Robert J. Renteria, Jr. is a successful businessman turned author of From the Barrio to the Board Room, who is using his memoir with youth across America to replace violence, delinquency, gangs and drugs with education, pride, accomplishment, and self esteem. Renteria came from humble beginnings, growing up in an impoverished East L.A. barrio. His family was abandoned by his drug and alcohol addicted father. At the age of six, Robert was involved in a carnival accident that resulted in serious head trauma and three years of rehabilitation to recover his motor skills. As a teenager, he became involved with a tough street crowd, used and dealt drugs, dropped out of high school, was shot at and stabbed, and went from one dead-end job to another. After learning that his estranged father had died on skid-row, Robert resolved to make better choices in his life. He returned to school, joined the military, and after honorably serving seven years in the United States Army, he moved to Chicago. Searching for that job where he could prove himself, he talked his way into a position with a commercial laundry management and sales company that eventually led to his becoming corporate Vice President of a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange. Having the success he had been seeking, he was convinced to strike off on his own, opening and operating several successful businesses.
Robert has now dedicated his life to sharing his story with thousands of others so that they, too, can help break the vicious cycle of poverty through hard work, determination and education. His book and the accompanying curriculum, are forming our “leaders of tomorrow” by helping them to find their identity, establish core values, set goals for themselves, prioritize education, and strive to reach their full potential.
Renteria has been the keynote speaker at the Hispanic Heritage Reception for Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, where he was recognized for his achievements as a Latino author. He has also presented at the Illinois Association of School Social Workers, McDonald’s Hamburger University, the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association annual conference, the Hispanic National Bar Association in Chicago, the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus Foundation, and the Chicago Public Schools. On September 24, 2010 Robert was named “Chicago Latino Professional of the Year 2010” by the Chicago Latino Network He
