Our Story
BridgePeople was born in 2019 in response to the concerning escalation of violence in our public discourse and private conversations. Toxic leadership models at the highest levels of public and private governance in our society enable the perfect conditions for increasing violence and ongoing harm.
We need a different approach if we want different results: we must start to value humans and relationships over outcomes and institutions.In today's multicultural world, cultural competencies are no longer a nice addition, they are a foundational requirement for competent leadership and effective organizations.
We research, reclaim, and employ the already-available wisdom of great teachers in all our ancestral lineages, who lived and taught the practices of love, healing, liberation, and transformation across cultures and generations.
The BridgePeople Network partners with a diverse group of global independent consultants, with a broad set of professional and lived experiences, to expand our capacity and access wisdom from across many different communities and experiences. Our network partners are all deeply committed to our values of shared humanity, radical love, and advancing peace through justice.
Meet the Founder
Itzbeth Menjívar, Founder & CEO
Itzbeth Menjívar has been building bridges between cultures in both the private and philanthropic sectors for more than 25 years.
For the first half of her career, she led international project teams at global accounting and consulting firms, advising executives of the world's largest multinational corporations and financial services firms on best practices to assess and mitigate risk. A deep calling to serve the very communities she came from, led her to Washington DC to pursue a graduate degree in International Development.
For over a decade Itzbeth built and deepened relationships across the Global South with the aim of promoting shared prosperity, equity, and justice. In November 2016, she awoke to the realization that equity and justice were also badly needed in the United States, shifting her perspectives on the international development field, and turning her focus towards her adopted home.
Itzbeth founded BridgePeople in 2019 with the hopes of partnering with leaders and stewards in building impactful and equitable multi-cultural teams. BridgePeople has supported organizations big and small in transforming their cultures and structures to align better with their values and increase the effectiveness of their work.
Originally from Panamá, Itzbeth identifies as a daughter, sister, spouse, friend, a person of deep faith, and as an Afro-Mayan Black woman. She is a dedicated student of ancestral wisdom and faith traditions and she proudly advocates for inter-faith and multi-faith solidarity and unleashing the power of love and consciousness in both secular and faith-based spaces.
She has a degree in Finance from Florida International University, and a Masters of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University. She speaks four languages, and is an avid human, animal, nature, music, dance, arts, and food lover.
