Issue link: https://alabamapower.uberflip.com/i/1475126
22 Team Lead Lopez 'bridges the gap' culturally and professionally Bridging the gap between cultures requires skill and empathy, a combination that comes naturally to Deyse Lopez. Add strong leadership skills to the mix, and it's easy to understand why Lopez found her niche at Alabama Power and in the Birmingham community. As project analytics team leader in Economic Development, Lopez manages a team that provides workforce data analysis and GIS support to help attract new industrial business to the state. She also is a rising leader in the Magic City, helping provide guidance to the Latino community through her service as a junior board member to ¡HICA!, the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama. In only three years, Lopez has made a positive difference by helping execute successful ¡HICA! fundraisers with Barons Baseball and other groups, in projects that strengthen the Hispanic community. "Deyse is fantastic. She is an engaged and passionate leader," said ¡HICA! Development Director Sylvia Espinosa, who has worked closely with Lopez since 2019. "Deyse has been engaged in ¡HICA! and is so helpful. During our Open House on Cinco de Mayo, she talked with so many people, providing them with information about housing and other needs." Espinosa said that Lopez, in her second year as vice president of the ¡HICA! junior board, has planned and executed several big events, such as the group's annual Tamale Festival. Lopez was integral to the success of ¡HICA!'s Birmingham Pig Roast in September 2021, merging Alabama's passion for good barbecue with a rich Latino influence. A United Way agency, ¡HICA! depends greatly on its volunteers, Espinosa noted: "We appreciate Deyse's ongoing leadership." Lopez enjoys volunteering at ¡HICA! – it is her way of giving back: "The staff of ¡HICA! is amazing and really has a heart for the community," she said. "They never stop moving forward, and I want to give back because someone did that for me and my family." With a focus on developing a new recruitment process for ¡HICA!'s junior board, Lopez desires "to bring in young professionals from all walks of life – among many different facets of Latino cultures – wanting to give back to the community." Junior board members hail from Colombia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Lopez also serves on the March of Dimes of Greater Birmingham Executive Leadership Team, advocating for policies to protect the health of mothers and babies. Lopez and her team took part in the Walk for Babies on April 30 at Birmingham's Railroad Park, the agency's biggest event following the pandemic. Lopez Lopez stands in front of mural created by Dewon Moton. Photos by Phil Free