After selling Greene's Cleaners, a Napa institution since 1919, Alonso Corona stepped into a new role as executive director of the Napa County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce — an organization first founded in 1978 that went inactive during the pandemic and is now making its comeback.
Corona's mission is clear: elevate Hispanic businesses by elevating the people behind them. With roughly 80% of staff across Napa's hotels, wineries, and healthcare industry being Latino, he sees the Chamber as a bridge — not just for business owners, but for the broader community that powers the valley's economy.
His focus centers on five pillars the Hispanic community needs most: healthcare, education, housing, immigration services, and employment training. Rather than replacing existing organizations, the goal is to become a central hub that connects people to the right resources across all of them.
Since taking the role, membership has grown 20% in just three months through consistent mixers, Lunch and Learns, and a renewed commitment to providing real value. The Chamber is purely membership-funded with no government dollars, making growth essential to the mission.
Corona committed to one year but quickly realized it's a three-to-five year plan — and he's all in. As he puts it, if they asked him to do it for free, he would. That's how passionate he is about what he's building.
