Derene joined WAGES in 2008, with the mission of launching and managing Home Green Home Natural Cleaning, the San Francisco cooperative WAGES is developing in partnership with Seventh Generation. Beginning in 2010 Derene joined WAGES central staff to support strategy, business development, and marketing programs. Derene is a senior manager with significant experience in marketing and public relations for leading companies in the United States, Brazil, Mexico, and Peru. Most recently, she was a Managing Partner with the Santiago Solutions Group, a multicultural business strategy consulting firm. Derene has served as an adjunct professor in various Latin American universities, and her insights have been published in several Hispanic marketing and public relations books. She is a past Board Member of San Diego MANA, a non-profit Latina leadership organization, and is currently an Adjunct Professor at the University of San Francisco. Derene received her graduate degree in International Business from Thunderbird, The American Graduate School of International Management.