Yolanda Camarena

Yolanda Camarena is an American education professional and philanthropist known for her contributions to higher education and community involvement. Born in San Antonio, Texas, she became the first in her family to attend college. She earned a bachelor of education degree and a master's degree in education policy analysis, later working at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Early life
Yolanda Camarena was born Yolanda Barrera in San Antonio, Texas, to a hardworking family. Her father was in the military, her mother was a migrant worker, and she had five sisters. She often spent the summers of her childhood picking cotton with her mother's family.

Around 1966, Yolanda's father was stationed in Japan for four years. In 1970, when Yolanda was in the eleventh grade, he was stationed in Wichita, Kansas, where their family chose to stay.

In 1974, Yolanda started college at Wichita State University (WSU) as a first-generation college student, where she would continue to earn her bachelor of education in 1978. Prior to this, her parents had only completed elementary or middle school education.

She married Gene Camarena on December 10, 1988. Together, they have two daughters.

Education career
While working as an admissions representative for Newman University, Yolanda met a friend, Lisa, who worked for admissions at Harvard College. As they traveled to national college fairs together, they became close, and Lisa informed Yolanda of a job opening at the Harvard Kennedy School as the associate director of their master's programs. Yolanda applied and was offered an interview, where her final interviewer was Dean Blackwell, another WSU alum. She was given the job.

Community involvement
The Camarenas gave $1 million to Wichita State University in 2020. Over half of that amount was designated for scholarships for Hispanic and Black students.

Awards and recognition
In 2013, Camarena and her husband were inducted into the Mid-America Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame.

Yolanda and Gene also both received honorary doctorates from Newman University in Wichita. In 2023, they received honorary doctorates from Wichita State University.

On June 13, 2024, they were inducted together as the Kansas Business Hall of Fame 2024 contemporary honorees.