Alani Bankhead
CPC, ELI-MP

I grew up as an army brat, born to Puerto Rican parents who escaped lives of poverty thanks to the gift of education. Throughout my childhood, my family traveled all over the US and Latin America. During these formative years, I observed how Latinx countries and cultures were being ravaged by the illicit drug trade. This experience would inspire me to find my life’s purpose, and throughout my subsequent 20-year career as a special agent at the federal and state level, I made it my mission to protect and uplift the most vulnerable – women and children.

At 5’3” and as a Latina who looks much younger than she actually is, I experienced significant challenges in the male-dominated worlds of the military and law enforcement. And as the daughter of two Puerto Ricans who grew up traveling the world but with a home base in Rio Piedras and Carolina, PR, I always straddled two worlds never feeling fully accepted as a Latina or in the non-Latinx spaces.

Through the discomfort of being promoted to increasingly intense professional opportunities, God slowly peeled the layers back on my fears until I finally realized that I was not built by accident or incorrectly. My physical appearance and background gave me enormous advantages over my male counterparts. When I was stationed in Iraq, My brown skin and Latinx features allowed me to enter areas that my white, male counterparts could not; and my Latinx heritage broke down walls with our Arab brothers and sisters, since our cultures have many similarities. While working as a bodyguard to one of the top Pentagon officials, my petite stature led people to underestimate me, giving me the element-of-surprise.

Ultimately, what I have learned and what I help others understand is that those attributes we perceive as weaknesses are in fact the sources of our greatest strengths. My Latinaness IS my superpower, and I look forward to helping you discover yours.