Empovia rainbow gradient logo made up of three overlapping circles in increasing sizes with the Empovia wordmark next to it in a bold black font in all caps
of Catarina Rivera, a light-skinned Latine woman with long brown wavy hair, hoop earrings, a black and beige wavy striped top, and a beige jacket; smiling at the camera on a blurry street on the back
Guest Speaker

Catarina Rivera

Public Speaker, DEI Consultant, Content Creator
(She/Her/Ella)

Catarina Rivera, MSEd, MPH, CPACC is a disability public speaker, DEI consultant, and content creator with over 14 years of experience in the public sector. Catarina works with companies to improve disability awareness, inclusion, and accessibility. She is the founder of Blindish Latina, a platform smashing disability stigmas through storytelling and advocacy. Catarina has worn hearing aids from a young age and was diagnosed with a progressive vision disability at 17 years old. She has a BA from Duke University, an MSEd from Bank Street College of Education, and an MPH from Hunter College. Catarina is a Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (IAAP).

She is a member of RespectAbility’s National Disability Speakers Bureau and KeyNote Women’s Global Speakers Directory. She has been featured in Nasdaq, Authority Magazine, and as one of the top 21 DEI influencers of 2021. She was also named one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices on Disability Advocacy for 2022. Past clients have included HarperCollins Publishers, LinkedIn, Hachette Book Group, Whole30, Grant Thornton, ColorStack, and BCG Digital Ventures. Catarina is a TEDx Speaker and spoke at TEDxRolandPark in June 2022. Catarina is committed to social justice.