Colombia
Gustavo Suarez
Episode 61: Doing Good is Good Business
Meet Gustavo Suarez, a Colombian entrepreneur who is driven by the vision of building strong businesses that do the right thing for our communities. Gustavo Suarez, the founder of Trez.co, a US payroll platform that serves the nearly 35 million Latino workforce in the United States.
Gustavo shares his inspiring journey of migrating from Colombia and opening a small business with no knowledge and no support system. He also reveals how he struggled to get through college while juggling multiple responsibilities, and how finding the right support system helped him overcome the hard times.
Gustavo also tells us how his failed attempt to launch a car accessory business taught him valuable lessons that led him to found his first successful enterprise, JPG, a company that provides tax, advisory, and accounting services to small business owners.
He also explains how he learned to balance perseverance and flexibility in pursuing his goals, and how he recognized when he needed to find another way.
Throughout his entrepreneurial career, Gustavo has learned the importance of establishing a nurturing environment for collaboration where everyone can succeed together, and the value of treating people with respect, as we are all human beings on this earth.
This is a must-listen episode for anyone who wants to learn from a resilient and passionate entrepreneur who overcame many challenges and achieved his dreams.
Website: https://www.trez.co/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gustavo-suarez-2b293726/
Massiel Diez
Episode 60: The “Oilfield Girl”: A Latina Leader Changing the Energy Industry from Within
Meet Massiel Diez, a Colombian-Canadian chemical engineer who began her career as a wireline engineer in the Oil & Gas industry, and who is now changing the industry from within. Massiel is also known as the “Oilfield Girl” by her global online following, she was born in San Andres, a small Caribbean island in Colombia, and migrated to Canada with her mom when she was 4 years old.
Massiel shared her journey of emigrating from Colombia to Canada as a child, and how she knew she needed to become someone to honor her mom’s sacrifices, which is why she pursued a degree in chemical engineering at McGill University. She also told us how she started her career in the oil industry as a wireline field engineer, and how she sacrificed the early years of her career to set up a foundation for success. This helped her understand pursuing a degree instead of settling for a decent-paying job always pays off because education can open up more opportunities and choices in life.
Massiel also shared her experience relocating with a company twice, first to the US and then to Mexico. She talked about what it is like, the opportunities it provides, and the challenges associated with it. One of them: Struggling to fit in after relocating to Mexico, because even though she has always identified as a Latina, she has not experienced what living is Latin America is like.
Finally, Massiel told us how she co-founded Flipping the Barrel podcast, and what the show aims to accomplish: empowering energy leaders and inspiring the next generation of talent in the industry
You don’t want to miss this fascinating and inspiring conversation with Massiel Diez, a remarkable woman who is making an impact in the energy field and beyond.
Learn more about the Massiel and her own podcast here:
Social media:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/massiel-diez-b0942a60/
Jen Hemphill
Episode 50: Latina Equal Pay Day 2022
Meet Jen Hemphill, host of Her Dinero Matters Podcast and accredited financial counselor who helps Latinas gain more money confidence.
Jenn was born in Colombia to a “Gringo” dad -as she called him- and a Colombian mother, and lived in Bogotá until she and her family moved to the U.S. Jen aspired to become a Dentist, but didn’t have the stomach for it. This led her to become a Physical Therapist specializing in Gerontology; however, becoming a military spouse made her change her career path to something more aligned with her new lifestyle. This is how she became an accredited financial counselor.
It was thanks to this new career, and the need to attract an audience for her own business, that Jen became a podcaster. This was a consistent medium via which she could create content to help all women gain more money confidence. Not too long after the launch of her podcast, Jen realized that she was in a unique position to help Latinas become Reinas of their money, so she rebranded the podcast, which became what we now know as Her Dinero Matters.
On this especial 50th episode, Jen joined us to talk about the upcoming Latina Pay Day, what it means, and what we can do to ensure we minimize the impact of the wage gap in our lives! We talked about many topics, including the importance of talking about salaries and advocating for salary transparency. We discussed the importance of negotiating your salary, including benefits, and asking for promotions. We also talked about what we can do to take control of our finances by creating a budget, implementing a plan, and celebrating our wins!
According to the Lean In organization, Latinas make $0.46 per every $1 a non-hispanic white male makes, and 47% of Latina mothers are breadwinners. This means that our families are falling behind! Most factors that contribute to the existence of the wage gap are systemic and need to be fixed at a higher level. However, we HAVE to advocate for ourselves because no one else will do it! Get educated… take action!
Learn more about the wage gap here:
Connect with Jen here:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenhemphill/
Danny Navarro
Episode 43: Latinx Travel Hackers
Meet Danny Navarro, a Latinx professional that, along with his wife Laurie, travel hacking their way around the world, and reclaiming the first in first-class flights, lounges, and top-tier hotels.
Danny & Laurie were born in the US and have Mexican and Colombian heritages. They grew up watching their families work hard to provide a better future, and had to put in their own sweat to achieve not just a bachelor’s degree, but a master degree too.
By day, they accumulate vacation days while working in their professional fields in Washington DC, and when it is time to cash in those days, they make sure to do it in style.
Danny & Laurie “Van viajando” around the world because “the world needs to see us”. Through their IG account @latinoswithpassports, they show us how they have travel-hacked their way to exotic places like Dubai and Singapore, while flying first-class!
Danny & Laurie are responsible though! They encourage us to enjoy life while being fiscally responsible and without getting into debt, just working smart by budgeting and making our $$$ work for us.
We also talked about how they have supported each other to pay their debt, and about how they manage their money based on what makes sense for them as a couple, and not based on limiting cultural beliefs that put the burden on men.
Find out more about Latinos with Passports here:
María Angélica Peña Quintero
Episode 26: Intentional Productivity, with María Angélica Peña
Meet María Angélica Peña, an industrial engineer who seeks to have a positive impact on her community by helping them manage their time and energy. María Angélica, a native of Colombia, talks about the importance of having role models, and of surrounding yourself with like-minded individuals who can help you achieve your goals. She also shares the journey she embarked on to understand what was missing in her life, and how her new-found passion became a community called Café con Plan: A productivity hub that provides tools and mentorships to help you identify what really matters to you, create habits, and achieve your goals.
Some of the resources mentioned in this episode:
Book: The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy
Learn about Café con Plan:
Dr. Linet Mera (she/her)
Episode 24 & 25: Understanding Unconscious Biases and How to Tackle Them
This is a two-part episode where Dr. Linet Mera, co-founder of the Unconscious Bias Project helps us understand what unconscious biases are, and how to tackle them. Part 1 focuses on Dr. Mera’s story, growing up in 5 different countries and having diversity as a cornerstone of her development. She also talks about her experience navigating college, as the first in her family to attend university in the U.S.A. We also talked about how we “other” people and even fear them because we don’t understand who they are. To change this, she encourages us to be open to getting to know them and to find the commonalities among us, no matter how different we seem to be. Inclusion is a choice. In the second part Dr. Mera helps us understand what unconscious biases are, and how to tackle them. Part 2 focuses on concrete tools we can use to tackle our own unconscious biases, and to intervene when we see them playing out in our own circles. Dr. Mera shares actual examples of how we could apply these tools, based on real-life experiences that these two women of color in science have experienced.
Some of the opportunities mentioned in this episode:
The International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience, Association sans but lucratif (non-profit association, IAESTE A.s.b.l.)
IAESTE A.s.b.l.
Learn about The Unconscious Bias Project: https://www.unconsciousbiasproject.org
Dr. Charlie Corredor
Episode 17: How Good Mentors Can Help You Rise Up
Meet Dr. Charlie Corredor, an engineer and entrepreneur who identified the power of mentorships and used it to represent the latinx community around the world. His curiosity and motivation led him to create connections with people who later became mentors, and who opened the doors to the world of science, literally! Dr. Charlie represented the U.S. and Colombia while pursuing research projects in China, Sweden, and France all before enrolling in a dual Ph.D. program at Arizona State University. A twist in the plot took him from to the rainy city of Seattle, where he completed his Ph.D., a business certificate, and became an entrepreneur and co-founder of an early stage start-up. His technical acumen and integrity opened doors for him during a time of transition, and the skills he has developed over the years, make him a valuable member to any team.
Dr. Stephanie Florez-Pollack
Episode 2 & 3: Little Sparks of Inspiration
In this two-part episode, we will learn about her journey through high school and college in the U.S, the obstacles she had to surpass to become a college graduate, and some of the lessons she carries with her through life; including practical advice as to how to build the courage to ask for help, stepping outside your comfort zone to explore new things no matter how hard life is, and listening to the little sparks of joy that can help us find our passion. In the second part, Dr. Stephanie shares the tools that helped her become a successful medical student, including the tips and tricks she found helpful when trying to finance her medical education. Dr. Stephanie is an empowered latina who is proud to represent our community and who wants us to harness the power of our diversity to effect change in our community! Dr. Staphanie encourages you to cultivate your identity and cherish the things that make you… YOU! Because after all, your story is your superpower.
Some of the opportunities discussed during this episode:
Brown-Rudder Award at Texas A&M University
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanieflorezpollackmd/