Erika Ender
Singer-Songwriter & Founder, Fundación Puertas Abiertas
Erika Ender has broken all records as a female composer in music history. She is one of the most prolific and renowned composers in the music world, as well as, an established and successful singer-songwriter, TV celebrity, producer, and actress. She is the youngest person ever inducted into the Latin Songwriter’s Hall of Fame and has received multiple awards and honors such as Latin Grammys, Billboards, ASCAP, Monitor Latino, several Sesac prizes, including the GLOBAL ICON AWARD, Leading Lady of the Latin Recording Academy of Arts & Sciences as well as several Condecorations and recognitions such as the keys to Miami & Panama. She is as well, on the list of the most powerful women according to Billboard, Hollywood Reporter, Forbes & People En Español Magazines.
In 2009, she founded Fundación Puertas Abiertas. Her Foundation uses music and education to positively influence children and teenagers. It started offering musical workshops and opening classrooms where music and dance were taught to children living in shelters. Nowadays, its biggest project, TalenPro (Talent with a Purpose), is a unique Talent Competition, created and developed by Erika that offers a nationwide platform to express different ways of art for teenagers. Through the competition, the participants have the opportunity of showing their talents on stage, but behind the scenes, they become leaders of their own schools and communities and get to restore 12 schools a year that are in a vulnerable situation, benefiting thousands of children. Besides that, winners get scholarships to study in Panama or abroad, with their University completely covered. Erika is the only Latin female Global Ambassador of the Special Olympics and also supports multiple foundations of different causes. She has been invited, as well, to speak about her advocacy at the Women’s World Forum & the Social Good Summit of the United Nations Foundation, among many other events.