the Internet Innovation Alliance where she speaks and writes on innovation and opportunity in telecommunications.
Prior to taking the helm at MMTC, Keenan served as General Counsel and Secretary of the NAACP, the oldest, the largest and most recognized grassroots civil rights organization in the world. She is the longest-serving female General Counsel in the history of the NAACP. Keenan has also served as principal of her own law firm and in the litigation practices of two nationally recognized law firms.
She is a past president of the 100,000+ member District of Columbia Bar as well as the National Bar Association. She is the recipient of numerous awards including the Spirit of Democracy Award from the NCBCP, the Media Executive of the Year from Vote It Loud, the NAACP Medgar Evers Award for Excellence, and the Distinguished Civil Rights Advocate Award from the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
Greg Saphier
Senior Vice President, External Affairs, Motion Picture Association
Greg Saphier is senior vice president of external affairs at the Motion Picture Association, where he oversees the association’s outreach to third party stakeholders. In this role, he educates diverse communities about the creative industries and policy frameworks that support storytellers. Greg also serves on the board of directors of the Copyright Alliance and is an American Council of Young Political Leaders alumnus.
Prior to joining MPA, Greg served as senior director of state government affairs for NCTA – the internet & television association, representing the cable industry before state intergovernmental organizations. He was also manager of government affairs for the Maryland & DC Credit Union Association, and started his career in Washington as a legislative assistant for Congressman Nick Rahall.
Greg received his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of New Hampshire and his master’s of public policy from George Mason University. He resides in Falls Church, VA with his wife and three children.
Advisory Board
Raquel Tamez
Chief Inclusion & Engagement Officer, Charles River Associates
Raquel Tamez is the Chief Inclusion and Engagement officer at Charles River Assocates. As CIEO, Tamez plays an integral role in the firm’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, launching initiatives and designing programs that empower CRA’s workforce and strengthen its culture, allowing the firm to better serve its clients and communities.
Prior to joining CRA, Tamez served as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), a national organization focused on empowering the Hispanic community to achieve its full potential in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). During her four years with SHPE, she expanded the organization’s programs and services; increased its corporate partnerships and its membership to more than 13,000 across 280+ national chapters; and helped create new avenues for outreach and engagement.
From 2014 to 2017, Tamez held the role of Chief Legal Officer, general counsel, and SVP of legal at SourceAmerica, a national nonprofit that creates employment opportunities for people with significant disabilities.
In 2008, Tamez was recognized by the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility with the Hispanic Corporate Achiever Award. She has since been named among the 2015 Corporate Counsel Trending 40 by Legal Bisnow; and voted one of the 25 most influential Hispanic lawyers by Leading Latinos magazine. Raquel has also been the subject of feature stories in various magazines including Hispanic Executive, as well as a feature profile in the law magazine Vanguard.
In 2017, she was appointed by the Federal Communications Commission as a member of the Advisory Committee on Diversity and Digital Empowerment’s Diversity in Tech working group. She also served as a board member for the Council of Engineering and Scientific Society Executives, and represented SHPE on both the Hispanic Association of Corporate Responsibility Board of Directors and the STEM Education Coalition.
In 2019, Raquel was appointed to two high-profile committees: the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee on Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine; and the American Society for Engineering Education’s first-ever Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
In 2020, Raquel represented SHPE as part of the first-ever Hispanic delegation to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. That same year, she received the 2020 Ohtli Award from the Mexican government, in recognition of her efforts to empower Hispanic communities abroad.
She currently serves on four boards: Melwood, a nonprofit that provides jobs and other opportunities to people with disabilities; Girls in Tech, an organization committed to educating, engaging and empowering women and girls in technology; DeVry University; and the St. Mary’s University School of Law, her alma matter.
Tamez is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and St. Mary’s University School of Law.
William Alvarado Rivera
Senior Vice President for Litigation at AARP Foundation
William (Bill) Alvarado Rivera is Senior Vice President for Litigation at AARP Foundation, where he leads AARP Foundation Litigation (AFL) and provides strategic direction for impact litigation advancing economic security, consumer protection, and access to essential systems for people 50 and older. Bill oversees a team of litigators and legal professionals who advocate in courts across the country to protect individuals and families from practices that undermine financial stability, workplace fairness, access to benefits, housing security, and health and long‑term care. His work focuses on ensuring that laws and policies keep pace with economic and technological change and that innovation serves—not disadvantages—older adults, low‑income communities, and historically underserved populations.
With more than 30 years of experience at the intersection of law, public policy, and social equity, Bill has dedicated his career to strengthening systems that support economic opportunity and protect vulnerable communities. He began his legal career as a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice through the Attorney General’s Honors Program and later served in senior leadership roles at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he led litigation and legal strategy for federal programs serving children, families, older adults, and people with disabilities. His work included oversight of legal issues affecting income support, retirement security, and community‑based services—areas deeply connected to the challenges and opportunities created by innovation and technological change.
Bill brings to ALLvanza’s Advisory Board deep expertise in how policy, regulation, and the courts shape access to opportunity in a rapidly evolving, technology‑driven economy. He shares ALLvanza’s commitment to ensuring that innovation is accompanied by accountability, consumer protection, and inclusive access—particularly in areas such as digital equity, privacy, and the responsible deployment of emerging technologies that increasingly affect everyday life. Bill holds an honors degree in Public Policy and American Institutions from Brown University and a law degree from Stanford Law School. He was also a Fulbright Scholar in Sweden, where he conducted research on social welfare policy—an experience that continues to inform his perspective on how public policy can promote inclusion, resilience, and shared prosperity. Bill has served on several non-profit boards, including as President of the Hispanic Bar Association of the District of Columbia.
Omar Franco
Senior Director, Becker
Omar Franco heads Becker’s Federal Lobbying Practice in Washington, D.C. He currently represents a wide variety of clients including Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, higher education institutions, trade associations, non-profit organizations, and municipal governments. In 2020, Franco was named a “Top Lobbyist” by the National Institute of Lobbying & Ethics (NILE). He has also been recognized as a “Hired Gun” in The Hill’s annual list of Top Lobbyists since 2018.
Omar began federal lobbying in 1999 when he became Director of Governmental Relations for the University of Miami’s School of Medicine. In 2001, University of Miami President Donna Shalala promoted him to Assistant Vice President of Governmental Relations, where he represented the university at both the federal and state levels of government and primarily worked on appropriations and health care issues.
In 2003, Omar was named Chief of Staff for Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL). Omar held this position for over four years, managing the Congressman’s Washington D.C., and district operations and closely counseling the Congressman in his areas of expertise which include federal appropriations, health care, transportation, higher education and issues dealing with Hispanics and the state of Florida. During his tenure, Omar was granted Top Secret security clearance by the U.S. Department of Defense and assisted in founding the Congressional Hispanic Conference and the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute.
In 2007, Omar joined Petrizzo Strategic Group where he was the lead government relations consultant for a tribal government, a pharmaceutical company, a state university, health care plans, and the several municipalities. He also worked on federal issues for CNL Financial Group, Vulcan Inc., Charter Communications and Frontier Communications, among others.
Omar founded Franco Government Relations in 2010 where he represented a tribal government, a state university and several municipalities, including the City of Hialeah which he continues to represent to this day.
Omar began his government service in 1993 as the District Legislative Assistant for Florida State Representatives Art Simon (Democrat) and Annie Betancourt (Democrat) and then Florida State Senator Mario Diaz-Balart (Republican). He also worked as a Field Office Director for the Florida Medical Association before joining the University of Miami.
RECOGNITION
Hired Gun, The Hill’s Annual List of Top Lobbyists, 2018 – present
Top Lobbyist, National Institute of Lobbying & Ethics (NILE), 2020
PROFESSIONAL / COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
At-Large Board of Directors, Hispanic Lobbyist Association, 2023-2024
Omar works with many Hispanic organizations that promote diversity and look to offer a voice to Hispanics in Washington, DC and the country. Omar served on the Board of Directors for the Hispanic Lobbyist Association (HLA) where he is a past President and former Treasurer. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute (CHLI). Because of his fluency in Spanish, he was awarded a U.S. Speaker and Specialist grant by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Information Programs to participate in a program on the 2012 U.S. Presidential Elections and the U.S. Electoral Process in Chile and Paraguay and then again in 2016 to discuss the U.S. Presidential Elections in Chile. Because of his work on numerous Hispanic issues, he was named by Latino magazine as a Power Player for 2013. Omar was nominated by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) to serve on the advisory committee of the U.S. Senate Republican Task Force on Hispanic Affairs and in 2019, was appointed to the Chairman’s Advisory Council of Friends of the National Museum of the American Latino, an advocacy group that strives to create a museum highlighting the richness and diversity of the American Latino experience.
Named Secretary of the Board of Directors for The Latino Coalition (2019)
Member of the National Board of Trustees for the League of Minority Voters
Completed the American League of Lobbyists’ Lobbyist Certificate Program (2011)
Eric S. Galler
Principal, Galler Corporate Law Group
Eric S. Galler is the principal of Galler Corporate Law Group. He focuses on business financing projects and leveraged transactions, mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings and fundraising, corporate governance, strategic transactions, join ventures and other commercial arrangements. Mr. Galler also helps overseas companies establish their business presence in the United States.
Mr. Galler received his JD from The Washington College of Law where he graduated summa cum laude in 1994. Mr. Galler’s early career was spent with large private U.S. based law firms, including Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, and before that clerked for the Honorable Irma S. Raker, of the Maryland Court of Appeals.