MIAMI LEADER:
Luisa Santos is a Miami girl of Colombian decent. Luisa is a founder of Lulu’s Ice Cream and a Miami leader passionate about connecting local farmers to local customers. She also uses her business as an educational platform for children and young adults to give them the right tools to succeed in society.

WHY MIAMI?
Because I was lucky enough to have Miami raise me. My mom uprooted her entire life in Colombia in 1998 and moved my sister and me to Miami for a better future. Miami felt somewhat familiar while also introducing me to countless other cultures from Jewish to Haitian and everything in between. Miami’s soul is characterized by a relentless hustle. We are young enough to define what we will become and I could not imagine a more exciting place to be.

WHAT IS THE MOST PRESSING ISSUE TO SOLVE ON YOUR LIST? WHY?
Connecting local farmers to local customers. We have incredibly fertile land and many wonderful small farms that produce nutritious fruits and veggies. There is no reason we should be eating food shipped in from all over the world when we have such incredible food being grown in our back yard. Additionally, we need to ensure that all of our children are equipped with the right tools to succeed and thrive in society. One of these tools is a financial education.

HOW CAN WE SOLVE IT?
At Lulu’s we seek to create a high impact brand that supports local farmers and empowers its team members through education in personal finance. We adopted a cow, Lulu, from Dakin Dairy Farm in Myakka City, Florida. We source all of our milk and cream from Dakin Dairy farm. We are also a pick up site for Bee Heaven Farm’s Community Supported Agriculture program and source locally as much as possible. We need more consumers and food establishments to care about where their food comes from. We also host paid training sessions on financial literacy for our team members. We need financial literacy to become a priority for society to prosper.