Yulkendy Valdez

Yulkendy is a social entrepreneur, storyteller, and public speaker. As the Co-founder and CEO of Forefront, she helps employers and their leaders enable their cultural competence and inclusive leadership skills to meet the demands of the emerging workforce.

Yulkendy brings a diverse set of both corporate and nonprofit experience to the table. She’s worked with Bank of America, EY, Puma, and Innosight Consulting as well as the International Institute of St. Louis and Betty Jean Kerr People’s Centers. While working in social impact, Yulkendy’s work focused on community-based projects ranging from financial equity for low-income immigrants to affordable health care.

Yulkendy has received numerous fellowships including the Resolution Project, Young People For, Opportunity Nation Leaders Program, Future Founders Fellowship, Net Impact Racial Equity Fellowship, Harvard Kennedy School Public Policy Leadership Conference, StartingBloc, and PPIA Indiana University. She is a proud alumna of Babson College, #1 school for entrepreneurship. More recently, she was named one of the Latino 30 Under 30 honorees by El Mundo Boston and a top millennial in Boston by Get Konnected. With roots in her hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, Yulkendy has traveled to over 30+ countries for both work and fun.

Forefront is a subscription-based digital platform designed for global employers where employees can access curriculum-based lesson plans about cultures around the world, highlighting the rich narratives of real people and the intersection of our identities. Forefront’s learning experiences are ideal for teaching cultural competency and inclusive leadership, as well as fostering values and skills such as empathy, collaboration, and humility.