Bárbara Arredondo Ayala

"We’re living right now in a time where that’s what we need the most, to trust love and to trust hope. That’s how Crystals nourish me.” - Bárbara Arredondo Ayala

As a journalist, entrepreneur and cultural curator, Bárbara has dedicated her life to give visibility to our generation’s most inspiring leaders. She began her career as a journalist at Reporte Indigo where she wrote about issues such as social awareness, gender equality, climate change, and emotional intelligence.

With more than 13 years of experience, Bárbara has created and advised movements and forums in Latin America, New York and Japan. In 2012 she created i AM HERE, a conference focused on women’s empowerment and community building projects where 300 women who were political, business and influential local leaders gathered during four months to learn first hand from Abigail Disney, Patti Smith, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Alice Walker, Lily Yeh, and Zainab Salbi how to create a positive impact in their city. In 2013, she brought i AM HERE to Mexico City and opened the conversation to men and youth with a 2-day conference that gathered 1,500 audience members including a partnership and participation in the audience from youth in juvenile detention centers.

In 2018 Bárbara was featured in the book Those Who Inspire: Mexico. In 2015 she ws invited as an honorary member of the Fuji Declaration. In 2014, she was part of the first generation of the US State Department IVLP on Women, Peace and Security. She is co-founder of Decididas, a movement which seeks to raise awareness on the decision making process featuring a variety of women leaders and the co-founding partner of Lidh, the first digital bank in Mexico that focuses on meeting women’s financial needs. Bárbara studied International Relations at ITESM Campus Monterrey.