Climate Finance for Small Businesses: Barriers, Opportunities, and Solutions

Antonio Aguilar is a proud Central Valley native with over a decade of experience helping people and organizations grow. His work has focused on building strong teams, developing leaders, and connecting underserved communities to the resources they need to thrive. From running HR departments in social services to leading regional outreach and partnership strategies, Antonio brings a collaborative approach to everything he does. He’s facilitated leadership retreats, launched training programs, and brought together diverse stakeholders to drive meaningful impact across California. Antonio lives in Sanger, where he serves on the city’s Planning Commission. Outside of work, you’ll find him coaching youth baseball, singing and playing music, or spending time with his wife and two kids — always investing in the people and places that matter most to him.

Mercedes Gibson (she/her) is the founder of Mercedes Gibson Coaching, where she supports women and femmes of color in building sustainable careers and closing the racial and gender wealth gap through culturally grounded coaching. As a small business owner herself, she brings lived experience to her work, alongside certification in Applied Positive Psychology, integrating wellness and economic empowerment.

Professional and wellness community for women of color: mercedesgibson.com/self-integrity

Liza Rivera has nearly a decade’s worth of experience working in the nonprofit sector, leading all aspects of economic and green space initiatives, developing grassroots movements, and honing her skills as an organizational leader, facilitator, and educator. In her last role as program director, she created a home craft program that empowers women in low-income communities to increase their income through selling self-made products. This program provided entrepreneurs, regardless of their legal status, with one-to-one business coaching, access to startup capital, education, and a marketplace to sell their products and services online and in-person. In 2019, Liza secured her membership among a competitive pool of applicants, with the Social Venture Partners Los Angeles (SVPLA) Systems Change Accelerator program that resulted in a fast pitch presentation to an audience of 600 people. Liza Rivera has her B.A. degree in Communications and truly enjoys cultivating and nurturing relationships and collaborative partnerships.