Amalia Moreno-Damgaard

Amalia is an internationally recognized award-winning and best-selling author and chef-entrepreneur born and raised in Guatemala City based in Minneapolis with a prior career in international banking. She runs two businesses: Amalia LLC, a nationally certified woman-owned business enterprise, and Women Entrepreneurs of Minnesota, a nonprofit fostering women's entrepreneurship.

Her mission is to help companies bridge the knowledge gap and develop a broader understanding and appreciation of Latin cultural nuances through consulting, bilingual speaking and writing, and healthy gourmet culinary experiences.

Amalia has presented at Macy's Culinary Council, 3M, Land O'Lakes, Target, Supervalu, Best Buy, Boston Scientific, Medtronic, Accenture Women's Group, Cargill, Carlson Companies, Deloitte Consulting LP, Ecolab, Edina Rotary, Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce, Historical Society of Minnesota, Science Museum of Minnesota, Lariat Companies, Le Cordon Bleu, Merril Lynch, Global Minnesota, National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), Prospanica, WCR Women Chefs and Restaurateurs Conference, World of Latino Cuisine Conference, Northwestern Mutual, RBC Wealth Management, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, State Farm, Thomson Reuters, United Way's Women United, University of Minnesota, Wells Fargo, US Bank, Young Presidents Organization, and many more companies and organizations.

Amalia is the spokesperson for Crystal Farms line of Hispanic cheeses. She also works as a consultant with General Mills' culinary team in Mexico and Argentina.

She has appeared multiple times on Twin Cities television Kare11, Fox9, KSTPTV5, PBS TPT Public TV, Univision-MN, 107.5's Weekly Dish, WCCO radio and MPR, and is a regular contributor at Twin Cities Live, a show that focuses on the people and places that make the Twin Cities unique. In Guatemala, she has been featured on Prensa Libre, Siglo 21, PubliNews, TGW, Tuti Furlan Show, Canal Antigua, GuateVision, TeleviSiete, Emisoras Unidas, and more.

In recognition of her work, Amalia has received 9 first-prize literary awards globally for her first book, the Latino American Today Hispanic Heritage Award for community leadership, the Depart Smart Champion Award for board service excellence, two Association of Corporate Growth-MN Bold Awards nominations, the Illustrious Guatemalan Award nomination, and was named a finalist at both NSA-MN Speaker Program Strides and TeamWomenMN WaveMaker Awards for community impact.  

She is a contributor writer at Latino American Today, Minnesota Business Magazine, Revue Magazine, Siglo21, and El Minnesota de Hoy on the topics of culinary trends, business and entrepreneurship, health and wellness, history and culture, and fun experiences and recipes from her worldwide travels. 

Amalia serves on three executive boards: Common Hope, Depart Smart, and the American Diabetes Association-MN.

Amalia holds a Masters in International Business with a concentration on culture from St. Louis University and is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu and of the National Speakers Association-MN.