About Carmenza

Carmenza, originally from Pasto, Colombia, has lived in the U.S. since 1975 and is SBDC’s insightful creator and driving force. She is a woman of remarkable energy and has overcome personal challenges — being a young, widowed mother of two and learning English as an adult — to achieve success in sales/personnel recruitment for more than 10 years.

Carmenza’s networking principle is that connecting people — facilitating the formation of in-person friendships and relationships — builds a foundation for trust between individuals and the businesses they run. Carmenza relates that people give her energy. “People are my passion – I become healthier and better around them.”

Carmenza has always been an independent thinker and a rebel with many causes. She was expelled from three different Catholic schools as a young student, and from an early age demonstrated a strong character and a dislike for “too many rules” – hence, the flexibility of her groups and her playful personality.

Her pride and joy and biggest accomplishment in life is being a mother: her son Andres is 31 and her daughter Monica is 29. She became a grandmother this year and adores her little Olivia! She spends her free time with family and close friends, and she is involved in a lifetime of personal growth and continued evolution.