A graduate of Cal State University, Nuñez entered the hospitality industry as a room service telephone operator and within five years had rocketed to the accounting department, where she served as the Assistant Director of Finance at the Ritz-Carlton. She later earned her MBA at the University of Arizona. For the next 26 years, Nuñez distinguished herself in multiple leadership roles. In 2006, she joined Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC), one of the largest Hispanic community development corporations in the U.S., as the Director of Accounting Operations, ultimately becoming the Executive Vice President and CFO. She has served in this role for the last seven years. During this time, CPLC has grown more than 400%.

Through the Piper Fellowship, Nuñez will attend a two-week program for growing businesses at the prestigious Stanford Executive School. She will also visit two rapidly growing corporations distinguished for building innovative and cutting-edge housing developments. With this knowledge, Nuñez will learn executive strategies to execute faster, operate more efficiently, and focus on management systems that will help CPLC sustain growth while providing excellent programs and services to low-income residents.