Afro/Dominican First Gen From Harlem Public Housing to Cyber Lead for KPMG in US/Latin America Credits Two Strong Latinas with His Success: Meet Christopher Reyes
Co-Founder and Executive Director of The Equitas Group, Christopher Reyes was raised by his Dominican Republican parents. With a degree in National Security Policy, he has held various roles and is continuing to dream big, all of which he attributes to his Latina mother and grandmother. GlobalMindED is honored to share his remarkable story to honor all Latinos for our Hispanic Heritage feature profiles this month and to inspire our students and lifelong learners of all backgrounds.
Christopher, what is your personal narrative? What key moments in your life led you to where you are?
My life story, though unique as a whole, includes aspects that are common within first-generation, minority communities. I was born and raised in Harlem, New York City to immigrant parents from the Dominican Republic. I attended private, single-sex, Catholic schools through high school and shipped off to the US Marines shortly after my high school graduation. I later enlisted in the US Army and served in numerous roles while in service, but primarily as an Arabic linguist and a cyber analyst. I was honorably discharged from active-duty service in 2019, and currently head cyber threat intelligence for KPMG US and Latin America. The people I met while in service, the skills I acquired, and the leadership training I underwent, all played a role in my professional career today. However, at the core of it all is my upbringing – an immediate family headed by two strong Latina women who were dedicated in seeing their son and grandson succeed in America.
Raised in public housing motivated me to envision a different future for my family, all the while forcing me to face the reality of violence, drugs and racism. There are countless moments in my life that have led me to where I am today. Almost everything in my life builds on each other. Here’s an example:
I remember being targeted in middle school because of the uniform I wore: dress shirt, dress pants, shoes and tie. Oftentimes I had to run a few streets away from the local housing projects to avoid altercations. One upside to this? I learned how to tie a tie by attending that grammar school. Fast forward 10 years later, my platoon was standing in a military formation, preparing for the Sergeant Major Inspection. Many of my peers did not know how to tie a tie, which was one component of the Army Dress Blues uniform. I walked through the formation and ensured my peers’ knots were sharp, as I was taught by my grandparents. They themselves wore ties 30 years earlier as they prepared for their own interviews, which usually consisted of jobs with long hours and little pay.
How did your upbringing and culture lead you to where you are today? What challenges have you faced being raised as a first generation U.S. citizen?
First generation Americans are often confused- am I American or do I resonate more with my family’s motherland and culture? My first language was Spanish, the language my grandparents and parents primarily spoke at home. I was raised eating Dominican cuisine, dancing to Dominican music – bachata, merengue – and I struggled to adapt to American culture as a young man. I knew I was an American by birth, but my life was overwhelmingly centered around the Dominican Republic. I called myself Dominican when speaking with other Americans, and American when speaking to Dominicans.
The Latino culture undoubtedly played a pivotal role in shaping who I am today. At the core of the family was my grandmother, a hard charging, strong Afro-Dominican woman who left her family behind in the ‘70s to provide a better life for her future family in an unknown land. She was the pioneer who, through the years, brought her entire family to the United States, and sheltered them until they adjusted to the American way of life. The older generations understood their role; they were merely laying the foundation for the future generations. That realization alone is one that I never took for granted, and I understood the importance of education at an early age.
You created the non-profit, The Equitas Group. What led you to engage in this grassroots effort to start The Equitas Group? What goals and vision do you have for its future?
In the summer of 2020, shortly after the murder of Mr. George P. Floyd Jr., I reflected on my childhood years in public housing and the private education I was fortunate enough to receive. How could a young first-generation American living in public housing afford a private school with a price tag of $12,000 a year in tuition alone? Three key donors supported my private high school education: The Clare Rose Foundation, The Richard P. Flood Scholarship and my former grammar school, St. Aloysius- Gonzaga. My middle school closed its doors a few short years after my graduation because they ran out of funding. I was oblivious to those actively supporting my future success behind the scenes, and was moved to tears knowing organizations like these existed to provide opportunities to underrepresented, BIPOC students who would otherwise never know of, never mind afford, a private education. I knew from that point forward my duty was to repay that debt and provide the same opportunities to the younger generation.
I am a living testament to the way a quality education can transform one's life. I’m not alone in this journey, though. I’m fortunate enough to have seven others, some first-generation and BIPOC themselves, help in driving Equitas’ mission. Much work lies ahead though, as opportunities to enhance education are often unavailable to BIPOC youth and their families. Today, I use first-hand experiences to inform a three-pronged approach: (1) exposing BIPOC youth and their parents to private educational opportunities; (2) mentoring and financially supporting those youth once attendance at a private institution is secured; and (3) guiding students as they transition from private school to post-secondary education, their professional careers, and beyond. I’m focused on my hometown of New York City today but envision Equitas at the national level in the future.
What advice would you give to future Inclusive Inspirational Leaders?
I’ve failed multiple times in my life, and will fail endless times more. These failures force me to adapt and overcome, building emotional, mental and spiritual strength for the next obstacle. Failures are simply incomplete successes that require tuning and strategic executions. Reflect on them, but don’t dwell on each failure.
Build the future you see yourself in and ultimately the future you deserve. Be an active participant in that process, and surround yourself with others that share that same vision, for it is unfortunately an uphill battle to create a more equitable world, but one that isn’t impossible. The baton has been passed down through generations; don’t wait for it to be offered to you. Grab it and run with it…the future generations count on you.
Be sure to follow along with the incredible work by Christopher and The Equitas Group:
