Program Details

Carol Silva Moralez, Carol Silva Moralez, President/CEO Upskill NWA

President & CEO at Upskill NWA

As President & CEO of Upskill NWA, Carol Silva Moralez is leading the sectoral-based workforce development program and is growing a robust stand-alone organization providing lower income workers  access to education and placing them into high-paying, high-demand careers in healthcare.  

Upskill NWA ensures education costs are paid for, works with Hark NWA to provide wrap around services, and provides each participant with a Career Navigator to help ensure the participant has the support they need to graduate. Together with the team at the Excellerate Foundation, Moralez is focused on building a region-wide collective that coordinates its efforts with philanthropic, education, healthcare, and social support partners to create a robust ecosystem of support for Upskill NWA program participants.

Moralez is a successful executive who spent 25 years advancing into multiple leadership roles in Walmart field operations before bringing her People and Operations leadership expertise to the Bentonville home office where she lead teams in the design and development of functional and leadership training for Walmart's U.S. workforce. 

Prior to being Upskill NWA’s President & CEO, Moralez was the Lead Partner responsible for Diversity and Inclusion and Leadership Development practices at SERVE2PERFORM where she also served as the Co-Chair of LatinXNA.

Her community service includes the Bentonville Mayor’s Community Council, Rotary Satellite Club of Bentonville, and Vice Chair of Community Clinic NWA Board and serves on Washington County’s Community Economic Development Strategy taskforce. Moralez has a record of excellence having earned the coveted Helen Walton Community Award from Walmart and was the recipient of NWA Business Journal’s 2020 Top Ten Women in Business Award.   

LaTricia Hill-Chandler

Chief DEI Officer at Southern Bancorp

With almost three decades in this field, LaTricia (LaTreeSa) Hill-Chandler is the latest addition to the executive team of Southern Bancorp, an Arkansas-based Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI).  In July, she was named its Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, selected to lead the company’s commitment to representation, fairness and belonging among its employees, customers and communities.  Prior to this role, she served as the DEI Officer for Arvest Bank. Before that, she was a Senior Strategy Manager II for Diversity and Inclusion Development in the Global Culture Diversity and Inclusion Office at Walmart Stores Inc. located in Bentonville, Arkansas. LaTricia holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from HBCU, LeMoyne Owen College, and a Master of Science in Management from Indiana Wesleyan University.  LaTricia also has earned credentials as a Certified Diversity Executive from the Institute of Diversity Certification as well as, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion certificate from the University of South Florida Muma College of Business.  LaTricia is a graduate of the Stanley K. Lacy Executive Leadership Series (Class XXXVI) and has won numerous awards.  Most recently, she was named a 2023 Woman Trailblazer Honoree by the National Association of University Women.