Meet Vanessa Ramirez of Colibri Consulting Group (CCG)

Today we’d like to introduce you to Vanessa Ramirez.

Vanessa, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’m a life-long learner, progressive, racial, and social justice advocate, and collective impact leader.

My commitment to being a “do-gooder” is inspired by my upbringing as a second-generation Latina who was born and raised in a low to middle-income household on the outskirts of Los Angeles, in the Inland Empire. My blue-collar parents and immigrant grandparents from Mexico instilled in me a hard-working attitude and moral and ethical compass that bleeds through me and the work that I do.

Growing up in a family with many siblings and extended family members, I was taught to think and care for others. The collective mindset I developed at an early age is partly what motivated me to pursue early careers in education as a college advisor for first-generation students, a legislative advisor in our nation’s Capitol, and a government affairs advocate to our most pressing social and political issues. As a young professional, I’ve also reflected on my own upbringing and realized both the barriers I faced as a person of color in this country while also recognizing the privileges I’ve been afforded because of institutional and systemic factors. Eventually, my calling to help others led me to work in the nonprofit sector. As a first-generation professional, there was a steep learning curve, trying to navigate the professional workforce and rise to the nonprofit leadership ranks. I encountered new challenges as a woman and Latina in a sector that wasn’t as diverse as it needed to be and was lacking the necessary resources, support, and infrastructure to support diverse leaders like myself. Eventually, I reached a breaking point and was burnt out. This was the birth of Colibri Consulting Group.

Founded in 2017, Colibri Consulting Group (CCG) is a Latina-owned executive search, human resources, and career/executive coaching consulting firm serving those in the nonprofit and social impact sectors. As a result of the noticeable gaps I experienced first-hand working in the sector, I launched CCG to prioritize taking a holistic approach to partnering with mission-driven people and organizations to improve leadership development and create diverse and sustainable workplaces that are healthy and people-centered.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It’s been a learning journey filled with ebbs and flows of limited sleep and a lot of grey hairs. As a recovering perfectionist and control fanatic, the world of entrepreneurship has taught me so much about myself. I’ve always been the planning type where the need to have everything figured out was a requirement before taking action. This entrepreneurial journey has forced me out of my comfort zone and has changed my life outlook and mindset – You don’t have to have it all figured out, and it’s okay to ask for help or say, “I don’t know.” I grew up with a narrow mindset of what a “traditional career path” should look like, and starting a business from the ground up never crossed my mind, especially since I thought you had to come from money or a lineage of business owners to be able to take that kind of risk or run a smooth operation. When you’re the first in your immediate circle or family to build something from scratch, it can be lonely at times, and a challenge determining where to prioritize time and energy, whether it’s on day-to-day client services, business development, internal operations, or long-term strategic planning and goal-setting. Surrounding myself with a network of other like-minded women and Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) entrepreneurs and social impact leaders is both informative and inspirational to my soul.

We’ve been impressed with Colibri Consulting Group (CCG), but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
When Colibri Consulting Group first entered the people, organizational and leadership development space, as we looked around us, we were one of the few women and Latina-led consulting firms serving the nonprofit space in this capacity. Representation matters and there’s a clear need to continue to diversify the space. Our nonprofit and social impact partners understand the value in representation as well, which is one of the reasons CCG has so many repeat and returning clients.

CCG’s brand and reputation are centered on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) principles, and with the foundational idea that leadership diversity matters and that are most precious resource is people. Whether we are working with organizational clients on their talent strategies or serving as a Human Resources thought-partner or providing leadership coaching to diverse women and BIPOC leaders, we come to the work from and equity and justice lens.

Time and time again, we come across leaders in the non-profit space who are over-worked and feeling burnt out. We continue to see workplaces that aren’t supportive or inclusive, and encounter leaders who have been mistreated and undervalued. The global pandemic only exacerbated the inequity and injustices that were taking place in the sector. However, CCG fundamentally knows and believes we should love and nurture our people. We need workplaces that are safe, empathetic, and collectively, we can create spaces that are uplifting and empowering. This is the reason CCG exists. We are committed to making this world a better place by partnering with organizations and like-minded leaders that want to make a difference, are intentional in the ways they promote equity and justice from a human, systematic and process lens, and lead with a people-first mindset.

What does success mean to you?
This year, Colibri Consulting Group (CCG) celebrates its 7th year in business. As a first-generation entrepreneur in my family, this milestone is a huge success! I would describe CCG and these past seven years like an iceberg – It’s been slow and steady. Over the years, CCG has grown its business, maintained its mission to equity and justice, established a reputation for providing quality services to our clients, expanded our internal capacity with new team members, and continues to venture into new service offerings that build the capacity of our social impact organizations and empower diverse leaders. We’re excited for what’s to come in 2024 and beyond!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://meetcolibri.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MeetColibri
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/colibri-consulting-group/
• Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessamramirez/