Mizraim Cordero’s story begins not in a corporate boardroom but with the vibrant rhythms of the Caribbean. His dream of working for an airline was ignited in the 1970s by his father, an accountant for the state-owned Dominicana de Aviación airline.

“There was no such thing back then as take your child to work day," Cordero recalls with a fond smile, “but he would take me to work. So I got to see what the office environment was like, and from time to time, we were also at the airport. I thought airplanes were so freaking cool. I totally became a geek about airplanes.”

This was coupled with the magic of travel as his family explored their native Dominican Republic as well as Puerto Rico, Aruba, and Venezuela, among other places. “It was very pride-provoking to travel as an airline family," he tells LATINO Magazine. “And all that just got into my spinal cord and has never left.”

But this childhood dream did not initially lead to a career. After his family moved to New York, Cordero pursued his education at Lehman College at City University and later earned a Master’s in Social Work from NYU. “I really didn’t have access to a career in aviation right out of high school, so I went a different direction and became a social worker,” he explains. “If I couldn’t get into an airline, maybe I could be a social worker and help people for a living – find fulfillment that way."

Cordero found it for over a decade in the world of early childhood education, rising through the ranks of New York City's Head Start and Early Head Start programs. From 2003 to 2008, he managed a network of childcare providers, a period that coincided with the growth of his own family — he married in 2001, and his two daughters were born in 2003 and 2006. In 2008, a new opportunity prompted a move to Colorado, where he was tasked with running a county-wide Head Start program in Denver. It was here that his career began its subtle pivot. “Even though my job had the same title it was very different,” Cordero notes.

“Instead, my role was very community-focused and funding-focused. And I spent quite a bit of time in all our communities, building partnerships to support the families that we served and to support the program. It was like I was already beginning my future career in advocacy and government relations.”

This laid the groundwork for his next leap. A friendship with the city manager of Commerce City, Colorado, led to an unexpected job offer. “He said, Miz, I want you to work for me. And I said, I already run the Head Start program. I hope you're not going to try to start a new Head Start because I got you beat,” he laughs.

The offer was to run all government affairs for the city and it resonated deeply with Cordero's core values. “I thought it was right because I was going to be representing a community of about 75,000 homes, and my job was to advocate for the good of that community.”

He left the non-profit world but it was a steep learning curve. "I was starting to feel like a little bit outside of my comfort zone and out on a limb in terms of what I knew and the professional skills that I needed," he says. This feeling only intensified when after three years with the city he moved to the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce to run the Colorado Competitive Council, a business lobbying group. "That's when I said, okay, I definitely need to go back to school now because I found myself giving testimony at the state legislature and feeling like I couldn't be a thoughtful critic of the bullet points given by any particular industry.” He enrolled in the University of Denver's MBA program, equipping himself with the business acumen to match his advocacy skills, and was subsequently promoted to Vice President of Government Affairs at the Chamber, this also coincided with a divorce.

Then in 2019, the industry he had dreamed of as a boy came calling. United Airlines offered him a role as Director of State and Local Government Affairs. “So I started working for United a little over six years ago in early June 2019 and was promoted last year to managing director," says Cordero. "My role involves being the company representative to elected officials at the state and the local level in 11 states and hundreds of jurisdictions.”

While the trajectory from social worker to airline executive may seem unusual, Cordero sees a direct throughline. The core skills he honed as a social worker are the very foundation of his success at United. “I think that the first thing you learn is to invest a lot of time and energy into building a genuine relationship with government leaders," he reflects. "And that is something I take directly from social work. In order to sustain those relationships, probably the number one skill to have is to be a good listener. And so I continue to apply that skill daily.”

Cordero emphasizes the non-partisan nature of his work: “It has nothing to do with party affiliation. It has to do with understanding what United stands for. It’s a place where someone like me who wanted to be in the airline business can ultimately still find a place to be part of this family, feel a sense of pride in the work that I get to do.”

Beyond his government affairs role, Cordero is a driving force in fostering United's internal community. He serves as the national vice president of Somos, United’s Latino and Hispanic Business Resource Group.

Officially launched in May 2024, Somos is the fastest-growing business resource group in the company's history, with over 4,250 members and seven chapters nationwide. "It’s year-round, not just during Latino Hispanic Heritage Month," Cordero emphasizes. The group is a testament to United's broader commitment to recruit, retain, invest in, and celebrate its talented team of more than 109,000 global employees.

This commitment by the airline creates a culture where Cordero truly feels he belongs. “I feel like my input, my thoughts, are valued and considered,” he says. “There's so much being invested into recognizing and celebrating what we bring, you know, our sabor, our spice, and how that spice energizes our colleagues, our leaders, and it translates into a really, really great experiences for our customers.”

This childhood dream, forged in the Dominican Republic, has been fully realized. Now based in Denver, he reaps the benefits of airline life with that perk of traveling for free, listing Santa Fe, Japan, and Scotland as favorite destinations. "With Japan, I almost feel like if you leave me there for a couple of months, I could probably learn the language," he says with a chuckle. "I just love everything about Japan." And he and his partner are talking about backpacking “in some exotic place” like Australia or New Zealand.

Reflecting on his journey from a wide-eyed boy in his father’s office to a managing director at the world’s largest airline, Mizraim Cordero’s sentiment is one of profound gratitude and excitement: " I love what I do. I get to contribute to make United a force for good and in the process visit so many great places by virtue of the role the company trusts me to perform. And it's just an amazing, amazing opportunity."