As the chairwoman and CEO of Vanir Construction Management, Dorene Dominguez has led the company to become one of the most successful minority and woman-own construction management and real estate development firms in the country.  

Since its inception, Vanir has delivered $29.3 billion in value to its clients. She took control in 2004, after the passing of her father, Frank Dominguez, who founded the company in 1964.

While his death was a tremendous loss for her and her family, Dominguez knew she needed to do things differently than her father in order to lead the company to success.

“I realized that I’m my own person and that I do need to make my own decisions,” she said. “That was a very important pivot point for me as well as the company, because I believe that I really wanted to elevate women.”

On the latest episode of "LA Stories" with Giselle Fernandez, Dominguez opens up about the challenges she faces as a powerful woman in a male-dominated space. While her father always encouraged her and told her that she could change the world, she can often get pushback as a woman in construction.

She hopes to use her platform in order to give other women, especially Hispanic women, a seat at the table and empower them to thrive in business. It’s diversity, she believes, that allows Vanir to elevate.

“We need to really make a difference and make our voices heard so that we can create change,” she said. “I want to show that women can be at the helm and they can collaborate, they can work together, and they can change the world together.”

In 2013, Dominguez became the first Latina to be a minority owner of an NBA team with her participation in a group that purchased the Sacramento Kings. Today, Dominguez focuses on projects at Vanir that have a positive impact on the local community.

She is passionate about underserved students and formed The Dominguez Dream in Memory of H. Frank Dominguez, which is a nonprofit committed to empowering children to succeed at school.

She also serves as a mentor to students attending her alma mater, Notre Dame, in hopes of encouraging young women like her to continue to chase their dreams.

For Dominguez, supporting underserved communities is a way to honor her father’s legacy and make the world a better place.

“He was always thinking about what he could do next in order to improve the community,” she said. “I know that my father would be very proud of what’s happened today.”

Watch “LA Stories with Giselle Fernandez” at 9 p.m. every Monday on Spectrum News 1.