Ana Rothwell: Building an Educational Bridge Between Countries

With her Mexican heritage close to her heart, Ana Rothwell is doing something a lot of people don't; she's not only talking the talk, she's also walking the walk. As owner of Rothwell Promotion & Development Inc. in Southern California, Rothwell is in the business of saving people time and money. She's an International Business Consultant with over 15 years of experience in sales, marketing and international relations.

Her specialties include strategic alliances, global business development, implementation of marketing and public relation campaigns, and her client list is a veritable who's who of Fortune 500 companies and government agencies, including CEMEX Inc., SA de CV (Mexico), Tec de Monterrey, World Bank Institute, American Institute of Architects, National Association of Home Builders, Design Build Institute of America, Hanley Wood, McGraw-Hill, U.S. and Mexico government leaders and many more.

A big believer in giving back to the community, Rothwell directly volunteers her professional services to several non-profit organizations. At the Mary Erickson Housing Community, a non-profit organization that focuses on affordable housing and has building projects throughout Calif., she serves on the Board of Directors. For the Laguna Beach Art Museum & City Council, Rothwell is actively involved in the promotion of art fund raising events for the Laguna Beach Art community and assisting with the national art contests held in Laguna Beach and San Juan Capistrano, Calif.

Rothwell is also community liaison and promotional director for St. Michael's Academy and Children Center, a non-profit organization that serves the lower income families by providing affordable childcare and private education at minimal cost. She was also invited to "Invest In Yourself" 2002 and 2003 Annual Women's Conference as a presenter on "Building Profitable Partnerships between the U.S. and Latin America."

Currently, Rothwell is working with CEMEX, World Bank Institute and Tec de Monterrey as a Cathedra Global Partnership representative and consultant. The CEMEX Catedra Program is, according to Rothwell, "one of the most powerful and valuable educational programs developed by CEMEX to enhance and grow the industry through education and communication throughout Latin America."

Education is at the core of Rothwell's upbringing. Her grandfather was born and raised in New Mexico, the oldest of 11 children who all worked in the mines when they were old enough. Rothwell says that because her great-grandfather emphasized education, her grandfather finished high school and was able to work as a supervisor outside of the mines. After her grandfather married and had a child, he fought in World War II as a pilot. After the war, he brought his family to Calif., where he worked in agriculture.

"He wanted to continue his education, so he went to USC and graduated as an engineer," she continues. "Now, most of our family is engineers or other professionals."

"I have the values of where we came from. I know that there's opportunity for and through education. Mexico needs access to knowledge, because somebody out there could be just like my grandfather," Rothwell adds.

Which explains why, when CEMEX partnered with the World Bank Institute and Tec De Monterrey in 2005 to offer an educational virtual university called Corporate Catedras, Rothwell was involved. Corporate Catedras combines television satellite with online learning. "Their goal is to reinforce education and best business practices for both academic and professional audiences throughout Latin America," explains Rothwell.

The Catedra network brings world-renowned industry experts to more than 1,000 virtual classrooms, with up to 4,000 participants per event. As of today, more than 20 events have already been produced on socially relevant subjects such as sustainable development, corporate citizenship and business ethics, as well as Catedras in architecture, construction and business.

Each of the Catedras offers a series of topics in four or five online courses and attends to the training needs of professionals and students around the world. The Virtual University of the Tecnológico de Monterrey designs the courses and administers them by means of its technological platform, recreating a university campus that is available through a computer anywhere in the world, as well as issues certificates of participation.

Each Catedra offers between four and five online courses lasting a total of 20 or 30 hours. The courses are designed using modular and flexible criteria, so that in the near future they may be interconnected to form diploma courses and a specialization with academic credits.

Because she specializes in strategic alliances in the U.S. and Latin American market place, Rothwell has been able to tap her connections to work directly with decision makers to cultivate international alliances that have opened new channels to introduce new products and technologies in both the U.S. and Latin America.

Rothwell has also been working on the creation and development of the first advertising partnership program for the CEMEX Catedra program, which offers a unique opportunity for international companies to join CEMEX's Catedra educational program and receive direct exposure to the construction industry throughout Mexico and Latin America.

Rothwell says one of her professional goals is to work with different associations to bring recognized construction standards to Latin America as she builds partnerships between the U.S. and Mexico. "Our overall objective is to be able to use what we're creating in many developing countries," she adds. "Growing the long-term plan for Mexico is win-win for both the U.S. and Mexico."

"It's easy for me to put people together on both sides," Rothwell concludes. "I'm proud to be a part of this project and working with the amazing leaders of CEMEX...I believe in what I'm doing, it's a solution for everybody."

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