Hella Latin@

Welcome to the second out of four RisOn guided experiences! This month, you'll have an opportunity to explore and communicate your own story in depth. This week we'll focus on discernment. Let's get on a deeper level to discern what you're still hiding. What aspect of your story did you share or not share? What story would you like to let go of? What new narrative do you want to write?  RisOn's au...

How many times have you scrolled through Netflix and saw stereotypical Latino movies and leads? Narcos, Latin lovers, funny sidekick and don't get me started on stereotypical Latina narratives. Folks like Edwin Porres Jr. are out here changing the game. Edwin was born in Guatemala and raised in West Virginia. As a Latino raised in the United States, he didn't recognize himself in the stereotypical...

Welcome to the first of four RisOn guided experiences! This month, you'll have an opportunity to explore and communicate your own story in depth. This week we'll focus on awareness. What's your story? Who are you and what brought you to this moment today? What does it look like and feel like to be you? RisOn's audio experience includes basic grounding, reflection and optional journaling (access fo...

Erika Barraza is a first-generation Salvadorean Latina and Bay Area native working in LA as an actress, director, and using her platform and creative work to make a positive impact in the world. She just co-directed three 360/VR films for Lenovo. Hers are the stories filmed in the US, Mexico, and Brazil. Connect with Erika on Twitter @_erikabarraza_ or visit her website www.erikabarraza.com. Check...

In this episode, I sat down with mis amigos Chris Gueits and Jon Hermida, co-founders of RisOn, to tell you all about our new collaboration. AKA, our gift to you!  We took our partnership to the next level and created this interactive and powerful audio eperience just for you. There's so much power in our stories. So this month, you'll have an opportunity to explore and communicate your own story...

Jessica Artiles es una jefa completa, born in Cuba and raised in Hialeah, Miami. Jessica is the Founder and Chief Design Officer at Darte Design, where she translates her background in mechanical engineering, public policy, design, entrepreneurship, and education to solve people-centric problems in complex systems, like schools, start-up incubators, and banks. She works with executive leadership t...

Maya Joshi is a first-generation American of Caribbean and South Asian heritage, originally from New Jersey but raised in San Diego at the age of 10. In this episode, she talks about navigating her Indian and Dominican cultures while also learning what it means to be a first-generation American. Maya is a creative and content creator for Corazon Resiliente, a mental health platform for Latin Ameri...

Karen Vasquez O'Donnell was born and raised in El Salvador, and moved to the United States at 13 years old with her family. In this episode, she talks about her childhood living in a rural pueblito in El Salvador to her first U.S. embassy visit to navigating and overcoming new challenges in Pennsylvania. Karen's upbringing is one many immigrants in our community experience. She grew up in El Salva...

Ximena Martinez aka LatinaPowerPuff is a first-generation Mexican-American from the Central Valley. In this episode, she talks about her first-gen experience in higher education and being one of the 2% of Latinas in STEM. You'll notice how passionate Ximena is about STEM education, advocacy, and making tech more accessible and equitable. She also created Latinapowerpuff to help Latinas and women f...

Rocio Rivera es una jefa completa, a proud Sinaloense raised in the Bay Area and one of the best Latina photographers out there. So much, she was recently recognized as the best photographer in the Solano county of 2020! Osea, hair flip. In this episode, Rocio talks about growing up as the oldest while her parents worked en el campo, how she discovered her passion for photography, and how se puso...

Jasmine Fuego is the daughter of a Nicaraguan immigrant and Black American, and was born in California and raised in the Deep South. She is an Afro-Latinx musician, event producer and cultural curator—working at the intersection of art, culture and education to amplify the voices of the BIPOC community. She's currently a senior program manager at Skillshare, an online learning community for 5M+ cr...

In this episode, Oscar and I talk about the evolution of the Latino identity, translating important documents as children (of course) and embracing the resiliency our parents passed down to us. Oscar Garcia is the Founder & Chief Empowerment Officer of Aspira Consulting, a Silicon Valley training and consulting firm. He is an introvert turned international speaker. Oscar has given over 375 seminar...

From growing up in Brooklyn in the 80s to becoming a Latina entrepreneur featured on Forbes—Jenny From El Barrio is a true badass. Jennifer Gomez is a Dominican-American tech entrepreneur, marketer and storyteller hailing from Williamsburg, Brooklyn. She’s the CoFounder and Chief Marketing Officer of oneKIN Inc. a mission-driven tech company centered on scaling and elevating BIPOC-owned business a...

Hilda Perez and Sarah Perez Jarrett are sisters, proud Dominicanas, proud New Yorkers and proud business owners. In this episode, they talk about growing up Dominican in New York, their first-gen experiences and how they now lead their family business, SALUD. They grew up watching their father build SALUD and the mission still remains—to make natural health accessible to everyone. They approach he...

Claudia Rojas is a Latina who moved from Medellín, Colombia to New Jersey at the age of 11. In this episode, she talks about her immigration journey and experiences, her love for family and how her life theme is all about personal growth. Every step in her life led her to create her own business, Books Made Easy Now, to help others become the best leaders and individuals they can be. Connect with...

Alejandra Gonzales is a proud Latina who was born in Bolivia, and immigrated to the U.S. with her immediate family at the age of 10. In this episode, she talks about her immigrant experience, first-gen pressures and overcoming adversities in school, in healthcare and in life. She even teaches us some facts about Bolivia and reps her 80% Incan identity, ayee! I promise y’all this episode will not o...

Mother, author, poet, speaker, teacher, DJ—this girl does it all. Marina is Mexican- and Native-American, born and raised in the 818 (shoutout to San Fernando Valley). In this episode, she talks about her third-gen Latina experience, becoming a mother at 17, and why her writing is primarily focused on love and grief. The author of, “Soul Investigation” and “Bobby”, Marina encourages her readers to...

In this special release, I sit down with my brother Patrick Córdova and my friend Sarah Moreno to have an open conversation about voting. Patrick has spent the past 6 years advocating for Black and brown communities at the local government level in San Jose, Ca. And Sarah has been educating our community on how to be a smart voter in this election. We start the episode with stories about our first...

Jon Hermida is a Miami-native Cuban-American who has spent the past 12 years studying, and learning from some of the world’s foremost teachers of personal and spiritual development. He’s an internationally recognized coach, facilitator, social impact entrepreneur and co-founder of RisOn. In this episode, Jon talks about following life’s bread crumbs and how one big life decision led him on a path...

In this episode, Cristina Costa talks about her Chapina (Guatemalteca), Brazilian and Puerto Rican cultures. And also tells us about her childhood in Boston, her first experiences in college and navigating Corporate America. The common theme in all her stories? She has that First-Gen Latina hustle and grind. Cristina is currently the Head of Learning & Development at Outco Inc and also serves as t...

Jessica Perez is an Afro-Dominicana born in Brooklyn, NY and raised in the Dominican Republic. In this episode, she talks about growing up in the DR, moving back to New York City, embracing her Blackness, and even gives a mini history lesson on sharing island La Hispaniola with Haiti. Our conversation is full of enlightenment, laughter y mucho sazón! Check out her new book, Adventures of Susana, a...

Nayeli Lopez is a first-generation Salvadoreña-Guatemalteca from the Central Valley. She’s passionate and orgullosa about her Central American roots but at times, she'd ask herself if she was “Latina enough”. In this conversation, we both unpack what that phrase "Latina enough" means. Nayeli also talks about finding more of herself in her culture through representation, education and conversation,...

Pabel Martinez is a first-generation Dominican-American/Afro-Latino born and raised in New York City. In our conversation, Pabel talks about his Dominican culture (shoutout to abuelita) and his experience being one of the few Black/Latino employees in corporate America. I named the episode ¿Quién Tú Eres? in honor of Pabel's Plurawl podcast where he has candid conversations with la comunidad to ex...

Chris Gueits is a first-generation Cuban-American who has dedicated his life to maximizing human potential, which he does today through his co-founded company, RisOn. Chris and I cover so much in this episode. We talk about everything from his parent's immigration story to his childhood in Miami to playing football at Princeton to creating a life based on happiness and inner peace. It was hard to...

Ish Verduzco is a Latino in tech, DJ, podcaster, social media marketer, and author. His life has been about the Latino hustle and getting Ish done. (Pun intended) In this episode, he talks about his childhood moving around LA and facing adversities to his unconventional journey into tech and representing la cultura. Connect with Ish on all social media platforms (LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram) @...