A spotlight on
Paola Amaro Alvarez
Paola will be participating in a panel discussion during the first annual Hispanic Latino Constituency Conference on May 1st. The Alumni Association welcomes Paola and all alumni back for the conference.
Paola Amaro Alvarez was born in Guatemala, Central America. Her mother is also from Guatemala and her father is of Cuban Origin. She was raised in different countries in Europe, Central America and other cities in the United States. This was a result of her father’s graduate studies and his work at United Nations. In 1995 Paola became a US Citizen.
Paola graduated with a Business Administration Degree majoring in Human Resources Management from George Washington University, in Washington DC, after transferring from La Universidad Franicsco Marroquín in Guatemala City. After graduating, Paola started her career with Marriott International, where she held different positions in Human Resources in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area including Director of Human Resources in Washington, DC and Area Director of Human Resources for Montgomery and Prince George’s County in Maryland and Northern Virginia. During this time, Paola enrolled and completed a Graduate Translation Certificate in English/Spanish at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA in 1999. In addition, Paola was certified as a Professional in Human Resources in 2002 by the Human Resources Certification Institute. Furthermore, she enrolled and completed her Master's Degree at Virginia Tech in Adult Learning and Human Resources Development in 2005 at the Northern Virginia Center in Falls Church, VA.
In 2006, Paola was offered the position of Director of Human Resources at The Ritz-Carlton, Huntington Hotel and Spa in Pasadena, California. In 2008 after the hotel was sold to an owner operator, she was assigned to several Human Resources assignments with The Ritz-Carlton in Maui, HI, Lake Tahoe, CA, Tucson, AZ, Fort Lauderdale, FL, San Juan, PR and Boston, MA. During this time she was certified by the Human Resources Certification Institute in Human Resources for the State of California. Recently, Paola accepted the position of Director of Human Resources at a luxury hotel and resort management company in California, Montage Hotels and Resorts.
Paola speaks fluent Spanish and has been happily married for 19 years her husband was born in Orlando, Florida and raised in Guatemala City. They have two children: her daughter born in Washington DC graduating from High School in June 2009 and her son born in Fairfax, VA who will be a freshman in High School next year.