When Diana Amezcua first walked into a Burlington distribution center 15 years ago, she wasn’t thinking about a career in retail leadership. She was a temporary employee who needed a job. What she found instead was a path built on resilience, curiosity, and a willingness to say yes to every challenge placed in front of her.
Today, Diana is a Director at Burlington Stores, leading the company’s newest two‑million‑square‑foot distribution center in Savannah, Georgia, but the road to that role was anything but linear.
“I had no idea a career in distribution even existed,” Diana says. “I just started working picking, packing, learning.”
Over the years, she moved steadily forward: from lead to area manager, operations manager, assistant general manager, and now director. She worked every shift, across multiple facilities, never turning down an opportunity to grow. Still, despite her success, something was missing.
“For a long time, it felt like I was just doing what came next,” she reflects. “I loved leading people, but I didn’t fully understand the purpose behind what I was doing.”
That perspective began to change when Diana met Mecca Mitchell, Senior Vice President , Leadership & Organizational Development, DEI, and Community Impact at Burlington Stores, whose leadership style immediately resonated with her. When Mecca toured Diana’s facility and later invited her to attend the NRF Foundation Emerging Leaders Summit, Diana felt seen.
“Distribution centers don’t always get these opportunities,” Diana says. “So when I was invited, it meant everything. Not just to me, but to my team and my family.”
Attending the Emerging Retail Leaders summit pushed Diana far outside her comfort zone. She had never traveled alone, never been to the East Coast, and never participated in a professional leadership conference.
“I didn’t go to college, and I stayed in my lane for a long time,” she explains. “Even planning the trip felt overwhelming, but I knew being uncomfortable was something I needed to embrace.”
What she found at the Summit was transformational.
Listening to leaders from across the retail industry, including Mecca, who delivered the keynote, Diana saw herself differently. Surrounded by emerging leaders, many younger and fresh out of college, she realized just how much she had accomplished.
“For the first time, I felt proud of my journey,” she says. “I started giving myself credit; not just for my job title, but for who I am as a leader.”
The Emerging Retail Leaders summit didn’t just influence Diana professionally, but it helped shape how she views leadership.
Growing up, Diana watched her mother come home exhausted from distribution center jobs where leadership made work harder, not better. That experience has stayed with her.
“When people go home unhappy, it doesn’t just affect them, it affects their families,” Diana explains. “As a leader, you carry that responsibility.”
Today, she takes that responsibility seriously. Whether she’s mentoring future leaders, listening to team members, or helping someone navigate their next step, Diana is intentional about the impact she leaves behind.
When people go home unhappy, it doesn’t just affect them, it affects their families
“I want people to go home and feel respected,” she says. “I want them to be proud of where they work.”
Since attending the Emerging Retail Leaders summit, Diana has embraced a new role, not just as a leader, but as a mentor and example. She actively shares what she learned with peers, leaders, and team members, ensuring the investment Burlington made in her reaches far beyond one individual.
“It’s my responsibility to pay it forward,” she says. “To show people, especially in distribution centers, that there is a future here.”
For Diana, the Emerging Retail Leaders summit was more than a conference.
“This experience changed my life,” she says. “Personally, and professionally.”
From a temporary employee who never imagined attending a leadership summit, to a director helping launch Burlington’s newest distribution center, Diana’s story reflects the power of representation, investment, and belief.
“When people can see themselves in leaders like them,” she says, “everything changes.”
And for Diana and the many lives she impacts every day, that change is just getting started.
If you would like to learn more about the NRF Foundation Emerging Retail Leaders summit, taking place Sept. 9-11, 2026 at the Eaton in Washington D.C., you can reach out to us today.
