FCHCC Business & Culture Podcast

Maria Isabel Montoya-Leonard

A bilingual professional with a Global and Multicultural experience in Marketing and Advertising throughout the U.S, Latin America, and Europe. CEO and founder of MiAddvantage LLC, Global Marketing and Communications.

Maria’s wide range of consulting expertise has led her to work with several multinational companies in industries like Healthcare, Finance, Education, Government and Nonprofits. Maria also serves as the First Coast Hispanic Chamber of Commerce's Cultural Committee Chair and Communications and Marketing Director.

She is passionate about Art & culture.

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Monica Hernández

Monica Hernández was born in Cali, Colombia and moved to the United States at the age of 11. She grew up in Ocala, Florida and moved to Jacksonville in 2005.

She is currently a Vice President of Asset Services Control within Global Markets at Bank Of America. She is part of the Global Diversity and inclusion board and chairs the professional development committee within HOLA, Hispanic Organization for Leadership & Advancement.

Prior to her role at Bank of America, she was an Assistant Vice President at Deutsche Bank and oversaw the Structured Finance Middle Office groups. She was with Deutsche Bank since 2009 and worked in various roles within international settlements and securities lending. While at Deutsche Bank, Monica received several awards for high performance and has been actively involved in diversity and inclusion initiatives for the Bank including co-chairing the Jacksonville Multicultural Partnership Employee Resource Group in 2016 and 2017.

Prior to Deutsche Bank, Monica worked at Bank of America in Jacksonville in consumer banking while pursuing her undergraduate degree. She is a graduate of Nova Southeastern University with a Master’s Degree in Finance and Marketing and a graduate of the University of North Florida with a Bachelor of Business Administration in International Business. She also holds a certificate in Strategic Manangement from Harvard Extension School.

Monica was appointed as President of the First Coast Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in 2019. She was recognized in 2019 by the Jacksonville Business Journal in the Top 40 under 40, Northeast Florida's brightest, most promising professionals under the age of 40. She is a graduate of the Hightower Fellowship class 2019 by the Jax Chamber. She also serves on the board of the University of North Florida Student Affairs Community Council and University of North Florida International Business Flagship Program Business Advisory Council (BAC). Monica is a graduate of Leadership Jacksonville Class 2021 and received the Somos Duuuval Award by the Jacksonville Jaguars for her commitment and involvement within the Hispanic community in September 2022. Most recently, Monica was selected by the Jacksonville business Journal as Woman of Influence honoree in 2023 and as a Co-chair for HOLA (Hispanic/Latino organization for Leadership & Advancement) employee network.

She is fluent in both Spanish and English. During her spare time, she enjoys traveling, cycling, and working out.

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Sheifalika Bhatnagar

Sheifalika Bhatnagar is WOKV's morning traffic and news reporter. She is a University of North Florida graduate with a degree in Communication, focused on Multimedia Production and Journalism. In addition, she hosts three different radio shows on the weekends. Her live radio shows air on Saturdays on 104.5 WOKV, and include Legal Live (12 pm), The Jacksonville Home Show (3 pm), and Jax Journal (11 pm).

Jax Journal is close to Sheifalika's heart because it is a public-access show meant to bring interesting, meaningful issues to the surface for the community. She conducts one-on-one interviews, which dive deeper into organizations that shape Northeast Florida. Jax Journal brings out the best in our local non-profit organizations.

Sheifalika first joined the CMG in January of 2021 as a control board operator and soon moved to afternoon traffic anchor. She graduated from the University of North Florida with a degree in Communication, focused on Multimedia Production and Journalism.

Sheifalika grew up in Memphis, where she fell in love with the mic as a Slam Poet and a spoken word artist. Her love of words and storytelling led her to a passion for Journalism - giving a voice to the voiceless.

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