Podcasts about hispanic chamber

Interview with Pamela Rincones, First Executive Director of the Hispanic Chamber Cincinnati USA (HCCUSA). In an interview with Lorena Mora-Mowry, Rincones discusses her feelings about being the first Executive Director of HCCUSA. She also shares her upbringing and how her leadership style aligns with the organization's values. Additionally, she discusses the factors that have inspired her to pursue this path. Rincones outlines her professional journey, highlighting her extensive leadership experience and a proven track record of empowering diverse communities through economic opportunity and innovation. She has worked in corporations, nonprofit organizations, and community sectors, and she emphasizes how her diverse experiences will be valuable in her new role to support HCCUSA's mission of assisting Hispanic businesses across the Greater Cincinnati region. Rincones expresses optimism about the opportunities that lie ahead for the Hispanic Chamber in the upcoming years. She concludes the interview by addressing the Hispanic/Latino community in the Greater Cincinnati area. “I am honored to join HCCUSA and to help build a stronger platform for Hispanic businesses and entrepreneurs across the region,” said Pam Rincones. “Together, we can amplify opportunities, create meaningful change, and celebrate the vibrant spirit of our community.” Pam stated Pam Rincones possesses extensive expertise in inclusive leadership and human capital strategy. With over three decades of experience advising Fortune 500 companies and nonprofit organizations, she has guided leaders through transformative initiatives to cultivate inclusive and high-performing cultures. A Track Record of Recognized Impact: As former Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer at Fifth Third Bank and current consultant with Pope Consulting and Blue Circle Leadership Institute, Pam has led nationally recognized programs that have elevated engagement, fostered innovation, and enhanced talent development. A Passion for Purpose-Driven Community Engagement: Recognized for her ability to build collaborative partnerships and champion underrepresented voices, Pam employs a visionary approach to unlocking the potential of individuals and teams alike.

Dr. Johnny Garcia is a distinguished entrepreneur and technology leader, celebrated for founding and leading multiple successful businesses, including SimIS Inc. Inspired by his humble beginnings on the cotton fields of Lubbock, Texas, and driven by a commitment to service, Dr. Garcia has become a prominent figure in modeling and simulation, as well as healthcare innovation. With degrees from Old Dominion University, St. Leo College, and Florida Institute of Technology, he has contributed significantly to various community service initiatives and serves on numerous boards, including the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Hampton Roads Workforce Council. SHOW SUMMARY In this episode, Robert “Bob” Pizzini is joined by Dr. Johnny Garcia, founder and CEO of SimIS Inc. Dr. Garcia shares his journey from growing up in poverty in Texas to becoming a successful entrepreneur and community leader. Bob and Johnny discuss his educational background, military service, and the various business ventures he has undertaken, including his work in modeling and simulation, cybersecurity, and medical simulation. They also delve into the importance of leadership, community involvement, and overcoming challenges in business. This insightful conversation highlights the key elements of leadership and perseverance that have driven Dr. Garcia's success. Learn about all of these and more nuggets of insight in this latest episode of the Elevate Your Leadership podcast. KEY TAKEAWAYS Importance of Lifelong Learning: Johnny Garcia emphasizes continuous education and learning from experiences, suggesting that one can continuously evolve as a leader. Adapting Leadership Styles: Leadership methods must adapt to the changing workforce and environment, focusing on work harmony and employee satisfaction. Community Involvement: Active involvement in the community can provide significant business benefits and helps in personal and professional growth. Innovation and Adaptability: Success in business often involves adapting to failure and finding new opportunities, such as Garcia's movement from military simulation to healthcare and other verticals. Value of Military Service: Military experience can serve as an excellent foundation for leadership, discipline, and entrepreneurial ventures. QUOTES "You have to constantly be educating yourself. Lifelong learning is key." "In order to be successful in any business, you have to be audacious." "Happy employees do better work; it's about work harmony, not just work-life balance." "Where else in the entire world could I go from working in the cotton fields at 12 years old to what I'm doing today? Only in this great country." About Robert: Robert is a #1 Best Selling Author, Speaker, Award-Winning CEO, and above all, a Leadership Coach by heart. Join Robert and together you will lead with confidence, unify your team, and expand your comfort zone. Where to find Robert: Website - https://robertpizzini.com/ Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/elevate-your-leadership/id1547181480 YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqx9fuoZnq0--c1ttdckwLg  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The biggest misconception about the Hispanic Chamber of Metro Orlando? That it's only for Hispanic business owners and entrepreneurs. President & CEO Pedro Turushina joins OBJ Editor-in-Chief Richard Bilbao to share why he and his team are supporting all businesses across the region, and at the same time offering support for their Hispanic members.

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Jaime di Paulo, CEO of the Illinois Hispanic Chamber, joins Lisa Dent to discuss what the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is telling the undocumented Hispanic businesses in Illinois in case deportations happen.

In this episode, we sit down with Elisha González, Vice President of Community Relations and Government Affairs of FAIRWINDS Credit Union and Executive Director of the FAIRWINDS Foundation. You'll hear her inspiring story and journey from educator to banking executive while discovering practical insights on financial literacy and community development. Learn how the FAIRWINDS Foundation is breaking down barriers through its $400,000 investment in local organizations and financial education programs that reached over 200,000 people. Elisha also shares valuable perspectives on leadership, risk-taking, and creating opportunities for entrepreneurs in underserved communities as chair of the Hispanic Chamber of Metro Orlando.

Nuevo en Latina Today Podcast series: Entrevista con Alfonso Cornejo, presidente Hispanic Chamber Cincinnati sobre los logros del 2024 y los planes para el 2025. Alfonso habla sobre el impacto económico, social y cultural que ha tenido en el área metropolitana de Cincinnati sus más de 100,000 habitantes de origen hispano. El mensaje de Alfonso es la unidad y cohesión para enfrentar los retos que se avecinan en el 2025.

MCALLEN, Texas - A former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico says chambers of commerce and the business community in general can help turn down ugly political rhetoric.Antonio Garza was asked if political rhetoric hampers trade negotiations and good trade policies. He was asked this question by Cynthia Sakulenzki, president and CEO of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, during a recent webinar that RGVHCC organized.“I'm kind of glad you asked that one, because I do think it gives me an opportunity to say something to the role that the Rio Grande Valley Hispanic Chamber can play, and other private sector (entities can play) as we prepare for the (USMCA) sunset review process - whether it initiates on day one of the new administration, or whether you have a more institutional process that allows for some time to think about it,” Garza said.“I think, typically, the rhetoric coming out of really all three countries (the United States, Mexico, and Canada), at times acts as a headwind. That outsized rhetoric makes it hard for people to sit at the table and work towards solutions and the ability for the private sector to help shape the debate, drive the debate, inform the debate is very good.”Garza said he is of the view that the notion of political leadership is almost an oxymoron."You get more leadership out of the private sector. And office holders, if they know that the private sector is active and engaged, are more likely to listen and more likely to be responsive. So, it can create kind of a virtuous thing, but I think it has to be driven by the private sector,” Garza said.“Without the private sector involvement, the political rhetoric tends to be kind of loud, not as well informed, and acts as a headwind to actually getting good and constructive things done.”Garza noted that while the question from Sakulenzki was asked in relation to trade matters between the United States and Mexico, it could just as easily apply to immigration policy.“Immediately, the political class injects kind of a level of rhetorical excess that makes it hard, because people are locked down and take positions before you get into the nuances of, what does reform mean? What do we need in terms of our economy? what do we need in terms of our security? What do we need? And you don't have those conversations if the rhetoric gets too loud and the private sector isn't at the table saying, turn down the volume. Let's try to get something done. “So, I do think chambers and individual businesspeople play an enormous role in offsetting or at least muting some of the potential harm that outside rhetoric can cause.” The webinar took place just before the U.S. presidential election.Editor's Note: Go to the Rio Grande Guardian website to read the full story.Go to www.riograndeguardian.com to read the latest border news stories and watch the latest news videos.

The Moneywise Radio Show and Podcast Friday, November 1st  BE MONEYWISE. Moneywise Wealth Management I "The Moneywise Guys" podcast call: 661-847-1000 text in anytime: 661-396-1000 website: www.MoneywiseGuys.com facebook: Moneywise_Wealth_Management instagram: MoneywiseWealthManagement Guest: Jay Tamsi, CEO of the Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce website: https://kchcc.org/   

Armando Contreras is the National president and CEO of United Cerebral Palsy Inc. The organization has 55 affiliates, 53 of which are here in the United States and two are in Canada. Armando grew up in East Los Angeles and then attended college at the University of Southern California where he obtained a degree in Business Administration. Later he secured a Master's degree in Divinity from the University of San Francisco.   Armando has worked both in the for profit world as well as for and with several nonprofit organizations. He tells us about all his life adventures including being a cancer survivor now for ten years.   Mr. Contreras and I have a great discussion about his vision for UCP which this year is celebrating its 75th anniversary. Along the way, UCP expanded services beyond just working with persons with Cerebral Palsy. As he explains, the same kinds of services required by people with CP also apply to persons with Downs and Autism.   I hope what Armando discusses with me inspires you as much as it did me. Please let me know what you think.     About the Guest:   Armando A. Contreras is the President and CEO of the Washington, D.C. and Vienna, Virginia-based United Cerebral Palsy Inc., one of the nation's leading health associations providing vital services and advocating for the inclusion of people living with neurodevelopmental disabilities, such as cerebral palsy, autism, and Down syndrome via its 55 affiliates (53 in the U.S. and two in Canada).   A native of Los Angeles, Armando's professional career includes having served as CEO of UCP of Central Arizona, President and CEO of the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (AZHCC), Director of the Arizona Registrar of Contractors, and Executive Director of the Council on Small Business under former Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano.   He was featured in Activator Magazine's March 2021 issue (“A Servant Leader's Faithful Journey”). In November 2016, Arizona Business Magazine recognized him as a top CEO in the nonprofit health sector. In 2015, Armando was named one of the most Influential Minority Business Leaders in Arizona. He was also the featured CEO in the December 2013 issue of Arizona Business Magazine, and the Phoenix Business Journal awarded him a Champions in Diversity award in 2012. Armando was a special guest on The Hill newspaper's virtual Disability Summit, featuring policymakers, business and nonprofit leaders discussing ways to increase employment across the disability community.   Armando attended the Harvard School of Business Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management program. In May 2001, he was honored to meet with President George W. Bush to discuss faith-based and community initiatives during a White House gathering on the topic.   Today, Armando serves on the Board of SourceAmerica. He is a former member of the Bishop's Finance Committee of the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix, and he recently completed a term serving as a member of the Board of Directors of the Kino Border Initiative, a binational organization that promotes U.S.-Mexico border and immigration policies that affirm the dignity of the human person.   Armando earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Southern California and a master's degree in theology from the University of San Francisco. He also received certificates from the Indiana University School of Philanthropy and Harvard University.   He and his wife, Norma Contreras, live in Phoenix, where they are active in the community, particularly contributing their time and talents to faith-based social justice issues. The couple has three adult children and a grandson with another grandson on the way.       About the Host:   Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/   https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening!   Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast   If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset .   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review   Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.       Transcription Notes:   Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Welcome to another edition of unstoppable mindset where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet, and I won't go through all that again, it's inclusion because that means we include disabilities. Diversity typically doesn't, but the unexpected is what we get to deal with a lot as well. It's all fun, and we're glad that you're able to be here with us, wherever you happen to be. Our guest today is Armando Contreras, who is the president of United Cerebral Palsy, Inc, and I'm really anxious to hear more about that keeps keeps him, and I think a lot of us busy, and there's a lot of good stories and very relevant things to talk about regarding that. So let's get to it, Armando, I want to thank you and really appreciate you being here. Michael,   Armando Contreras ** 02:06 it's such a pleasure, and really it's an honor that I can be here on your show. So thank you for the kind invitation. Well, you   Michael Hingson ** 02:15 are. You're certainly most welcome, and Armando is one of those people who came to us again because of Sheldon Lewis here at accessibe, and he's he's keeping us busy, which is a good thing, and he's probably working on getting Armando to use accessibe, unless you already are with UCP. I haven't checked the website lately. Well, we   Armando Contreras ** 02:33 have. So we've already put in that, I believe, a plugin, and some of our affiliates are actually using accessibe as well,   Michael Hingson ** 02:43 which is cool, and it does a lot to help, which is, of course, what it's all about. Because accessibe, using AI, is able to do a lot of the work with the AI widget, not all, but a lot that needs to be done. So it's really great that you guys are using it, and I appreciate that and thank you for it, or on behalf of all of us at accessibe, yeah,   Armando Contreras ** 03:04 you're welcome. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 03:06 why don't we start as I love to do at the beginning? Why don't tell us a little bit about kind of the early Armando growing up and all that sort of stuff? Yes, so might as well,   Armando Contreras ** 03:18 yeah, the early Armando, growing up, was in East Los Angeles, in East LA so my father had a disability for most of his life. He had a he was in a car accident, and the doctors had said he would never work again. And right about that time when he had that car accident. I was born. I was the first, the oldest of three and my brother Louis and my sister Elizabeth. So life really changed for him, because he was middle class entrepreneur in Mexico, while he was American citizen. Then when he married my mom, then they moved over to Los Angeles, and eventually East Los Angeles, and that's where I grew up. I grew up pretty much in, you can say, in poverty. And while we were in a neighborhood called in Barrio, it's just a neighborhood of of, really, for the most part, a lot of good people. Our neighbors were fantastic, and we knew each other. So that was kind of like the beginning of many years of really, you know, experiencing disabilities with my dad and seeing what he had gone through. And it was a it was a tough, really. It was a tough. It was tough growing up, let me put it to you that way, for for many reasons. So then later, I got involved with the Catholic Church, Saint Lucy. Catholic Church in Los Angeles or a small town called City terrace, and that kind of that really changed a lot for me, as far as getting involved with community issues, getting involved in helping people, getting involved in connecting with the kind of the local issues that were happening in the city of Los Angeles, because those priests, those Catholic priests, were very involved in that, in ministries, and they went outside of the ministries to help community members, regardless if they were Catholic or not, what. And prior to that, I got involved as a musician. So I was a trumpet player, and I played trumpet at St Lucy's church for about 23 years. But then that that did something, something of sort of a miracle for me, because when I applied after going to a junior college in Los Angeles College, and then I applied to a dream university, USC, so the University of Southern California, and I think one of the big reasons that I got in was because of my community involvement, so that that led to a full scholarship, and that was quite the blessing for me, because there was no way that that we can afford me going to a private university. So, you know, that's kind of like, in the nutshell, my my upbringing, otherwise I would be here three days, you know,   Michael Hingson ** 06:30 yeah, what year? What years were you at USC,   Armando Contreras ** 06:34 I was there. I was there in 8085 through 87 ish, around that time? Yeah, around that that time? Yeah, I graduated in 87   Michael Hingson ** 06:46 that's that's much beyond my favorite USC football game, which was, how was it? I think Notre Dame was leading SC 24 to nothing at the end of the first half. You know, the game, I can tell by the end, it was 55 to 24 USC, which is the way it should be.   Armando Contreras ** 07:07 You know, SC had his great moments, and sc has had their challenging moments. Has Yeah. So, you know, last year, it could have been a better year for us. But, you know, we look to the future. And like I always say, don't fight on. So fight on   Michael Hingson ** 07:23 is right. My wife did her graduate work at SC I've never been to a football game there or anywhere, and one of these days, I'd love to go, but she just passed away in November of 2022 we were married for 40 years, but I've already been an SC fan before I married her, and one of my favorite SC stories is that the day we got married, we arrived at the church, and it was supposed to be a wedding that would pack the church. A lot of people wanted to come and see us get together, but the wedding was supposed to start at four o'clock, and like the church was less than half full on about 412 suddenly the doors opened, and this whole crowd came in, and the wedding went forward, only about 15 minutes late. Later, we tried to find out what it was that kept people away for so long. And what we heard was everyone was in their cars waiting for the end of the USC Notre Dame game. And since SC one, it was that God clearly was on our side.   Armando Contreras ** 08:25 I love that. Yeah, it's a great story. And my my sister, condolences for loss.   Michael Hingson ** 08:31 Well, thank you. You know she her body was just slowing down. She was in a wheelchair her whole life, and just in 2022, things were kind of catching up. And as I say, the spirit tends to move ahead of the body sometimes, and that's what happened. But she's watching somewhere, and if I misbehave, I'll hear about it. I'm not at all worried I'm going to try to be a good kid. But that's great that she did go to USC, and you said something else. I think that's really interesting to me, and that is that where you grew up, people were very nice and very friendly. And I think that is so often true, and a lot of times people stray into some of these areas and they think it's going to be horrible, and they they look for the worst, and they find it because they're not looking for the best. They're not looking to try to find friendly people and and it's so unfortunate that too many, too many times, we don't really look for the best in people. And unfortunately, then it comes out.   Armando Contreras ** 09:34 Well, you know, I I could only say great things about East LA and the barrio that I, that I grew up in, were there elements in there? Of course, sure you were, we were about a block away from from the gang activity, and you just had a choice, right? And thanks to my parents that were super strict, they didn't, they didn't allow me to make those kind of choices when I was younger. You know. To join the gangs, but that element was in front of you, you know, and some of them, some of the folks I still know today, some of them that were in gangs and stuff, now they've settled down. They have families, but I just have to say that there was a sense of community there where I grew up, even, even, or despite the elements that were around us. So yes, do I hear the negativity when they somebody mentions East Los Angeles? Yes, but I could, I have to say that even though we grew up in poverty and even though there was a lot of challenges for us as a family, I I really cherish the neighbors that were there. When I remember that the kind of those gatherings, we had nothing. So there was no we played, you know, with just a regular basketball or something. There was no communication via a cell phone or anything like that. Yeah. So, you know, I have only good things to say. And part of my upbringing there today, I realized that wow, I was I was working on a strategic plan without even knowing what a strategic plan was back in the day. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 11:17 Do you think that today it's harder, or there's more of that kind of activity, or is it just that people are now having their attention drawn more to it, and again, still, I think all too often deal with it in such a negative way. But do you think it's worse than it was?   Armando Contreras ** 11:36 I mean, if we're talking about, if we're talking about gang activity. I mean that still, I think, is just as prominent that today, unfortunately, than what it was this as it was back. You know, when I grew up in the night, in the 60s, I believe that leaders, community leaders, our representatives, really have to invest into communities, invest in education, invest in in jobs, right? Because people, naturally, some of them, will start looking for a way of making a living, and they may choose a different route. In addition to that, gangs and they become a family. So, you know, parents do need to, you know, also be aware of what their kids are doing, and support them and and nurture them and show them love, right? And because, if you really get to the bottom of it, and you start speaking to a gang member, she or he, there's underlining problems, and maybe comes from family. You know, there could be so many things that are happening, but I truly have a vision that that someday there's going to be more funds invested into communities like East Los Angeles, because a lot of great people come out of there, and I'm not talking about myself, but there's just a lot of good people, good hearted people, that really like to help their neighbor and others. When   Michael Hingson ** 13:10 I was selling in New York, when still living in California, and would go back and spend days at a time, I stayed at a particular hotel in midtown Manhattan, Near Time Square, and if I went out at night, every so often, somebody would come up and he would say, I'm one of the guardian angels. You're familiar with them? Yes. And he said, I'm with guardian angels. I want to walk with you. And I said, you know, you don't need to. And he said, I want to. And I didn't mind, but what I always felt and and experienced was if I treated people right, if I treated people like people, if I was I was treated like someone, and I didn't really need to fear any of the other kinds of things. Now, I'm sure there were crazies around, but in general, I really do think that if we would be a little bit more open to just accepting and not fear so much those things that we don't understand, or those kinds of communities that we're not as knowledgeable about, and I'm not so much thinking of the gangs, but just all the other communities, like East LA and watts and so on, we would be a whole lot better off, and we would learn to get along with people better.   Armando Contreras ** 14:31 I totally agree with that. I think it's building relationships, right, and getting to help and getting to know, you know, folks from different ethnicities, people with different abilities, right? It all comes together. Here is that, knowing them, respecting them, listening for understanding, and then building a friendship, right? And collaborating together. Um. For the betterment of humanity. That's what I believe, where it's at, and everybody has an opportunity to do that.   Michael Hingson ** 15:08 Yeah, and I just think that we, we, we somehow also need to get the politics out of providing the funds. And I don't know, it's just people have locked themselves into some very hard political decisions sometimes that that don't help the process at all.   Armando Contreras ** 15:26 Yeah? Michael, so yes, yes. Part of it is yes, taking out the politics, but the other part of it is bringing in the politics right? Is letting our our representatives, our public officials, and on the local level, on the municipality level, state level, on the federal level, to bring them in and know what the issues are, because we're all part of the fabric of society. Yeah, all somehow we do give, and we do contribute, and I don't, I don't care what ethnicity, what religion you are, if you if you have a disability, if you don't have a disability, we're all part of the society, and I believe that our representatives really need to know that and how we contribute in a very big way.   Michael Hingson ** 16:16 I think the biggest part is they need to be open to listening to hear that some do, some don't. And I am a firm believer in the fact that over time, all the issues that we need to deal with will get dealt with.   Armando Contreras ** 16:30 I believe so too, and I think those that those that don't listen to communities, for whatever reason it is that eventually somebody in their family or them may end up in that situation themselves, and then, you know, they'll begin to have that lived experience. But while they've had a chance to make a difference, and if they ignore it, then there was a window of opportunity for them to do something.   Michael Hingson ** 17:01 Yeah, well, and, and if they choose to ignore that again, I believe that things will will happen to deal with that, whatever it is, and hopefully it it doesn't a negative, horrible thing that has to happen to make them realize it. But I think in some cases, that has been what has occurred. But I have a lot of faith in the human race. Yes, so do I. Well, so you, what was your degree in from USC?   Armando Contreras ** 17:29 It was in business administration.   Michael Hingson ** 17:32 Ah. And did you go to any football games?   Armando Contreras ** 17:35 I did, yeah, good   Michael Hingson ** 17:36 for you. My wife did too. Yeah.   Armando Contreras ** 17:38 And, and most recently, most recently, I've gone to the last two USC UCLA games. So last year, it was great. It was fantastic. We were at the Rose Bowl at, you know, in UCLA territory this year, not so good. We were so good, not so good. We were at home at the Coliseum. And, you know, it didn't, it didn't work at a while, but it was a fun game. I   Michael Hingson ** 18:04 don't know, what do you think of the coach?   Armando Contreras ** 18:07 Um, I think that he's good, and I think that he will continue to be successful this year, this next year. I think it will be better this year. Yeah, I think so. And they got this young, this young man that showed up at the at the bowl game. I'm trying to remember Miller. I think it was Miller, and it was his name, and he showed up. He was a he, he did a fantastic job. And I do see a great future for him at USC and perhaps in in the in the NFL.   Michael Hingson ** 18:40 Well, it'll be fun. I know they got a new defensive coordinator and that they needed, so we'll, we'll see how it goes. But we won't bore everyone with football and our likes, but it's nevertheless, it's part of the world. So there you go, but then you went on to the University of San Francisco, right?   Armando Contreras ** 19:01 I did. So that was a few years later, and I graduated, I believe, in 2004 and I it was, it was something that drew me, and it was an opportunity for me to get a degree in Theology at a Jesuit university. So at that time, I was working for a faith based Catholic organization, a national organization called the National Catholic council for Hispanic ministry. And what we looked at overall in the United States were the issues of upper mobility for Hispanic Catholics for immigrants, or for our sisters and brothers that are immigrants, the issues that are happening with Hispanic families, education was a huge thing. You know, how do we how do we move, you know, our children that from, you know, grammar school to. Catholic high schools and perhaps Catholic universities were, yeah, unfortunate. Unfortunately, I have to say, is that there's not a whole lot of access, and we're the backbone of the Catholic Church, right? Because it's so expensive. So those were the things that that we were part of, and one of the opportunities that came about was attending the University of San Francisco and and I received, you know, I earned a degree in theology, master's degree, yes,   Michael Hingson ** 20:32 well, let's go back a little bit. So you graduated from SC then what did you do?   Armando Contreras ** 20:37 Well, then I had several jobs after that. I worked for a nonprofit in Los Angeles that helped people get jobs. And then after that, I believe, I went into a construction company as a contract administrator. I was here for maybe a year and a half or so, and then I went on for whatever reason I was interested in real estate. So then I worked for a corporation that did mortgage loans. And in that I met a gentleman who had his own real estate company, and then we decided to start our own real estate company. So I did that for about seven, seven years, and then I I got hired to work with this nonprofit, the National Catholic council that I just mentioned a little bit ago. I was there for about 10 and a half years. So I had I had a chance to travel around the nation and to meet with Hispanic Catholic leaders, lay leaders. I got to meet with religious orders of men and women from Jesuits, Franciscans, many other different orders. So it was, it was really a insightful time for me in those 10 and a half years about our church. And then after that, we moved from Los Angeles to Phoenix. And shortly after that, I got hired. Let's see here. I'm trying to remember the I got hired by governor Janet Napolitano, but I was her small business advocate, and in about 11 months, I moved into being a deputy director of a one of her departments, the Arizona register of contractors, and soon after that, I was on her cabinet. So I was honored to serve under Janet Napolitano when she moved to Washington, DC, because President Barack Obama appointed her as Secretary of Homeland Security. Then I moved on to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, here Arizona, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. And then about a year later, then that's where I had folks come to me and said, there's an organization here that is the United Cerebral Palsy association of central Arizona. And I said, Well, I'm going to maybe put the word out and see who might be interested in that position, which was a CEO position. And then they said, No, we're looking for somebody like you. So to make a long story short, I got hired. And that was really a beginning of of a lot of things. I got hired not because I had the clinical background, or the researcher background, or that I had been involved with disabilities. I got hired so then I can take take that organization to another level, where they wanted to increase the revenues, they wanted to increase their brand awareness. They wanted to make sure that we had stronger collaborations in the community in Arizona, in in Phoenix, and that's why I got hired, to make sure that we enhance that to benefit the children and adults that we were serving.   Michael Hingson ** 24:05 Well. So what do you think about the differences since you've been in a position to have done both working in the for profit corporate kind of world, as opposed to working in the the nonprofit sector? That's,   Armando Contreras ** 24:21 that's Michael. That's a really interesting question, because there are similarities,   Michael Hingson ** 24:27 I know, and I've done the same thing. I've worked for both as well. Well,   Armando Contreras ** 24:31 look, you know, I'm working for a nonprofit, and those that are going to be listening to this, that are CEOs are working in development for both for profits and nonprofits. There's not a whole there's not a big difference there. Because we strive to be sustainable, like a for profit. We strive to look at years to come, because we want to be around and help people in the next 1015, 75, Years which we we're celebrating this year, our 75th anniversary. So part of our responsibility as a leader, as a president and CEO, is really looking beyond the years that you're going to be there. You can, you can serve for one year, 10 years, 20 years, 30 years. But really the i i truly believe that the test is, once you leave, will that organization continue to survive because of what you put together? So to answer your question, a lot of similarities between a for profit and a non profit. However, at the end of the day, the mission for us is to not make a profit, but to be sustainable so we can continue our life saving work   Michael Hingson ** 25:49 and for not, not for profits. Nonprofits generally tend to work more in an arena where they're trying to make a social difference. And although they're they're still selling products. The products are different. They're oftentimes less tangible, although a lot of the services that that they provide, like UCB, UCP provides and so on, end up being very tangible, but still there's there's an intangibility, but still, I agree with you that the reality is that they're very similar. Development is extremely similar to what a for profit company does. And in reality, when you're in development, you're in sales, and when you're in sales, you're in development, it's just that people have come up with two words for the same thing, but they're so similar in what you ultimately are trying to get from them, and ultimately, how you present to people who you want to be your customers or your donors, is so much the same as well.   Armando Contreras ** 27:00 Yeah, I agree with you, Michael, so in development, because I also have a background in fundraising, it's aligning with the folks that have the same vision and that would want to contribute for an impact that's happening in society. So with United Cerebral Palsy and our affiliates are providing direct services to children and adults with cerebral palsy and many other conditions. So there are people that are very, very generous, but I have to say that in the world of philanthropy now, donors are becoming a lot more informed, and they want to make sure that the dollar that they're going to donate, that it's going to go a long way. Yeah, so obviously they're looking at at administrative costs versus your program program costs, right? And that's a good thing. I encourage the philanthropic community to do that, to do their research and to pick those nonprofits in the United States or maybe around the world that are really making a huge impact. Michael, we we serve 100 and approximately 155,000 children and adults on an annual basis, and this is our affiliates that are working day in and day out to provide those services, vital services, life saving services, and services that maybe other organizations don't or people don't want to do. So those are the things that that people that are going to invest their return is really what's happening in the lives of 1000s and hundreds of 1000s of people. Many,   Michael Hingson ** 28:45 many years ago, I remember watching a little bit of a telethon. It was actually on Channel 13 out here, kcop, and it was back in what had to be the early to mid 80s, I think, and it was a telethon put on by the Society for the Prevention of blindness, which I don't even know whether they're around anymore, but at the end of the telethon, they had raised, I think, like $200,000 it was a local, Just independent television station doing it. But what we learned was that 95% of the cost of the telethon went to pay for it, and that the organization only ended up with about 5% of that $200,000 which is, of course, a real problem.   Armando Contreras ** 29:39 It is so like I mentioned before, is that today you're having more informed donors, right, that are looking at that ratio, right? Yeah, how much of their dollar is going to go to actual services, right? Versus cost for putting on a. For putting like you mentioned, a telethon today, there's not a whole lot of telethons going on. Have a million channels, but back in the day, I remember the channels 13, 574, and maybe 11 nine. Yeah, 11 nine. So there was a few more today. What do you have? 234, 100, and then more and all of that. There's other ways that I certainly believe that that can be as impactful and less expensive than the telethons. But sure, you bring up a really good point, is that if you're going to, if you're a donor, if you're a philanthropist, if you really want to have your money change people's lives, they have to do some homework. Yeah, they have to look at that nonprofit and to make sure that 90% of your dollars not going into it, and 90% is not going into it, administrative expenses. It   Michael Hingson ** 30:55 may well be that that 90% works or maybe a little bit less. You're spending a little bit more money on administration, if you can justify it, to say, but look out of that we are able to reach more people and thus get more money. But I do think it's, it's a it's a tight rope.   Armando Contreras ** 31:20 Yeah, I definitely agree with that, that you have to be strategic when you're out fundraising and your your case statement really has to be where it's so compelling that and then showing the data and and and bringing children and adults to tell their story, right of how their lives have been changed. Those are the storytelling is really part, one part, or a major part, of development and fundraising.   Michael Hingson ** 31:56 Well, tell us a little bit about UCP, the history and so on, if you would to inform more people about it.   Armando Contreras ** 32:02 Well, one, you know, I'm, I'm so excited to share with everybody that we're celebrating our 75th anniversary, right? Uh, 75 years of providing vital services, right? 75 years of having our direct service professionals, the folks that are working at home, under the home community based services. We have we have pre Ks, the different therapies that are out there. We have group homes, we have transportation, we have employment. There's so many things that we're bringing to the community. But it started in 1949 right? It started with concerned citizens and concerned parents, that they felt that in that time, which was a totally different world for people with disabilities, that they felt that something more had to happen, that no more can society or the doctors or people in authority can say, would your kids have to go to an institution no matter if they had Down syndrome? Well, maybe autism wasn't. Were so prevalent back then, maybe not as prevalent, but cerebral palsy, spinal bifid, all of that that their kids suddenly were taken away from their home.   Michael Hingson ** 33:22 Well, my parents were told by our doctors that they should send me to a home when it was discovered I was blind, and my parents rejected that, which was very fortunate, but   Armando Contreras ** 33:32 yeah, and good for your parents. And that's how it started, right? I think, I think a lot of nonprofits started in that way, but back in 1949 that's when a group of parents got together and said, we have to do something more right. Then today, we've evolved where we're in the disability world, there's greater access than there was before, there's more inclusion than there was before, right? We're trying at least that used because UCP national and our affiliates, we're trying to help people be more independent, if it's through legislation, research, therapies, everything that we're trying to do. And we're very we're very centric to those issues that are out there, and we're trying to make a huge difference. So what I'm looking at is, I'm looking at another 75 years and that United Cerebral Palsy. One we're trying to in here. Four goals. One is brand awareness. Also let folks know about our 75th year anniversary. But one of the bigger things Michael that is the challenge for us is that United Cerebral Palsy serves children and adults with cerebral palsy and other conditions, so we're trying to bring that message out. And figuring out, how can we let the community know that if your child has Down syndrome autism, that we are there providing vital services for for them as well. The next goal is development, or what we just spoke about, connecting with the philanthropic community, because we, while a lot of our affiliates rely on government funding and reimbursement, I believe that there's another level that we have to engage with, and that's the philanthropic community right. There are millions and millions of dollars. Michael, I go to this to a an event called the heckling event in Orlando, I've been going there for now five years, and those professionals that are working with Planned Giving, some of them will come to me and say that their clients don't know where to give their money to. That's why we're present there, and that's why other profits are there too, as well. Is that we need to educate the community that that you can actually invest in something that's going to bring back this return of investment, but more of a humanity return, and something that's going to be great for society. The other goal that we have is advocacy. So we're known throughout the federal government, the Biden administration, as well as the Trump administration community, communicated with us, especially during COVID So we had communications with the White House. We still do. We're engaged at the Congress and Senate level with various representatives and senators to make sure that they create legislation that's going to be beneficial for our for the for the disability community, and that we don't ever go back to the institutions that that would be their only option. Unfortunately, Michael, today, there's still institutions that exist, not as many as before, but there's still institution the last goal we have is to grow our footprint, not only nationally, but but internationally. So we're having discussions locally, in places that were not present, to grow our footprint, to see how we can collaborate. We're also having, I'm having conversations with people on the global level, like the International cerebral palsy society, like aacpdm, the Academy for cerebral palsy. I've been invited twice, once, well, I got invited last year to the International Congress on cerebral palsy in Mexico City, I got invited again. I was their president, and I gave a speech. And I got invited again this year, in March, I'll be in medida Yucatan at an international congress again, and that brings a lot of awareness for us, brand awareness, and the main thing is really collaboration. So I kind of touched upon some of the some of the goals, Michael, and some of the things that important things and vital things that our affiliates are doing. So if there's, if there's something else that you want me to elaborate, I'd be glad, more than glad to do. So how are   Michael Hingson ** 38:19 you working toward creating more and better brand awareness to the general population?   Armando Contreras ** 38:27 Well, one of the things that we're doing, given that we have this window of opportunity that we're celebrating our 75th year, and that begins in that started in February, and we'll go all the way through January 31 is that one, we have a lot of partners out there that are doing things like you're doing access to be right, that invited me on this program. And that's one of the beautiful things that in social media, it's not it's not very expensive for us to be out there. So we're using the media vehicles such as LinkedIn, Facebook and the others that are out there. And we're also using YouTube to spread the message out there. So we're we're also sharing the stories of our affiliates and their accomplishments and the people that are being served, the parents and their children, so they can share those great stories that sometimes are miracle stories because of the people that are serving them and providing quality services, care and love. So that's one vehicle. The other one is that I I was on 26 I traveled to 26 locations last year, so I'm also providing that message out there. And then within our affiliate network, they're also doing marketing, and they're doing. Brand awareness as well. So it's a whole it's really this whole core nation that we want, not only the nation, no, but globally. Let the people know who is you at UCP and United Cerebral Palsy,   Michael Hingson ** 40:16 what caused UCP to add in as part of the services that are provided, services for people with downs and autism, as opposed to just UCP   Armando Contreras ** 40:32 or UCP. Yeah, so if I go back to when I was at the local United Cerebral Palsy the UC central Arizona. It just happened to be that the programs, the same programs that were provided for children and adults with cerebral palsy, also were beneficial to other conditions. I'm not a researcher, but when there's a breakthrough in cerebral palsy or in autism or in a different condition, they try to see if that same breakthrough will help people with different conditions. What we do know is that the therapies that are being offered to children and adults with cerebral palsy, those same types of therapies are also impactful to other conditions. So what was happening is that, then parents started to to, I guess, the word went out, and what we have across the board in the United States is that we have a high percentage of non cerebral palsy clients, or we'll call them family members, that are are getting services because that's much needed. One Michael is like respite, like respite care. You know any, any family can use that rest, that respite care, no matter what the condition is. So if you're offering that, then you can offer it to the disability community, a broad range of of people that have various conditions,   Michael Hingson ** 42:13 which makes perfect sense, because a lot of the care that needs to be provided is very similar. Well, or is the same? Yes, well, you know, you, I understand, had a an involvement with cancer, and you survived that. How has that affected you and in your attitude? Because, clearly, you're a very sensitive person and very much involved in community and family and helping people. But what, what was the whole situation with you in cancer?   Armando Contreras ** 42:42 You know, I think it's that. I think that's, it's the experience that all people go through when they first hear that you have cancer, right? First thought is, are you going to survive? You know, the first, first thing that comes to you is that it's, it's terminal, right? You're not going to get through it. You know this when you hear news like that, and you know, maybe it's the same as parents hearing that their child has cerebral palsy or disability, you know, you just, you just, it's a scary moment. It's a scary time. So what? Yeah, it was a difficult time for me and for my family, especially, I think my family knowing that I had transitional carcinoma, high grade, and it was a it was a tumor in my bladder that was nine and a half centimeters. I haven't really talked about it a lot, but it's been 10 years. So February, when I had seen that as a suggestion, like you want to talk about that, my first thought was, No, I think I'm going to skip it. But a few seconds later, I said, maybe it's time for me to share with the community, because it's been 10 years since I was diagnosed so and I'll try to make this short, I got diagnosed huge tumor. They had asked me if I wanted that tumor to be taken out, otherwise I could die. And I said, of course. So they took out the tumor. I had a brilliant surgeon that did that. And then after that, they basically said to me that if I don't, if I don't do radical surgery, taking out my bladder, taking out some lymph nodes, my prostate, that I wouldn't live very long, that I had really, like a 35% chance or less to live. So I had said that I wanted to put a pause on this rush, and that perhaps there's an option out there, perhaps there was another way, because I knew that billions of dollars have been raised for cancer. And maybe because this is a whole new journey for me, that the cure was somewhere out there. Well, after going to five different doctors for second opinions, they all said the same to me, that I only had one choice, and that choice radical surgery. And even after that, even after that, I was still I was confused, I was scared, but I was still. There was a pause that I felt that maybe there was something out there. So thanks to my sister, she really saved my life. She connected me with the scientists that she was researching, and that scientist said, you know, I only, I've only done lab studies on this particular oil called frankincense oil. I haven't done any clinical studies, and today, Michael, there's still no clinical studies on frankincense oil. So I started doing that three months after they they took the tumor out. I had 20 more tumors come back in my bladder. But they were small. They were lesions. So I just asked them to scrape, scrape them. The doctors were furious with me. I get it. I mean, that was, that was a protocol. I totally get it, you know. But something, people say that I had a lot of courage. I'm not sure if it was, like just something, it could have been something was telling you. I mean, I definitely there was a lot of prayer during that time. Yeah, a lot of prayer happening at that time. I just couldn't see myself dying, and I didn't want that to happen. So just to kind of, like, kind of close on this is that when those 20 tumors came back, they scraped them. They were supposed to be a lot more coming back, or it was going to invade my body. Three months later, I had nothing, absolutely nothing. Three months after that, I had six lesions come back, and that was March of 2015, so it's been nine years since the last reoccurrence. It's been 10 years since I was diagnosed, and I get checked very often. Once a year in the beginning, I would go in and get checked every three months. So it's been quite the miracle. But I have to say, this is that one I changed. I had changed my diet at the time for about four and a half years, I was strictly doing a lot of juicing, no sugar, a lot of prayer, a lot of family love, a lot of support. I did the frankincense oil. So I think in a comprehensive way, that helped me, and that gave me another option. And I'm very grateful for that, and I'm very grateful that every day I wake up and I say to God, thank you for sparing me. But on the advocacy side, Michael, I just didn't leave it there. I've had conversations with with the with the University of Arizona, with the Arizona State University, with Cancer Centers of America, with St Joseph's Hospital, with my alma mater, USC, and the last conversation I had was with Georgetown University, and these were top CEOs. And I was sharing my documentation, because I have it all there. But sadly, I have to say that they're not interested. They're not interested in a cure, and I'll continue to pursue it when the opportunity continues on, but it's only my story, and I didn't want to leave it where. Well, Lord, thank you so much. You know it never came back, so thank you. No, I have a responsibility to figure out some ways, somehow, that my my story, can turn into a clinical study, and that someday, and maybe not in my my time, that there's going to be an option for millions of people that will contract cancers. So that's my story in a nutshell. Thank you for asking.   Michael Hingson ** 49:04 So what did the frankincense oil actually do? I assume that you feel it was a very significant part of your ability to deal with it.   Armando Contreras ** 49:12 Yeah, it's a good question, because medically, I can't tell you, because we haven't done right? Yeah, we haven't done clinical studies. And I've been, I've been asking these universities and these hospitals and these cancer firms, you know that are out there, and said, Why don't we do the clinical studies so you can so you can see exactly what it did. I can't tell you that what it did. The only thing I can tell you is that is that as they, as they as they took samples of the cancerous tumors. So you had the big tumor, and then the 20 small tumors, and then you had the six lesions that, according to the scientists, dr, dr Lynn, HK Lynn, what he did see is that the cancer cells were becoming less aggressive. And at the end, some of the cancer cells actually turn into good cells. Now, you know, people can believe that or not. I'm I'm okay with that. Sure, only thing I'm saying, Michael is that there should be, there should be clinical studies on this, because I believe it would save hundreds of 1000s of lives. What was it? We don't know. Was it the combination? Is it the combination of me juicing on a daily basis for four and a half years? Was it that, as a Catholic, you know, I was going through all the different sacraments, prayers and healing masses? So I believe there was a holistic healing process. And then my family that was supporting me during a very difficult time,   Michael Hingson ** 50:49 sounds to me like it's time to write a book.   Armando Contreras ** 50:54 I've I've been asked many times, and I think when I think, when, when I feel that, that when I'm ready for that, that, yeah, that's that will happen.   Michael Hingson ** 51:03 Yes, you've got to, you've got to feel ready and feel that it's the right time. But that might be one way to bring visibility to it. Yes, well, you know, you you value family a lot. I understand that there are music connections in your family, has music always been a part of your life or   Armando Contreras ** 51:24 or, yeah, I think I think so. I think that. Well, I know so, because when I was the trumpet player, young trumpet player at St Lucy's Catholic Church, a few years later, my lovely wife, Norma, joined the choir. I didn't know she was married, but she joined the choir. And you know, we have this thing that she doesn't agree with me, but I say, hey, when I when I met you, when I seen you, was love at first sight. And and I said, but not for you. It took a while. And she says, no, no, but so So music, I was playing trumpet, normal was singing. And then later we got married, and then we had our first child. Was Andrea, Andrea Michelle, our daughter, our beautiful daughter, who's with child today, her and her husband, Fabian. So she knew that in our home there was a lot of music happening, and if it was church or at home. And then our second child, Armando, Michael, he started catching on a little bit, but we started to notice that he started to sing and sing right in tune. And then we said, hey, maybe there's something here. So his first recital in Los Angeles, he's saying pop by the Sailor Man and over the rainbow. And he did pretty good. So later he joined as a as a young child, you know, five years old, he joined the choir at St Lucy's. And then we moved. We moved from, we moved from Los Angeles over to Phoenix, Arizona, which was a great blessing being here. And we then were exploring how we can continue to support his talent. And he joined the Grammy Award winning Phoenix boys choir, and that's where he began to sing. Got to meet some wonderful people. They had wonderful directors there, and had a great experience. That experience led him to fall in love with the classics. Oh, there he began to be part of some of the local, local opera performances. So to make a long story short, Norma, my wife and I supported him. He went to the Cleveland Institute of Music, from there in vocals, and then from there, he went to the University of Missouri in Kansas City for his masters. And today he's a professional opera singer. He's a baritone. So it's it's been amazing. All our kids are amazing. I also have to mention that our youngest Andrew, Matthew. He went to Gonzaga University and then graduated from Lewis and Clark in clinical psychology. He's worked with a lot of kids with disabilities. He's a drummer and he's a guitar player. So yes, music is a big part of our family.   Michael Hingson ** 54:28 Well, it is getting to be that time of the year that Gonzaga will become visible again as we get back down to march madness. I actually, I actually had the pleasure of going up there once to speak and and I hadn't really known a lot about Gonzaga at the time, and they were the ones who told me, however, one always said, Where is Gonzaga? You know what? What kind of a place is it? And so I've kept up with it ever since, but it is kind of funny that their basketball team is good. Yeah.   Armando Contreras ** 54:59 Yeah, it's a, it's a beautiful place. It's a great Jesuit university. We, I, you know, he had a great experience. This is Andrew. He had a great experience out there. So, yes, I totally agree. Yeah, we had a chance to go out to Bob, trying to remember the city here. Spokane, yeah, yeah, yeah. Spokane, various times with him,   Michael Hingson ** 55:25 that's pretty cool. Well, so is he professionally doing music now? No, so,   Armando Contreras ** 55:30 So Andrew, our youngest, he's professionally now a clinical psychologist. Ah, yeah, now and now. Armando, Michael, he is a professional opera singer, right? And that's what he does. So, you know, his, his, one of his dreams, is going to be singing at the Metropolitan Ooh, we do see that perhaps happening within a year or two, because they he'll be, right? He'll be auditioning for that, probably very soon, and he's very young. He's just 34 years old.   Michael Hingson ** 56:03 So that'd be super What would you like people to know about the disability community in general, when we think about disabilities, you know, when there's so many prejudices, what would you like people to know and in terms of disabilities and how to maybe change attitudes, yeah,   Armando Contreras ** 56:23 well, they're definitely part of the fabric of society, and we, nobody, not me, or anybody else in in any organization, can speak for them. We need to allow for them and give them that opportunity and space to voice their concerns, to voice whatever joy they have, to voice things that we need to hear in our community. We have to provide while we're here in the United States, and there's been laws that have been enacted, enacted that laws now have to be updated. We have antiquated laws that do not even pay people with disabilities even minimum wage, right? So, so that we really have to be conscious of a community that is part of our society. We need to engage. Furthermore, we have to collaborate. We need them as public, public officials. They need to run for office, right? Some of them do. They have to be part of the decision making, decisions that are being made from all levels of government, all levels of corporation, all levels of nonprofits. And that's the way, that's the way I really see it. Is that, and we also have to have breakthroughs in research, right? What are some of the things that that we can do so we can those lives can be more that they would have more of a more access, right? That even if you go to certain states in the United States that I've been, there's not even accessibility for wheelchairs. And just speak about the airlines, right? How, how and why are people thinking in those corporations that a person that has a disability can easily go into their bathrooms. There's no way, right flying, especially if it's a long flight. So no, there's, there's been some great things Michael that have, that have evolved and happened through a collaboration of a lot of advocates, and a lot of them are self advocates, but we still have a long way to go.   Michael Hingson ** 59:08 Yeah, and I think that's absolutely true. So what is UCP Inc doing to celebrate its 75th anniversary? What kinds of plans do you have and where do you go from here?   Armando Contreras ** 59:19 Well, we do have a an annual conference coming up in Orlando, and this year in April. So that's a good thing for us, you know. But the bigger thing for us is to celebrate is really bringing that education, bringing that awareness of what we're doing, not only in here in the United States, but we also have affiliates in Canada. So as we celebrate, part of our celebration is educating the society about exactly what we do and please, you know, knock on our door for for help. So that's that's really part of it. The other part of it is acknowledge. Gene, the folks that started UCP back in 1949 right? Like the, like the golden sins, and also the housemans and many others that that have helped us get through the 75 years.   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:18 Yeah, well, it's, a great milestone to be able to celebrate 75 years, and I am sure that you, with your background, is very concerned about making sure that there is great sustainability for the future, which is really important and cool that you're thinking about that, because it's something that always needs to be with us in whatever we're doing. That's a good thing. Any kind of last thoughts that you have that you want to convey to people who are listening or watching us.   Armando Contreras ** 1:00:51 Yes, one is first, I want to share my gratitude for inviting me, Michael. And then second, please reach out to us the disability community. Please find us@ucp.org we may be in your backyard. If there are organizations out there that want to become an affiliate of United Cerebral Palsy, please reach out to us as well. We are here. We want to continue to be here for the next 75 years, so that our community can be part and be an inclusive part of our society. That we can bring that help, bring that independence, but we can continue to see those miracles, that children that we're told, and families that were told that they would never walk. I've seen them walk, and were physicians that said to a mom and dad that their child would never move or never speak, and I've seen them hug their parents and tell them that they love them, right? And we want to continue to make those miracles happen through therapies, through early detection, through early intervention, all these forms of of of a reach that we have through United Cerebral Palsy in the United States and Canada and and watched for us in the near future as we begin to go global, and that's really a vision that that I have. But and also, again, is that it's important to know that we know that I know that, Michael, you know that is that everybody is a fabric at society, some way, somehow, no matter their abilities. And that's really important, important message for people to know.   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:43 I agree. Well, I want to thank you for being here with us and conveying all this information, and I hope people will take it to heart and that they'll support UCP and and reach out and learn more about the organization and that you are doing, and will continue to do a lot to just help people in general, with disabilities, which is cool. I appreciate that, and I want to thank Go ahead. No, no.   Armando Contreras ** 1:03:10 I just wanted to thank and I also want to thank accessibe, right? That's how we got here. So I really thank them for what they're doing and providing. I love their model that they have. They have a for profit, a for profit model. However, the services that they, that they provide for nonprofits, are free, and that's that's amazing. So we're really happy with the services, the access services for websites, the accessibility that they're providing for people in the disability community to have that access. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:48 thank you, and we're excited about the time ahead and and I think that's that's a good thing, and we'll all work to make it happen. Well, I want to thank everyone who was listening and watching today. We really appreciate it. I hope that you'll give us a five star rating wherever you're observing our podcast. We value that. Love it. If you'd reach out to me, give me your thoughts, your opinions and Armando for you and for all of our guests, our listeners and so on today, if you know of anyone else who ought to be a guest on unstoppable mindset, please let us know. Provide introductions. We're always looking for guests. You can reach out to me directly at Michael H, i@accessibe.com that's m, I, C, H, A, E, L, H, I at accessibe, A, C, C, E, S, S, I, B, e.com, or go to our podcast page, www dot Michael hinkson.com/podcast, and Michael Hinkson is spelled M, I C, H, A, E, L, H, I N, G, S o, n.com/podcast, so we really do value all the thoughts and and information and suggestions that people provide. Yeah, as I think I've mentioned to many of you before, I also do travel and speak, especially after September 11, 2001 if anyone needs a speaker, please reach out. You can get me easiest at speaker at Michael hingson.com but however you do it, you've got all sorts of ways to reach out to me. Love to hear from you. And you know, once again, Armando, I want to thank you very much for being here, and thank you for all of your time today.   Armando Contreras ** 1:05:24 Michael, thank you many blessings to you and your family, and many blessings to everybody out there who is going to listen to this podcast interview.   Michael Hingson ** 1:05:39 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com . AccessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for Listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.

In this episode of the Work at Home Rockstar Podcast, host Tim Melanson interviews Remi Leibovic, a content marketer and owner of RCL Media. Remi shares her journey, highlighting a recent success with the Latina Entrepreneur Training Program through the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in New Jersey. The episode delves into the unique aspects of RCL Media's approach, including on-site content creation and comprehensive social media management. Remi also opens up about challenges she's faced, such as dealing with QuickBooks, and lessons learned from those experiences. The conversation shifts to practical advice on maintaining social media relevance, the importance of consistent practice, and the critical distinction between fans and audience. Remi discusses her upcoming masterclasses aimed at helping various business sectors improve their social media strategies and emphasizes the need for businesses to stay authentic and engage consistently. Who is Remi Leibovic? Remi Leibovic, MCM, is the founder and CEO of RCL Media, a Latina-owned social media agency based in New Jersey. Specializing in social media outreach and creative content, she helps businesses boost their visibility and drive sales. With a Masters in Communication Management from Rutgers University, Remi is passionate about leveraging the power of storytelling and content creation to foster meaningful engagement between businesses and their target audiences. Connect with Remi Leibovic: Website: https://rclmedia.net/home Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rclmediaofficial/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rcl-media-llc/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rclmediaofficial YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@rclmediallc I love connecting with Work at Home RockStars! Reach out on LinkedIn, Instagram, or via email. Website: https://workathomerockstar.com WHR Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/workathomerockstar Feel free to DM us on any of our social platforms: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/workathomerockstar Email: tim@workathomerockstar.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timmelanson In this Episode: 00:00 Introduction to Today's Guest 00:23 A Story of Success 02:43 Overcoming Business Challenges 09:16 The Importance of Practice 16:26 Engaging with Your Audience 22:46 Exciting Business Updates 33:31 Conclusion and Farewell

How do repeat business and trust impact a successful real estate career? In this episode of the Real Estate Excellence Podcast, Paula and Antonio Pou, share their extensive 25-year journey in the Northeast Florida real estate market. With over $17 million in sales volume in 2023 alone, they talk about their successful partnership in real estate, the importance of mentorship, the power of building lasting relationships, and staying educated on the latest market trends. Paula and Antonio Pou are both Latino back ground. Antonio was born and raised in PR, he ios of Colombian parents born in NY and have lived in Jax since 1984.  He started his real estate career since 1999 at the young age of 23 and has been his life long career. They average about 1 sale per week for the last 10 years selling over 10 million a year, this career is their passion and they are a power team that loves to help their customers and making dreams come true. Taking every challenge in this market and turning these challenges into opportunities to thrive. Tune in to this episode as Paula and Antonio provides practical advice on how to use social media effectively, maintaining personal connections with past clients, and the value of building a supportive team!    00:00 - 03:40 Meet Paula and Antonio Pou ·        Introducing Paula and Antonio Pou, a powerhouse couple with over 25 years of experience in Northeast Florida real estate. ·        Consistently achieving million-dollar sales months. ·        Their journey from meeting at church in the early '90s, engaging in missionary work, to building a successful career in real estate. ·        Paula began her real estate career in 1989, while Antonio joined her in 2003, after working at the post office and a similar delivery company to UPS or FedEx. 03:41 - 15:14 Working as a Real Estate Team ·        Professional transition from a data entry role at Merrill Lynch to becoming a successful real estate agent. ·        They recounts early challenges, including working weekends and needing extensive support, which led to joining the well-regarded Watson Realty Corp. ·        Important elements that contributed to their success included: o   Mentorship; o   Supportive brokerage environment; and o   Intensive floor time for lead generation. ·        Dividing responsibilities based on their strengths, ensuring effective teamwork. ·        Trust, patient negotiation, and reliability are noted as key attributes that have fostered long-term client relationships and repeat business. 15:14 - 39:56 Balancing Work and Personal Life ·        The significance of establishing trust and connection with clients in the real estate industry. ·        Emphasizing the 'know, like, and trust' factor ·        Strategies for new agents, handling uncooperative agents, and the importance of personal and consistent client communication. ·        Experiences in handling short sales and foreclosures are shared, along with the benefits of expanding into investment properties. ·        The value of a long-term approach, genuine relationships, community involvement, and the pivotal role of real estate agents in the housing market. 39:56 - 44:46 Referral-Based Business and Past Marketing Efforts ·        The significance of long-term relationships in the real estate industry. ·        How real estate professionals benefit from nurturing friendships with clients, who may eventually provide referrals or repeat business. ·        Selling homes to multiple generations within the same families and highlight the flexibility and rewarding aspects of their work. ·        The value of community involvement and how their business practices, including: o   Bilingual marketing strategies; o   Serve diverse client bases effectively. 44:46 - 57:18 Mentorship and Supporting New Agents ·        The importance of continuous training and relationship building in the real estate industry. ·        Their engagement with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and their dedication to monthly training to stay up-to-date with industry changes. ·        The value of attending training sessions and making personal connections with referrals, such as sending handwritten cards. ·        Mentoring new agents, helping them with practical advice such as partnering with loan officers and title companies. ·        The importance of being proactive and knowledgeable to effectively assist clients, ensure successful transactions, and foster long-term relationships. 57:18 - 01:07:06 Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways ·        The mindset behind using social media in real estate, emphasizing storytelling over simple posts. ·        The importance of short, engaging videos, and the need for captions. ·        The value of training, building a support network, and the importance of confidence for new agents. ·        Real-life examples illustrate how social media can build relationships and trust with clients, even from a distance. ·        Persistence and the joy of helping others in the real estate industry.   Quotes: "Get to know the customer, give them your strengths, that gives people confidence in you and they feel that they can trust you and get to know you a little better.” – Paula Pou “To me, it's very important to be trained and to be knowledgeable because that's the only way you can help your customer.” – Paula Pou “If we can help you and a client wants to buy an investment property but we see it's not a smart decision. We'd rather not sell it to them because we are actually helping them avoid a disaster and lose money.” – Antonio Pou   To contact Paula and Antonio Pou, learn more about their business, and make them a part of your network, make sure to follow them on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Website.   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pousellsjaxhomes/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paula.hernandezpou.9 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paula-pou-36b458159/ Website: https://thepouteam.yourfhrm.com   If you want to build your business and become more discoverable online, Streamlined Media has you covered. Check out how they can help you build an evergreen revenue generator all powered by content creation!   SUBSCRIBE & LEAVE A 5-STAR REVIEW as we discuss real estate excellence with the best of the best.

Durante el mes de la herencia hispana 2024 les invitamos conocer las historia de Alfonso Cornejo, , Presidente de la Cincinnati Hispanic Chamber USA.

ONE STORY A DAY / Una historia para cada Día es una iniciativa para celebrar el Mes de la Herencia Hispana 2024 de la Hispanic Chamber Cincinnati USA y MujerLatinaToday.com Daniel A. Minera es el director ejecutivo de Hispanic Chamber Cincinnati Foundation en Cincinnati, Ohio. Daniel comparte su llegada de Guatemala a los Estados Unidos, los valores de sus padres y su trasfondo cultural y cómo esto lo ha moldeado su vida actual. De igual forma, nos habla sobre su motivación para apoyar la educación en Cincinnati y comparte su mensaje como líder y miembro de la comunidad de Cincinnati, Daniel comparte un consejo a las personas y a la comunidad latina de Ohio. Conoce más sobre la Hispanic Chamber Cincinnati Foundation en www.hccincinnatifoundation.org

According to a poll from the Washington Post and Ipsos, approximately 6 in 10 Americans believe that diversity, equity, and inclusion programs are "a good thing." But Missouri is apart of a large number of states where anti-DEI bills are being introduced. Take a look back at our DEI conversations with professionals in the St. Louis area. This episode features Chief DEI Officer for Greater St. Louis, Inc., Valerie Patton, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro St. Louis' President & CEO, Martha Garcia-Kampen, and VP of DEI for Caleres, Amy Hunter. _ What were your thoughts on this episode? Visit ninepbs.org/listenstlouis and let us know. Subscribe to #NinePBS so you never miss an episode of the #CarolDanielPodcast! https://bit.ly/3OIXoWD     

Lindsay LaBennett's career journey is a reflection of her strong family influences and unwavering dedication to hard work and respect. Inspired by her mother's engineering background and her grandmother's farm upbringing, Lindsay developed a robust work ethic and a deep understanding of herself. Lindsay's interest in sports and entertainment grew through internships and her time as an Account Executive in Diversity Affairs at NASCAR, where she was the liaison between NASCAR and the NAACP, National Urban League, Council de La Raza and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. With a 14-year tenure at Wasserman, she's now the Vice President of Inclusion and Impact, channeling her experiences and values into creating a more inclusive environment, with a focus on diversity, equity, and social change in sports. "Diversity Beyond the Checkbox" is presented by The Diversity Movement and hosted by Inc 200 Female Founders award winner, Jackie Ferguson.  Follow Diversity: Beyond the Checkbox on LinkedIn, Instagram, X and YouTube. Check out exclusive bonus content on BeyondtheCheckbox.com! This show is proud to be a part of The Living Corporate Network and to be produced by Earfluence.

In his pursuit of justice, Hugo has received recognition from various entities. He was named Marketing Professional of the Year by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and was given the prestigious Trailblazer Award by the National Association of Minority Attorneys. Having achieved significant success in the marketing world, Hugo remains grounded and committed to his mission. He believes in the power of leveraging digital innovation to help law firms reach untapped markets and to bring justice closer to those who need it. Join us as we delve into the world of Spanish legal marketing for law firms with Hugo E. Gomez, a visionary who is rewriting the rules of legal marketing and ensuring that no community is left behind.

It's Fiesta time in San Antonio! First, we talk Fiesta favorites. Next, lots of interesting news from SAFC's leadership shared at a recent breakfast with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce downtown. A women's team? Feruzzi's role? We dig into the business of soccer. Then, we discuss SAFC's 0-0 forgettable draw with the OC. What's next? A Fiesta Road Trip to Hartford and Miami over the next 10 days. Then, we celebrate our new leader in the Puro Four aka Can You Beat a Six Year Old? Finally, free kicks in Wrexham and Boerne. Enjoy!

Today on Casting Confidential the roundtable is joined by special guest Elaine Del Valle. In this unfiltered conversation Elaine and the Casting Confidential Roundtable discuss just how well casting understands the challenges and obstacles actors face in the industry's rabid and ever changing landscape. This episode is a must listen!! Elaine is a native New York, Puerto Rican Casting Director and multi-hyphenate Storyteller. As a bilingual, with a keen eye and her pulse on the Latino community, Elaine was approached to source on-camera talent. Elaine is a member of CSA and has provided casting for high profile brands, agencies, and studios, including for Comedy Central and PBS Kids. Elaine is a recognized leader. She received the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Excellence in Arts award. She was a NY Board of Education Literacy Day Keynote Speaker. Her inspirational journey was featured in the PBS documentary series Beating The Odds and the NYC housing projects, where Elaine grew up named a park bench in her honor, recognizing her outstanding efforts to uplift the community.  ​ Her awards include the HBO Latinx Director award and from many festivals including SXSW, Urbanworld, Catalyst Stories, and Seriesfest.  ​ Elaine's feature film directorial debut is a genre dance-drama-thriller Tubi original, Midnight Hustle. Her second narrative feature, Between Rockaway and Mother Gaston, which she wrote and directed, is currently in post-production. The YA family drama shares Elaine's personal coming-of-age story and was filmed in New York and Puerto Rico. The story is adapted from Elaine's award-winning short film, autobiographical novel and Off-Broadway stage play, Brownsville Bred. Elaine is a WarnerMedia 150 Artist, Sundance Writer & Director Lab alumna, Shondaland Director finalist and two-time Lynn Shelton and Imagen Impact award nominee. Follow ⁠Elaine⁠ & ⁠Del Valle Casting⁠ ⁠Official Site⁠ CASTING CONFIDENTIAL: Join veteran casting director Rose Rosen and her dynamic panel of industry experts in a candid, no-holds-barred virtual round table discussion. Delve into the casting business in each weekly episode of the podcast, where we reveal  insights and stories from the fiercely guarded world of casting. Get ready to laugh, learn, and uncover the secrets behind the scenes that shape the creative content consumed worldwide.  What do casting directors truly wish producers understood? What brings them the greatest joy? And how can actors elevate their craft to stand out? "Casting Confidential" pulls back the curtain on the reality of survival in show business.  Do you have what it takes? Join the conversation and find out for yourself. Join us on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Casting Confidential Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Rose Rosen, CSA ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@roserosencsa⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Kimberly Skyrme, CSA ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@kimberlyskyrme⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Cheryl Louden-Kubin, CSA ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@loudenkubin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Kimberly Ehrlich, CSA ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@kimberlyehrlich4⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Robin Carus, CSA ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@robincarus⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Paisley Baker, CSA ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@coatcheck3⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Artwork by: Ace Anderson ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thestripedheart⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Music by: Orville Wright ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ohyeahbeats⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Produced by: Laura Linda Bradley ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@lauralindabradley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Hashtags: #castingconfidential #castingconfidentialpodcast #roseknows #actors **The opinions expressed in Casting Confidential podcast reflect only the opinions of each individual casting director. They do not reflect the opinions of any other official group or entity. Additionally, nothing in this show should be construed as an offer of employment.

MCALLEN, Texas - Among the sponsors of the Rio Grande Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce's “RGV Intergovernmental Update” luncheon were two top internet service providers in the region - AT&T and VTX1.As such, both were given the opportunity to have representatives speak from the podium at the start of the program. Mario Barragan, director of external and legislative affairs for AT&T in South Texas, spoke on behalf of his company. Barragan is a board member of the RGV Hispanic Chamber. Barragan said:“Similar to other areas in the state, our region is experiencing growth in a wide variety of ways. I think the McAllen, Edinburg, Mission area has experienced a population growth of over 12% and employment levels keep rising as well. It now accounts for a third of the workforce in South Texas. And when you have that type of population and employment growth, industry, investments and economic growth also follow suit. “AT&T is proud to have invested between 2020 and 2022 to over $90 million into our infrastructure in our wireless and wireline network here. And we're not nearly being done. And by the way, a lot of that investment has a lot to do with the leadership and advocacy of the elected officials that are going to be speaking here today. So thank you all for that. “But whether it's investing in our infrastructure or investing in collaborations with community nonprofits to help close the digital divide, we are very committed to continuing to help the RGV be a place where individuals, families and businesses thrive for decades to come. So again, just thank you all for being here. Thank you to the chamber for for bringing us all together, for our elected officials for spending the time with us today. And to all of you for being involved and being here.”Orlando Quintanilla, COO of VTX1, spoke on behalf of his company.Quintanilla said:“Just like our counterparts at AT&T, we want to make sure that we understand everything that's going on with our region. Having partnerships and being a part of the Hispanic Chamber is very important right to companies like ours, to make sure that we're meeting everybody and understanding what the needs are in our communities is very important. “And saying that, I am honored to stand here before everyone, as we gather to highlight the vertical government updates that we're looking to discuss. Ultimately, our presenters in the Rio Grande Valley are looking at the best interests of everyone here. VTX one also has a similar mindset. As Cynthia mentioned, I'm with VTX1 Internet, And as a Hispanic it fills me with great pride to be part of this event, to represent the RGV Hispanic Chamber. “Basically it's a platform that celebrates the richness of the culture that we share. So it's very important for us, At VTX1 Internet, we are more than just a service provider. We are dedicated to bridging the digital divide. We understand the importance of connecting today's world and we are committed to ensuring that every individual in the RGV has access to the resources and opportunities that the internet brings.”The lunch was held at the DoubleTree Suites by Hilton in Mcallen. The main part of the program featured a four-person panel. It comprised U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, state Sen. Juan Hinojosa, Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez, and McAllen Mayor Javier Villalobos. The moderator was Julian Alvarez, senior vice president of Lone Star National Bank.Go to the Rio Grande Guardian website to read the full story.To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

Martha Garcia-Kampen, president and CEO of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro St. Louis, discusses the impact of the St. Louis Hispanic Community. The discussion also explores myths and realities of the Latinx community.

In this episode, we are joined by guests JR Treviño, the Interim President and CEO of the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and Mark Vargas, a Master Plumber and the owner of Silverback Plumbing & Drain here in San Antonio. Tune in for a peek into San Antonio's business community! Join the "Let's Talk Business" podcast community on Patreon to engage with show hosts, guests, and fans. You'll also get exclusive content, member shoutouts on the show and early access to in-person events. Get access here: patreon.com/letstalkbusiness ▶ Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: https://goo.gl/dzqVGV ✅ Marc Ebinger, Crükus Marketing Agency

This week Austin Meek is in conversation with Eric Terrezas, Director of Economic Development for the Cen-Tex Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. They'll be discussing the emergence of the Latino business community and how Spanish speakers in the area will mold future development in Waco. In this episode Austin also chats to Kasia Krecicka, the new artist in residence at the Art Center of Waco. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, WYCE Station Manager Phil Tower welcomes Guillermo Cisneros, President & CEO of the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Founded in 2003, The West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is dedicated to working with all membersof the community to increase the economic advancement of Hispanic-owned businesses and to assist theprofessional growth of Hispanics in West Michigan. Online: West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Fasten your seatbelts Mission CTRL Nation  Andrea Torres-Fodor is our  special studio guest in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.  Andrea is the Relationship Marketing Manager at Newtown Savings Bank and serves as the President of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Greater Bridgeport.   In 2000, Fodor migrated from Quito, Ecuador with her family to the United States and like most immigrant families in pursuit of the American Dream, she was a focused leader at an early age.  Andrea had a vision of graduating from college, owning her own home, car and living on her own.  Tune in to hear how she ventured out in a foreign land on her own at 17 yrs to turn her dreams into reality.  Before our flight crew dives into the heart of the episode they spend time in the end zone talking discussing Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce relationship and the power of personal branding to drive sales of Kelce's Kansas City Chiefs jersey. . . . Find Mission CTRL on Anchor, Apple Podcast, Spotify, and our website. Mission CTRL aims to ignite the innovative spirit inside us all through providing budding and successful entrepreneurs and community leaders with a platform to share their stories and inspire others. Tune in every Wednesday and catch up with the team at Peralta Design as we unleash the origin stories behind some exceptional leaders, share marketing/branding insights, and navigate the ever-changing currents of pop culture. Subscribe for weekly branding and entrepreneurial content here!  To learn more about Peralta Design's work visit peraltadesign.com. #welaunchbrands #digitalagency #mbeagency #mbe #digital #branding #marketing #web #startups #creative #BrandU #w2 #fulltime #leadership #contentcreator #contentstrategy #marketingstrategy #entrepreneurs #business #launchyourbrand

Hey friends! Welcome back to another impactful episode of Fierce Calling. Today we have an incredible guest joining us: Janet Perez Eckles. Janet takes us on a deeply personal and inspiring journey, sharing her story of overcoming adversity and finding hope in the face of literal darkness. Janet's life seemed like a dream come true, but everything changed when she was diagnosed with a retinal disease that rapidly stole her sight. Her marriage was in turmoil and her hope waning. Then something amazing happened, she met Jesus. She would need him more than she would know. As she continues to share, we'll hear about Janet's unimaginable tragedy. Yet, with unwavering strength and the peace that comes from her trust in God, Janet navigated the darkest of times and learned the power of forgiveness, even towards the man who took her son's life. Throughout this episode, Janet shares how her faith and unwavering belief in God's promises carried her through the most challenging moments of her life. She'll also discuss the importance of having Christ at the center of our relationships and the incredible transformation that can occur when we truly seek God's guidance. Janet's story is a testament to the power of resilience, forgiveness, and the unwavering faith that can lead us through even the darkest of days. Get ready to be inspired, challenged, and moved as we dive deep into Janet Eckles' remarkable journey of faith and redemption. So grab your favorite beverage, find a cozy spot, and get ready for an episode that will leave you feeling empowered and uplifted! Grab Janet's Award-Winning Book, Now I See!   More About Janet! Blindness didn't slow her down, nor tragedy stop her. As an author, international speaker, and founder of JC Empowerment Ministries, Janet Perez Eckles gives a new meaning to God-given victory and success. She overcame not only the loss of her eyesight at 30, but endured the loss of her youngest son to violence as well as the acquittal of the man responsible. But rather than sink as a victim, each episode from which she rose above showcases the value of faith, forgiveness and tenacity. Though her life includes tragedy, her message and her books showcase God's power to restore any setback, heal any heartache and calm any storm. Without physical eyesight, but with a clear vision, she travels across the U.S. and internationally to empower her English- and Spanish-speaking audiences. In addition to her own five books, her writings include 32 stories in Chicken Soup for the Soul titles, Guidepost Magazine, dozens of anthologies, Crosswalk.com and hundreds of print and online magazines. The media captures her compelling story as she's been featured on the cover of Hispanic Woman Magazine, 700 Club, Desperate America (Good Morning America), Lifestyle Magazine and Focus on the Family as well as dozens of national and regional media. Janet's work has been recognized by numerous awards including the Lifetime Achievement from the Hispanic Chamber of Commers of Central Florida, Latina Women who make a difference, Beyond Me Award, Professional Excellence and first runner-up for the Ms. Senior Florida pageant. Janet resides in Florida with her husband Dale, her adult children and delightful grandchildren. www.janetperezeckles.com Need Speakers for Your Events in 2024? If you're looking speakers for your events, did you know that both Janet and Doris are speakers? You can check out Janet's speaking page at womenspeakers.com here: https://www.womenspeakers.com/florida/orlando/speaker/janet-eckles , and find Doris's speaking page here: https://www.womenspeakers.com/florida/edgewater/speaker/doris-swift

David Thorne is CEO of Thumbscore, a financial wellness platform that reduces the stress of managing personal finance. Thumbscore solves for the workforce of millennials and Gen Z, who have strong financial literacy and positive financial habits but have high financial stress. In the episode, David explains why simple budgeting or micro-managing approaches are ineffective for these groups. They tend to be curious and want to be free to explore, but also value timely advice at the right moment. Thumbscore serves users at their 'financial moments of truth' providing insights, education, gamification, and the recommended next step to reduce financial stressors. Its customers are B2B2C insurance companies (for products), other financial products and services (emergency savings accounts, investments), and employers who wish to offer Financial Wellness as a Shared Service.  David is a nationally awarded software and data engineer. He was a corporate program manager for Boeing before starting his entrepreneurial journey, has an Executive MBA from Wichita State University and serves on the Hispanic Chamber board and on the Gathered board, a foster care nonprofit.  This episode was recorded live at Insurtech Insights New York 2023 in conjunction with InsurTech Association and our friends Joanna England Sebastian Tollak Megan Kuczynski. Follow the Insurtech Leadership Podcast airing weekly hosted by Joshua R. Hollander. We give you up-close access and personal insights from the leaders of the fastest-growing #insurtechs and most innovative #insurance carriers and brokers.

SHENIX™ is an innovative financial company built by Latinas/x, for Latinas/x, providing culturally relevant financial services to the Latina/x community to help them accelerate their economic and social transformation while prioritizing their cultural mindset. SHENIX™ offers financial education, digital financial services, career planning, and salary negotiation resources, and access to investment advisory services that support Latinas/x life goals.Their mission is to address Latina Equal Pay Day and support Latinas in closing the wealth gap, the widest faced by any group in the U.S. SHENIX™ is supported by the University of Illinois System, U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce LatinX Incubator, Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement, LatinaStyle Magazine, TechRise by P33, and is a member of 1871—Chicago's premier technology and entrepreneurship Center. Negocios Now National Hispanic Business Publication listed FARO Associates DBA SHENIX™ in its “50 Most Powerful Business in Illinois.”You can follow SHENIX™ on Instagram, Facebook & LinkedIn. Check out the SHENIX™ app.For full episode show notes, visit here.Loving episode 224? Leave us a review if you're listening on Apple Podcasts and follow us on Instagram & YouTube! Until next time, stay empowered, stay inspired and #staypoderosa ✨ WANT TO KICKSTART YOUR FINANCIAL JOURNEY?Download our FREE 14-page guide covering all the topics you need to start making your dinero moves. Visit here. From money mindset, to budget basics, we've got you covered.Check out this YQD™ Sponsor:BetterHelp—Professional support when you need it, at the fraction of the cost of in-person therapy. Get 10% off your first month with our sponsor: https://betterhelp.com/dinero Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/YoQuieroDinero. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jorge is a non-profit management professional who, for the last three years, has led Delmar Divine, a transformative project in North St. Louis City that provides shared space and myriad capacity building tools to 33 nonprofit organizations that collectively serve over 250,000 in the St. Louis MSA. He began his nonprofit career as CEO of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro St. Louis which, during his tenure, increased membership and revenue by 40% and spearheaded growth of Hispanic business in the St. Louis metro area.

Despite facing contention and bipartisan challenges, AJ Rodriguez leads Texas 2036 in achieving record-breaking funding for education, healthcare, natural resources, and infrastructure during the state's regular legislative session. In this episode, you will be able to: Discover the power of data in shaping policy solutions with Texas 2036 as a case study. Understand the role of regionalism in overcoming housing and transportation issues. Examine the need for constitutional reform in addressing state growth complexities. Investigate San Antonio's increasing importance in the advanced manufacturing sector. Contemplate the idea of a floating pay scale for enhancing the compensation of elected officials. Meet AJ Rodriguez, a passionate advocate for data-driven policy solutions and the Executive Vice President of Texas 2036, a nonpartisan public policy think tank. With his extensive background in both public service and the private sector, AJ's leadership and experience bring a unique perspective to the table. Previously, he served as the President and CEO of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in San Antonio and as the Deputy City Manager under City Manager Cheryl Scully. AJ has a knack for making big-picture policy ideas a reality, and his dedication to bipartisan cooperation makes him a key player in Texas' future growth.

What do advocacy and support look like for Hispanic Business Enterprises (HBEs) so they can actually have equitable access to procurement opportunities? Meet Alma Del Toro, Co-Founder of BlueWave, a Supplier Development Program designed to strengthen Latino-owned businesses and get them BIG BUSINESS READY. In this episode of I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY, Alma shares how she partnered up with Co-Founder Eduardo Nuñez, also a former C-Level executive in the oil industry to create this much-needed training and capacity building curriculum to help business owners like me attain the required documentation and knowledge to align with the rules and regulations of most procurement departments in Corporate America – across all industries. URBANDER had the privilege to participate in Blue Wave's first cohort with the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce sponsored by JPMorgan Chase. I'm very grateful to have been nominated by my cheerleader at Chase here in Orlando, Janice Lopez, and to have been accepted into the program. Access to this type of resource and support to scale in a significant way can be costly and difficult to secure. As we look forward to celebrating the upcoming celebration of URBANDER's quinceañero in business, I'm delighted that we were the recipient of this invaluable gift in the form of BlueWave's hands-on guidance. The initial self-assessment was extremely helpful in benchmarking our procurement readiness, and each session was a masterclass in compliance, policies, and procedures. I vividly recall when we were encouraged to access BlueWave's Document Library to see samples of how to implement best practices in operating a business. I was in disbelief and nearly cried; it was the first time in 15 years that I have received such a generous amount of assistance accompanied by Alma's outstanding level of coaching. Result: URBANDER received the PLATINUM badge – whoot whoot! This experience has been transformational, and I know that URBANDER, as well as the rest of my comrades in this cohort, will now have the tools and knowledge to seek opportunities that will exponentially grow our businesses. Alma Del Toro and Eduardo Nuñez, your leadership, authenticity, and selflessness does not go unnoticed. URBANDER's forthcoming quantum leap is part of Blue Wave's legacy, and it will impact wealth creation in our families for generations to come.

  Eddie Aldrete was just living his life in a suburban part of Washington DC, but he unexpectedly found himself at the forefront of bridging the US-Mexico relations. His career has taken him on a journey of advocating for a more inclusive and economically prosperous future, earning him respect from both sides of the border. What impact will Eddie's unique perspective have on the future of US-Mexico relations? In this episode of big city small town with Bob Rivard, we will: Delve into the complexities of US-Mexico relations, focusing on immigration, border security, and economic possibilities. Discover the strategies to reinforce San Antonio's cross-border business partnerships for enhanced economic growth. Uncover the potential benefits and drawbacks associated with local charter reform initiatives. Get an insider's look at Eddie Aldrete's new podcast, Beyond the Bite, and the exploration of the intersection between politics and business. Analyze the influence of Proposition A on policing policies and crime rates in San Antonio. Eddie Aldrete is well-known for his deep understanding of the intricate US-Mexico relationship, providing valuable insight on cross-border trade, immigration, and border security. With over 16 years of experience as a Senior Vice President for Laredo-based International Bank of Commerce, Eddie has been a trusted advisor to government and business leaders in both countries. He has also served as the Chairman of the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the National Immigration Forum. Eddie's background in journalism and his pro-business centrist views have made him an in-demand communications consultant in Texas business circles. The resources mentioned in this episode are: Establish a more comprehensive and functional immigration reform system that addresses the resumption of skilled workers obtaining visas and creates a more orderly system for asylum seekers. Assign U.S. embassies abroad to handle asylum seekers in their home countries to prevent the dangerous and life-threatening journeys to the U.S. border. Focus on the root of the immigration problem by working with countries of origin to address crime, corruption, and lack of economic opportunity. Renew and maintain the relationship between San Antonio and the Mexican government, regardless of political differences, to ensure continued collaboration and success for both cities and states. Move offshore jobs from Asia to Mexico and Central America to address supply chain issues, stop underwriting China's militaristic growth, and contribute to a solution to the waves of immigrants at the U.S. border. Invest in collaborative startup communities like Geekdom in San Antonio to support entrepreneurs and help startups launch, creating job opportunities and generating revenue for the city. Visit www.geekdom.com to arrange a visit to the collaborative startup community in San Antonio and explore the opportunities for entrepreneurs and startups to grow and succeed. San Antonio's Relationship with Mexico San Antonio has a rich history when it comes to its connection with Mexico. This connection dates back to the time before Mexico was even established as a country, when San Antonio was a part of New Spain. Over the years, the city has cultivated its bonds with Mexico through business, political, and cultural interactions. This has given rise to a special relationship, which is vital to the economic and social growth of the region, as well as providing a way for both nations to resolve their key concerns. In the podcast, Eddie Aldrete talks about the significance of San Antonio's relationship with Mexico and the need to rekindle the exchange of ideas and experiences. In the past, San Antonio mayors would visit Mexico through the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce's annual trips to meet with the Mexican president, thus building stronger ties between the two nations. Aldrete believes that resuming these trips would help in enhancing the existing bond and open more doors for collaboration on various fronts.

In this 100th episode, it is my honor to have coffee with special guest Lourdes Mola, Founder and President of Lourdes Mola Solutions. Lourdes cut her teeth in leadership roles at the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line and Celebrity Cruise Lines in Miami, which led her to Walt Disney World where she was on the opening team of the Disney Cruise Line. In her 20-year tenure at Disney, Lourdes led several areas in sales, marketing, public affairs, minority business development, and corporate citizenship, where she was exposed to a myriad of significant local and international businesses, nonprofits, and professional associations. After more than 25 successful years working in Fortune 500 companies and having led one of the largest chambers of the country - the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, of Metro Orlando and other non-profit organizations, Lourdes mines deep expertise from working with the brightest minds across Florida and the U.S., to help her clients optimize their profits. In 2021, Lourdes was named “CEO of the Year” by Orlando Magazine and in 2020, she was named a “Women Who Means Business” by the Orlando Business Journal for her contributions to Central Florida. In 2016, she was named “Entrepreneur of the Year” by the Women's Executive Council and then again by I4 Business Magazine in 2021. Lourdes takes pride in supporting her community and providing positive andinspirational guidance to the next generation of entrepreneurs, business developersand innovators. Most recently she chaired the Heart of Florida United Way's“Women United” movement to raise funds for awareness and programs aboutmental health in Central Florida. She has served on numerous nonprofit boards,including the Central Florida Economic Development Commission, Orlando EconomicPartnership, Prospera, Hispanic Heritage Scholarship Fund of Metro Orlando, CentralFlorida Foundation and Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Orlando and appointed by two governors to serve on the board of the Early Learning Coalition of Orange County.Lourdes is also sharing her experience and expertise to help women entrepreneurs as a Regional Director of Strategic Partnerships and Community Outreach for Women's Business Enterprise Council (WBEC). WBEC is the largest certifier of women-owned businesses in the U.S. and a leading advocate for women entrepreneurs. For more information visit https://www.wbenc.org or contact Lourdes directly at lourdesmola@wbecflorida.orgI just know you'll feel as inspired as I did after this conversation with Lourdes. Join us for a cup of coffee and a whole lotta LeaderSips in this very special 100th episode. For more sips and tips, connect with me on social and follow @LeaderSips @Leadspirations and @LifeisGrit on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest. Learn more about me at karlynnholbrook.com

WSB hears from Mary Beth Stevens, President of the Better Business Bureau and Terri Reed, Vice President of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce to talk about the forward thinking ways of replenishing businesses post-pandemic.About Us:WSB is in full force addressing these workforce situations. If you'd like to join us in our mission to connect people to opportunity by providing not just individual solutions but systemic problem-solving for our communities, you know where to sound off.We don't always have a choice in the situations we face – but you do have a choice in subscribing to Solutions. Join the Workforce Situation Room on your favorite podcast platform and hit subscribe where you'll find a solution, to every situation.Production By: @ProducerAlayna

On today's community focused episode, Bingham Group CEO A.J. speaks with Monica Muñoz Andry, President and CEO of the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (GAHCC). Monica joined the GAHCC on August 1, 2022. She and A.J. discuss her path to the position, the GAHCC's history, and current and future Chamber initiatives. Founded in 1973, GAHCC's primary goal is to continue the advancement and progression of a strong and stable economic culture for Hispanic businesses. The Chamber strives to reach these goals by developing business, management skills, and bridging access to financial capital while maintaining our cultural values and integrity. Monica's bio: https://bit.ly/3FlLqNW She can be reached at: monicaa@gahcc.org ABOUT THE BINGHAM GROUP, LLC Bingham Group works to advance the interests of businesses, nonprofits, and associations at the municipal and state level. View our services here -> https://bit.ly/3H7xyXC Follow Bingham Group on LinkedIn at: https://bit.ly/3WIN4yT Connect with A.J. on LinkedIn at: https://bit.ly/3DlFiUK Contact us at: info@binghamgp.com We are a HUB/MBE-certified Austin lobbying firm. www.binghamgp.com

When my guest, Fernando Mendez, says “just put a microphone in front of me and I'm ready to talk” he's not kidding. I've had the privilege of knowing (and respectfully listening to) Fernando for many years. Fernando is a News and Political expert, covering World News for decades. Fernando has been a respected multi- cultural journalist, columnist, and talk-show host. You may have read Fernando's perspectives in Print (El Tiempo Latino/Latin Times, El Sol Latino Newspaper), watched Fernando on Television (“En Portada,” on Telemundo), heard Fernando's voice on NFL Films, or networked with Fernando (via Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Mexican Cultural Center.) Most recently, Fernando Mendez is currently found on USALA Media- hosting is Current Events/ Political Talk Show “Compass”, where I have been lucky to be a guest. What impresses me most, and what you will hear during our interview: is that Fernando is never afraid to share what matters to him, regardless of how controversial that opinion happens to be. Fernando is passionate, educated, and a great listen! I would highly recommend you give a listen to our new episode. Enjoy!

Jose Ponce, a new board chairman with the Hispanic Chamber and realtor with STL Gold Homes, joined KMOX alongside Facundo Oyenard of Broker Azteca Insurance LLC to talk about the Hispanic Chamber President leaving after just one year.

[WLHA 012]: We Live Here Auténtico! | The Hispanic Chamber | Connection and Community Central Today we spend time with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan St. Louis - a connection and central resource in the St. Louis region for 40 years. From the Latino Festival in O'Fallon, the Hispanic festival in Florissant, dance clubs in mid-town and cuisine from restaurants representing many different countries, St. Louis' Latino culture is booming and is a vibrant reflection of our growing Hispanic population. The median age of Hispanic St. Louisans is 25 compared to 36 of the general population and the percentage of Latinos in the region roughly doubled. Most of the growth in the past 20 years has come in Madison, St. Clair, St. Charles and St. Louis counties.  In St. Louis, Latino residents now account for more than 5% of the city's population. The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce purposely creates a safe and open environment for people that have similar backgrounds of experiences. The Chamber has specific tools that address some of the needs of the Hispanic community in our region. The staff is bilingual in Spanish and English, so they can help entrepreneurs in their preferred language.  Like other chambers, the Hispanic Chamber does not only serve Latino businesses, it serves everyone. Happy 40th Anniversary!! Mentioned in this episode: Leave a voice message. https://anchor.fm/autentico--podcast/message HCC website:  www.hccstl.com FB:  https://www.facebook.com/HCCSTL Insta:  @hccmetrostl LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/metrohccstl/ Eduardo Platon:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/eduardoplaton/ Sisi Beltran:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/sisibeltran/ Build  a bear: https://www.buildabear.com/ Wash U:  https://wustl.edu/ Hispanic Festival: https://www.hispanicfestivalstl.com/about Mural:  https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/local/hispanic-heritage-month-hispanic-artists-create-mural-st-louis-show-representation-offer-hope/63-53f8c3d1-c56f-4770-afd4-ee71e4065c5c Latinx Arts Network:  https://www.latinxstl.com/ https://instagram.com/latinxartsstl?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= Esmeralda Aharon:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/aharones/ Luisa Otera-Prado. https://www.linkedin.com/in/luferotero/ Carol Lara. https://www.linkedin.com/in/carol-lara/ https://www.instagram.com/carollaraphotography/ Ricardo Martinez. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ricardo-martinez-3609a0168/ Fernanda Estrada https://www.linkedin.com/in/fernanda-estrada-799a61138/ Brian Muñoz:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisismunoz/ Ricardo Garza:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/ricardo-garza-/ Club Atletico:  https://www.gobluebirds.com/news Karlos Ramirez:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/karlos-ramirez-8a872b8/ Midwest BankCentre: https://www.midwestbankcentre.com/ Asian American Chamber of Commerce:  https://aaccstl.org/ Heartland St Louis Black Chamber:  https://hbcstl.com/about-the-chamber/ Afghan Chamber of Commerce STL:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/afghan-chamber-of-commerce-stl/ Brian's article referenced: https://news.stlpublicradio.org/culture-history/2021-11-16/the-st-louis-region-is-already-home-for-many-latinos-and-more-are-moving-here Thank you so much for checking out this episode of “We Live Here Autentico”. If you haven't done so already, please take a minute and leave a quick rating and review of the show on Apple Podcasts by clicking on the link below. It will help us to keep delivering more ways to “WE” for you each week!

Alfonso Cornejo, presidente de la Hispanic Chamber Cincinnati USA conversa con Lorena Mora-Mowry sobre los logros del 2022 y de los planes para el 2023. Alfonso explica que uno de los logros significativos de la cámara hispana fueron las reuniones y eventos presenciales que se relaizaron durante el 2022. Para Alfonso el crecimiento de la población hispana que se muestra en los datos del Censo de 2020 y el impacto económico continuo en el área metropolitana de Cincinnati. Los hispanos han demostrado que estamos brindando la "energía" humana necesaria para hacer crecer a Ohio. De igual forma, Alfonso menciona el éxito de una serie de programas y eventos organizados por la Fundación de la Hispana Chamber Cincinnati USA.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is a hot topic and many organizations are making a real impact in this area. Joining Chris to discuss the recent resurgence of the Greater Lansing Hispanic Chamber are Matt Thornton, Owner of Scheme Team Consulting and Brent Forsberg, President of TA Forsberg!

May 4, 2022 Fostering a dynamic, diverse business community is key to the current and future success of Tampa Bay's economy. With Invest:Insights, President of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Tampa Bay Diane Cortes discussed the rapidly changing demographic landscape, creative ways the local hispanic business community is innovating in the region and avenues for incorporating underrepresented communities into the local job market.

On today's show, we catch up with Gil Jaramillo for the latest from the Tulare-Kings Hispanic Chamber of Commerce! Plus a look at agriculture news and another homeowner tip.

On this midweek show, Crystal chats with current Secretary of State Steve Hobbs about his campaign for Washington Secretary of State - why he decided to run for re-election, the threat of misinformation campaigns and cyber attacks on Washington's elections, how partisanship affects the office, and whether partisan attacks on his opponent are warranted. On the topic of elections, they discuss how he builds trust in the system in an environment of disinformation, addressing issues with disproportionate rates of signature rejection across the electorate, his plans to increase voter turnout, and his stance and approach to local jurisdictions potentially adopting alternative systems such as ranked choice voting. The conversation continues with the experience Secretary Hobbs brings to manage other components that fall under the Secretary of State's large umbrella and his vision to create greater accessibility for experiencing the state archives' historical records, resources for corporate and charity filings, and requesting governmental documents via public disclosure requests. As always, a full text transcript of the show is available below and at officialhacksandwonks.com. Follow us on Twitter at @HacksWonks. Find the host, Crystal Fincher, on Twitter at @finchfrii and find Secretary Steve Hobbs at @electhobbs.   Resources Campaign Website - Steve Hobbs   Transcript [00:00:00] Crystal Fincher: Welcome to Hacks & Wonks. I'm Crystal Fincher, and I'm a political consultant and your host. On this show, we talk with policy wonks and political hacks to gather insight into local politics and policy in Washington State through the lens of those doing the work with behind-the-scenes perspectives on what's happening, why it's happening, and what you can do about it. Full transcripts and resources referenced in the show are always available at officialhacksandwonks.com and in our episode notes.   Today, I'm thrilled to be welcoming a candidate and the current officeholder for one of the most important roles that we have in our state - Secretary of State. Welcome, Secretary of State Steve Hobbs. [00:00:51] Secretary Hobbs: Thank you. And thank you for saying it's very important. Thank you - I appreciate that. [00:00:56] Crystal Fincher: It is extremely important. And I think a lot of people are recognizing just how important it is now perhaps. Many more people are recognizing that than they have before because of how much talk we've had over the past couple of years about how important elections and election integrity are. But also, in addition to elections, all of the other things that the Secretary of State is responsible for like archives and records management and all those different things. And we're seeing an increasing amount of news stories and coverage in issues and challenges in those areas. So with all of that, what made you decide that - one, you wanted to take this on in the first place, and two, that you want to run for a new term? [00:01:41] Secretary Hobbs: Well, first of all, I've always dedicated myself to public service - starting at the age of 17 when I enlisted in the Army Reserves - then, and then going on to active duty shortly after that. So this was a nice transition from serving in the State Senate, which I did for 15 years, into this role because it's a nice little Venn diagram - you know how you have the two circles there? So one is defending democracy in my role in the military and the other is serving in the State Senate. And this is a great overlap because right now, as and your listeners would know, our elections have been under attack. Our democracy has been under attack. [00:02:30] Crystal Fincher: Sure has. [00:02:31] Secretary Hobbs: And so having that background that I have in the military - serving in the National Security Agency, being a Public Affairs Officer - having been in that role and defending elections in both Kosovo and Iraq, this is a great fit for me. And I enjoy it, I love it - but it of course has its challenges, which we have had several this year with three misinformation campaigns and a cyber threat that has occurred already just this year alone. [00:03:04] Crystal Fincher: So how do you defend against those? And what is the plan to combat all of this misinformation and the targeted attacks? [00:03:12] Secretary Hobbs: Well, it first started when I got into the office and there was an outbriefing by former Secretary Kim Wyman, who is now working for the Biden administration. And in that outbrief, she had told me there were several thousand - thousands - of attacks, cyber attacks, on elections and 180 instances of misinformation and disinformation. We all know about what happened in January 6 in our nation's capital, but some of you may not know or remember - there was an attack on our own State capital. We had to deploy the National Guard there. In fact, several of my soldiers had to go on that mission to defend our capital. And so I started by looking at the budget that was submitted by Kim Wyman and pulled it back and resubmitted it. And what I did was expanded the cyber security team. So we had a cyber team of four, now we've gone to eight. We're strengthening our relationships with the Air National Guard that we call upon for cyber security when we are overwhelmed. We are looking into doing exercises - one step up from a tabletop exercise, but actually a full-blown exercise in 2023, where we'll be having folks who are trying to penetrate our system through cyber and through misinformation, disinformation - a closed system there where we can react to it. We have created a team that would combat misinformation and do voter outreach and education, because some of the vulnerabilities that we have of people not having trust in our elections is because they simply don't know how we do elections here in Washington State. So we've got to do a little more education of that. And then creating a team of outreach to our disenfranchised and underserved and underrepresented communities that we're doing. Sorry, I went on, but there's a lot to do. And there's a lot that we have done so far in trying to push back on some of the misinformation campaigns that happen and the cyber threat that happened this year. [00:05:23] Crystal Fincher: Well, and it's really important - there is a lot going on. And I guess one of the more fundamental questions that people are asking themselves is - with the nature of the office and because this is a little bit different this year in that you're running against someone who identifies as an Independent, not as a Democrat or a Republican, what is the role of partisanship in this office? Is this an office that should be a partisan office? Is there any advantage or disadvantage to being a partisan in this office? How do you view that? [00:05:53] Secretary Hobbs: Well, in my personal view, I can operate in this office if the Legislature deems that it should be a nonpartisan office. Now, in order for that to happen, you have to pass a bill to do that. I doubt that will make it out of the Legislature since the Legislature is controlled by Republicans and Democrats and I don't see that happening any time soon. I think what you have to do is look at the individual who's occupying this office. How do I say this? Well, I go back to a motto - when I'm serving an infantry battalion, all infantry battalions have mottos and mine was, or ours was - "Deeds, not words." So look at what I've done, not what I say. And you'll see that I'm a person that works across the aisle. You'll see that I'm a person that can get things done. And you look at the list of endorsements that I have - I have Republican endorsements, Democratic endorsements. I have the endorsement of the Association of Washington Business and the Washington State Labor Council. And having a label on there - it doesn't do anything if you're going to be a bad person. So the last three Secretaries of State were partisan - Sam Reed, Kim Wyman, and Ralph Munro - and they were trusted with the public and they got the job done. I will say - in this day and age, though, people tend to trust Democrats running the elections, because they know where they're coming from. And I'm not going to back away from the fact that I am a Democrat. I'm proud that I'm pro-choice. I'm proud that I'm pro-labor. I'm proud that I support the environment. I don't think those are bad things at all. Whatever the Legislature decides - if they want to make this a partisan office - or nonpartisan office - that's fine. But I can operate in any environment. And I don't think it really matters anyway, at this particular time, but I'm not going to back away who I am. I'm a Democrat. [00:08:05] Crystal Fincher: That makes sense. No secret here. I think the values that you listed are very good. And that the people, in this day and age - given the harboring of anti, disproven, disinformation about elections and campaigns that they see coming from the Republican Party are comfortable - more comfortable - with the Democratic Party in this position. But with that said, there have been - I don't know that any of this has come directly from your campaign. But the State Party and the leader of the State Party has attacked the other candidate, your opponent Julie Anderson, for her associations with some Republicans, or the Republican Party. Given that - you just talked about, hey, it's about who you are, it's about what you do - do you think those attacks are warranted or fair? [00:08:57] Secretary Hobbs: Crystal, you did bring up a couple of points that have been brought up recently in this campaign. And all I can say is - to the listeners out there, look into it, right? So she did show up at the fundraiser of the minority party in the House who wants to take control of the House - that's JT Wilcox, Representative Wilcox. If you're calling yourself nonpartisan, I'm not sure why you would go to that fundraiser, representing a party and some folks out there that want to put these elections back to poll voting and eliminate vote by mail. And the same group of folks that fan the flames of misinformation and disinformation. She does have a political consultant that's Republican, and a communications team that's Republican, and a treasurer that's Republican. But I'm not here to bash on her. I'm just saying to the listeners out there - do your own research on it. But yeah, that's true that there are, she's - has some ties there. [00:10:07] Crystal Fincher: You mentioned your willingness to work across the aisle. Could that just be her attempting to do the same types of things that you were talking about in reaching out? To that, it does look like she has also, in the past - I don't know if she has in this general election - but met with Democrats and Democratic organizations. Do you put that under the same umbrella? Or is that different than just trying to work in a bipartisan manner? [00:10:33] Secretary Hobbs: I think it's an attempt to look at this race and go - okay, well, Steve's got the Democrats, so maybe I'll go get the Republicans. Because there are Republicans out there that simply just don't want a Democrat in office - and doesn't matter if that person's a good Democrat or not - they just can't stand the fact that there's a Democrat occupying that office. And so - she's going to reach out to those folks, it's just a campaign strategy. But again, I stress to the listeners - look at the backgrounds and see the deeds of the person and see what they can bring to the office. Again, I've been in the office so far for almost a year. And you got to ask yourself - is anything wrong with what's going on? And if not, why change horses at this particular moment in time? Crystal, I mentioned the three misinformation campaigns and the cyber threat - these are real things. These are real threats to democracy - I would say that you'd want someone who understands how to counter those threats. There was a story in NPR All Things Considered about a recent misinformation campaign that we pushed back on. And that happened in February - and it had to deal with one of the cybersecurity devices known as an Albert sensor that Homeland Security asks every government agency to have on their system network so that they can be warned when there's a suspicious IP address that data is coming from and to - because that's what an Albert sensor does - it tells you where the data is coming from and to. And you're not going to believe this, but the misinformation campaign directed at the Albert sensors was trying to tie the Albert sensor to George Soros. I'm not making this up. [00:12:30] Crystal Fincher: Well, unfortunately, I do believe it, but it is wild. That is - the attempt to tie everything - my goodness. [00:12:39] Secretary Hobbs: Yeah, yeah. [00:12:40] Crystal Fincher: I'm sure lots of people are shocked to hear that what they've been working on is somehow masterminded by that person. But yeah, there have been wild and malicious attacks and just an outright denial of what has happened in elections. And I actually think you raise an excellent point that we don't talk about a lot - in that you brought up even - we see this stuff happening on the national level and even January 6th on a national level. But that we did experience that in our own state at that time - both in-person and the attacks on our voting system. And so I guess one of the questions I have is given that we're in this environment of not just misinformation, but malicious disinformation, and people with an agenda to erode and degrade trust - how do you build trust in our electoral system? Because although there are absolutely people who are intentionally misleading people, there's a lot of people who sincerely believe we have issues within our system - and for a variety of different reasons and from different perspectives - this is not just Republicans, it can be a variety of people. In an environment where there is so much disinformation, how do you build trust and credibility with voters in this state? [00:13:58] Secretary Hobbs: Oh, it's a long-term campaign that you have to start right away and not only be aggressive on, but consistent on. So for example, the misinformation campaign on the Albert sensor, you have to - we brought together all the county auditors and we brought, we invited county commissioners, and we brought in Kim Wyman, Homeland Security and FBI to inform the county auditors - hey, don't believe this misinformation. It's not true. The Albert sensor is simply a device that protects you, not a George Soros machine. Unfortunately, one county removed that system and now we're still working with that. But we are right now launching a major voter information campaign called "Vote with Confidence" - we launched it yesterday. It'll be out on TV and probably when you're pumping gas - sometimes you see those video screens that are up that's showing commercials - and on social media platforms. And basically we're going to do more than just remind people to vote because we've done a great job of reminding people to vote. Myself and the county auditors have have all done that, but what we haven't done a good job of is letting you all know what happens to your vote and how it is secure, transparent, and accessible. You may know this here, Crystal, because you're familiar with politics - that you can go to your county auditor and witness the process. You can see these ballots come in, you can see them get counted, you can see every signature being checked. But the average person doesn't know that and that's what we need to start doing. We need to start telling people - even things that are somewhat technical - that this state is part of the ERIC system, the Elections Registration Information Center, where our state is connected to other states and different databases so that if you were to move to another state and register there and fail to cancel your registration here - guess what? We're going to know about it. Don't try to vote multiple times in the same election by trying to register in different counties because guess what? We're going to catch you and we have caught people doing that. This whole myth about dead people voting - that's just not true and when it does happen on very rare occasions, it's because a spouse votes for a recently deceased loved one and maybe that spouse, before they died, said who they were going to vote for and they voted for them and they signed their ballot and guess what? We catch that. We find that out, but we have to do more though - we have to let people know what happens with their ballot and we haven't been doing that. [00:16:49] Crystal Fincher: Well, and one question I have - we have seen, and there have been reported on, inconsistencies in how rigorous people are in either checking signatures or even potentially malfeasance in checking signatures. And we saw in a report on a county in our state where people with Latino surnames had signatures that were rejected at a much higher rate than those with other names, even though it appears they were valid voters, that everything else was in order - but they seemed to be disqualified visually with the commonality that they did have a Latino surname. And questions about whether racism was at play and bias within our electoral system - what role can you as the Secretary of State play to make sure that we're implementing process and executing processes across the state, throughout all of the counties, in a consistent way? And how do you hold counties accountable to that? [00:17:48] Secretary Hobbs: Yeah, thank you for that. That was a study that came out of the State Auditor. And she had - it's very shocking - Blacks were four times as much rejected, Hispanics three times as much, Asians twice as much. Young men were actually rejected at a slightly higher rate. And our role on that one is we're taking action on it. So already we're working with the Legislature. Now we know about this data, now we got to find out why that is - and so we're doing another study with the Evans School at the University of Washington. But we're not going to stand idly by and wait for the study. There's some actions that we can take already to try to mitigate that. And one of the things that we are doing, though it won't come online for probably another - probably not 'til next year - and that is text messaging the voter the moment their ballot is rejected. Because the main reason why ballots are rejected - it actually has to do with not signing the ballot. A lot of folks just fail to sign it because they - maybe they didn't see the signature block. Or, especially those where English is not their first language, they just didn't read it because it was in English. And so you have ballot rejections happening because people fail to sign. And right now the current system is we send you mail, which - not very efficient. Counties might call you. But what we're thinking about doing and what we'd like to do is - hey, send a text message out to them right away so that they know their ballot is rejected and so they can do something about it before, and sometimes even before the Election Day. Because right now most people get their ballots cured - and the term cured is used when your signatures don't match, or you failed to sign your signature - is there's a close election and a bunch of people go into a particular Legislative District or jurisdiction and they're curing ballots because there's a campaign - the campaign is trying to get their candidate across the finish line. [00:20:12] Crystal Fincher: So now - with that, and you're trying to get voters there, you're trying to make sure every vote counts. Do you also see one of your core roles as getting more people to vote - increasing turnout and participation? And if that is, how do you plan to do that? [00:20:30] Secretary Hobbs: Oh, absolutely. I think it's very important. I think we have to constantly try to do that. It's a struggle because sometimes voters just - oh, this election is not important, so I'm not going to vote. Well, we have to constantly remind folks that, hey, elections are important, it's part of the democratic process. That's why I'm happy that the Legislature gave me the funding to not only do this voter information campaign letting people know how their ballots process, but also reminding them again - hey, don't forget you got to vote, there's an election coming up. One thing that we are trying to do to increase voter turnout and increasing the amount of people getting registered - because there's a lot of people out there who are eligible to be voters but haven't done it yet - is getting at young people before they even turn a voting age. And so we're looking at, and this is theoretical this moment, but we're going to try to really push it in the next - if given the opportunity to serve out the rest of the term - a mobile gaming app targeted at young people. Maybe it is where they vote in a fantasy setting, they vote for imaginary folks - we throw on some civics questions, and maybe they get points, and they level up - to get them jazzed up, if you will, about voting and participating in our democracy. And looking at our curriculum, because we do provide curriculum to the elementary, middle school, and high school about elections - and so maybe there's a way we can make that more exciting, maybe we team up with our local tabletop game companies here in the State of Washington and send out - in a form of a game. The other thing we need to do is reach out to our underserved communities out there. And so taking a great idea from King County, the trusted messenger program - hiring folks that come from a particular community - knowing the language, knowing the community, knowing the culture. They go out there and do the outreach necessary to get people registered to vote, and teaching them and informing them about the process of voting. I can't hire enough people to do that, so we're already looking at - well, maybe we also contract out to different organizations that do that already. I was talking to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce a couple weeks ago - maybe that's an opportunity there out in the Tri-Cities - I'm going to go visit them again on the 18th of October. But we just have to do more. I was very excited - we started because COVID is slowly getting manageable - we were able to go to the July 4th naturalization ceremony in Seattle and we registered about 300 new citizens. And that is exciting - we're going to be at those events as well. [00:23:41] Crystal Fincher: So in a debate early in this race, you shared your view that we shouldn't change our electoral process to ranked choice voting, which is on the ballot in a handful of jurisdictions in our state, or approval voting - because you had concerns that some people already have issues with trust in our system and making changes might make that problem even worse. Is not making changes because of a fear of misinformation a valid reason not to explore changes? Or should we be investing in things that help make the process more clear to people, especially if it's going to update them on a voting system that should increase turnout? How did you come to that decision? [00:24:19] Secretary Hobbs: Well, Crystal, it basically - it comes to the fact that I've been in this job for a while, I've seen the amount of disinformation that's going out there. There's a King 5 poll that showed 35% of Washingtonians didn't trust the 2020 election - that's Washingtonians. And looking at the voter turnout - right now our system is pretty easy - you vote for the person that you like and it's one vote. Under ranked choice voting, you have an algorithm, you rank people. And at this particular moment in time, when you have this amount of disinformation going on and you have the situation in our own - US capital and or state capital - really now is not the time to do something like that. But one thing that I get very concerned about, and this is my own personal connection to this, is that you're asking people to vote in a foreign way, something completely different. And that we have a huge population of people where English is not their first language. And so now you are going to disenfranchise a group of people. And that's something we certainly do not want to happen. I think about my own mother who naturalized to this country - English is not her first language - and I can't imagine if you go back in time and all of a sudden you said - hey, vote ranked choice voting, and you didn't have a voter's guide or any explanation to her in her language, it'd be very difficult. I also think about my son. I have a - my middle son, Truman, who's got a cognitive disability. It's very easy for him to vote because I show him the ballot and I show him the voter's guide and I go - hey, Truman, all you do is you color in the bubble to the person that you like. And for Truman, a lot of it's visual - he's going to look at the picture, he's not going to do a lot of reading. And by the way, he has every right to vote. If you have a disability, that shouldn't prevent you from voting. [00:26:29] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely. [00:26:30] Secretary Hobbs: He is going to have a hard time doing ranked choice voting. It's just not possible for him. And so I know the advocates out there pushing the ranked choice voting, but let's not disenfranchise a whole group of people out there. They may not be the majority, but they're out there and we shouldn't disenfranchise them. Also, I don't know what this is solving. I really don't. We have the most diverse legislative body right now under the current system of voting, a very diverse city council if you live in the City of Seattle. I'm not quite sure what this is trying to solve. But I will say this because I know that there has been - people say, oh, well, he's not going to help us out when we do ranked choice voting. That's not true. My job as Secretary of State is to support the elections in the state and local municipalities. And that is exactly what I'll do if a municipality or county chooses to do ranked choice voting. But I am telling you and I am asking the citizens, please pause and think about it before you choose ranked choice voting, because there are other people out there that may not get it. It may be difficult to understand. Let's not leave them out in the cold and let's think about our democracy right now with the amount of misinformation that's out there. [00:27:59] Crystal Fincher: Well, and I guess I should ask a clarifying question because ranked choice voting is certainly one reform or change that is on the ballot. There's also another change currently on the ballot in a jurisdiction this year - approval voting. We see different methods of voting - one, just in our neighbor to the south in Portland - there they have a different type of voting on the ballot for their city this year. We're seeing a number of different types. So is your opposition strictly to ranked choice voting or to any of the kinds of changes, whether it's ranked choice or approval voting or any kind of change that would be made? [00:28:36] Secretary Hobbs: It's right now - this particular moment in time - is any kind of change, unless you can find a way where you're going to get the word out to those individuals where English is not their first language, where they've got cognitive disabilities, and the fact - hey, is this vulnerable to a misinformation? Because right now, if there's a close election, you just count out the votes and whoever has the most votes wins. That's how it's done, right - in close races. But let's say it's ranked choice voting or preferred voting - it gets slightly complicated. In ranked choice voting, you're basing it upon an algorithm. And so now, what's going to happen? Well, what's going to happen is you're going to have a group of individuals who didn't get their way, and they're going to say, oh, this algorithm got hacked, which is not true. This algorithm, written by George Soros, and again, not true. But that's what's going to happen. [00:29:36] Crystal Fincher: Well, I don't know that I would call it an algorithm, but a different method of tabulation and rounds of tabulation. [00:29:42] Secretary Hobbs: Well, that's what we call it - it doesn't make it a bad thing. It just - that's what it is. There's nothing wrong with it. I'm just saying to you that you just leave yourself vulnerable to misinformation that could attack it. [00:29:59] Crystal Fincher: I got you - but I think the underlying, as you pointed out, related concern is they are on the ballot and those changes may be made in places. And so the role of - again, in the implementation of these things - certainly there can be a lot of challenges that are introduced with implementation - how well just the system itself is implemented, and how well residents are trained and informed and educated before it happens. Do you plan on playing a role in that and being an advocate for voting and participating in the system should one of those be implemented? [00:30:41] Secretary Hobbs: Well, we have to - that's the role. I can't not do that as Secretary of State. I have to make sure that these - if a local jurisdiction chooses this form of election, then of course, we're going to be there to support it. [00:30:59] Crystal Fincher: And so I do want to talk about - we've talked about elections - and that's, to most people, the most visible thing that you're involved with as Secretary of State. But my goodness, you have a lot more responsibilities than that - just going down the list, aside from dealing with elections and initiatives and referendums - producing and distributing the Voters' Pamphlet and any legal advertising; registering private corporations, limited partnerships and trademarks; registering individuals, organizations and commercial fundraisers involved in charitable solicitations; administering the State's address confidentiality program, which is really important for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking; collecting and preserving the historical records of the state and making those records available for research; coordinating implementation of the State's records management laws; affixing the State seal and attesting to commissions, pardons and other documents to which the signature of the governor is required; regulating use of the State seal, which came in handy in another state - there was a whole thing about - that is an important and relevant thing. Filing and attesting to official acts of the Legislature or governor and certifying to the Legislature all matters legally required to be certified. You're also frequently called upon to represent the State of Washington in international trade and cultural missions, and greet and confer with dignitaries and delegations visiting the State of Washington from other countries. This is a big, big job and my goodness, you have your hands full with just elections, but there are so many other things underneath the umbrella of your responsibility. How do you both focus on elections and all of the other stuff? And how has this gone so far? [00:32:47] Secretary Hobbs: Well, I've got a great staff and I got great people who manage these different divisions. Thank you for mentioning those other things because sometimes my employees that are in libraries and corporations and nonprofits and legacy - which is history of Washington State - not to mention our CFD, our Combined Fund Drive - sometimes they feel neglected. My Secretary of State's office is about nearly 300 people and 22 people occupy Elections. There's a lot more that we do than just elections and I love it. I actually love the other side. It's very therapeutic to me because there's not the controversy that's involved in those other aspects. Libraries are near and dear to my heart. In fact, we have libraries in every state institution - our state prisons and our state hospital. I'm proud to announce that we're actually going into our state juvenile detention facilities, which we haven't done, and I'm glad we're doing that. It's about time - they should be in there. What I'm going to do and what I'm starting to do is use our state libraries as a place for rehabilitation - getting folks who are incarcerated, giving them the skills necessary when they leave the prison. We really haven't done that in the past and I'm looking forward to doing that. I get it's not going to be a lot of people, but you know what? Let's not let that space go to waste. I'm also excited using libraries as a place where we can provide therapy for the incarcerated. I'm working with, or talking with, some of the tabletop gaming companies - the use of RPGs and gaming as a form of therapy is an opportunity for us - to have that in our state libraries, so I'm looking at that. We team up with rural libraries and community libraries out there in Washington State - we're looking at doing more of that - creating game libraries out in the rural communities. They do it in Vancouver and in Spokane - they actually have game libraries where you can go and play games and it's an opportunity to create a safe space for young people out there in rural communities where a library is the only place where they can go to. And of course, corporations, charities - you had mentioned that. We are on the verge of creating satellite offices so that you don't have to drive all the way to Olympia if you have a problem with your corporate filings and your nonprofit filings, so I'm looking forward to that. People shouldn't have to drive to Olympia if they're having major problems. And there's a lot of people out there just - it's hard for them to navigate the internet, especially those who are older. So we're doing a lot out there with the other agencies of my office, so thank you for bringing it up. [00:35:53] Crystal Fincher: Yeah, absolutely. And so there are a few things - so many things we could talk about - these are all things that have areas, they're crucially important, they require deep expertise. You are there, and as in many departments and in many areas, there are very professional, dedicated, experienced staff who keep this running between and across administrations who are crucial to the work. But there are conversations about how important having a leader with experience in these types of work is. And that's been one of the areas that your opponent, Julie Anderson, has talked about as an advantage that she has in this race - as an auditor who, in addition to dealing with elections, also deals with a broad portfolio of responsibilities - that she has experience with many of these things, in addition to elections. And decades of experience she talks about, and that it's important to have that kind of experience in elections and in these other areas in the office, and saying you don't have it. How do you respond to that? [00:37:06] Secretary Hobbs: Well, I would say that clearly she doesn't know my background. And again, I offer anyone to look at my background, but I've been in the military for 33 years. And I've had varying levels of experience in the military leadership - commanded recently a 750 joint task force dealing with COVID support operations in Western Washington. That is far more employees than I even have now as Secretary of State, far more than what Julie Anderson has in her office doing multiple tasks. And that's just not just one thing - commanding companies and commanding battalion-level units - multiple people in a unit. Also, the the fact that I'm doing it right now. I've been running the Secretary of State's office for almost a year, and no complaints - I really haven't heard any major complaints from anybody. And it's been a blast doing it, using my skills - not just in the military - but having a Master's in Public Administration, my service in the State Senate. It's not easy being Chair of Transportation and managing that very large budget and navigating legislation. So I have more than enough skill, right now, in this office. Again, I just invite you to look at the backgrounds of each of us. [00:38:41] Crystal Fincher: Which makes sense. And so within those, what are you doing to preserve historical records, which is one of the things within the state - especially as we see in some areas, there are people who are much less interested in the preservation of historical records. And sometimes challenging that and attacking that at the federal level, bleeding down to other levels. And how do you make those records more readily available to the public than they are today? [00:39:09] Secretary Hobbs: Ah, yes. Well, so one of the things that we're doing - and it's challenging, because we just have so much paper records right now - digitizing all those records. So we're trying to provide more, hiring more people to do that, hiring better equipment. Just as I got into office, I traveled all - most, pretty much all the state archives buildings, except for one - talking to rank and file there. When I went to Bellingham, I talked to the archives folks there. And they were telling me, Hey, we need a large scanner to be more efficient, because right now we got to take - so you got to scan sometimes larger maps and stuff, you got to send it all the way to Olympia. It's well, let's see if we can purchase and get you a scanner so that you can do it there to make things more efficient. So those are the things I've been looking at. And of course, being able to have access to that online is very important to me. And digitizing our records is just one small part in keeping our records, but also telling the story about our state. As the state archives, I have the - we have the State Constitution, we have these old documents, and they shouldn't be behind a vault, a dark vault. People should see this, so I'm again, this is theoretical, and hopefully I have to get the Legislature's funding approval on this. But I'd like to bring these artifacts out, this history out, and travel the state and show people, show young people - visit, maybe, the high schools and elementary schools - hey, this is the history of our state. We're building a new library, and we're going to put a lot of info - not just our archives in there and books, but the state's history and the state's culture - let's tell the story about, especially in my community - I'm an Asian American, there's the Japanese that were put into camps. Let's talk about that story. Let's talk about Native, our Native peoples in this state - how we took their land and how they were struggling, and now they've become a political power in this state and how great that is, and how they have educated us on the environment - saving salmon. We need to tell these stories, and I've been looking at using our archives and our libraries to develop - not competition with you, of course - but doing a podcast. [00:41:35] Crystal Fincher: I'm all for it. I'm all for it. [00:41:38] Secretary Hobbs: Yeah, and talk and do it in the style of YouTube and Twitch, so there's interaction there at the same time. And I'm going to go on a bit of a tangent here, because I forgot to mention this, but - the listeners out there, if you're really into podcasts, there's one called Ear Hustle, which is a podcast ran by those incarcerated in the California penal system. And I want to do that here in the State of Washington. I want the prisoners to do their own podcasts to talk about how they got there, and how is life behind bars, and how they're changing themselves for the better. No, I really want to bring to life, light, what is going on in Washington State. [00:42:26] Crystal Fincher: So is it fair to say that you would want to - we have our physical libraries, we have our archives across and around the state - that you want to also create a digital library that is accessible to researchers, to the public - to see these artifacts. I was on a different site reading treaties, actually, that are incredibly interesting - to see what was promised and agreed to, and what actually wound up being delivered - which are in most cases, two very different things. But is that what you're looking to do - to be able to have people access, have access to these things - to view, to see - virtually as well as in-person? [00:43:08] Secretary Hobbs: Oh, yes, absolutely. You can do some of that already. But man, we have so much - so much archives. I was up in, again, the Bellingham one, and I pulled out this old, dusty, large leatherbound book. And I opened it up - a lot of the pages were empty. I just kept on turning the page, turning the page, and finally a page came up, and there was this story. It was very funny - it was nice handwriting - it basically said something like, Laura Smith marries David Hamilton, and two chickens, a cow, and some land was exchanged, or something like that. That, I don't know, I geek out over that. I think that's totally cool. It was a story of, obviously, a wedding, because we counties always record marriages, and that was recorded before the days of statehood in our territorial days. So all that needs to be preserved, that needs to be digitized, and we all need to see it. I think that's fantastic. [00:44:09] Crystal Fincher: All right - so we have heard from several municipalities, several reporters in municipalities about challenges with record management. And this is another part of your portfolio - records management across the state, which is also really related to the ability to deliver on public records requests, public disclosure requests - the ability to do that. And how many challenges there are within the system - hearing from municipalities and from reporters across the state that wait times for documents, for discovering whether something exists or doesn't exist, for records that should have been retained that have been deleted - creating lots of challenges for - really the goal of retaining a record is so you can be able to access the information. And so people who are entitled to that information, including the public, can access their information. We are seeing so many challenges with that right now - in the length of time it takes to fulfill requests, in the consistency of how records are retained and managed. What can you do to improve that? [00:45:15] Secretary Hobbs: Well, just like I said last time, I just got to get more people to do the digitization of our records and better equipment - especially the older documents - to have that scanned in. But the other thing that we've been noticing, Crystal, and maybe your listeners out there might know this - is the weaponization of the public records requests, where you have somebody making an outrageous request of a government agency to simply overwhelm them. And we have seen the rise of that as well, which is unfortunate, because that is not what the public records laws were meant to do. It was meant for transparency, not to overwhelm a local government with a frivolous request. Which is unfortunate - local governments and our own state government are struggling to try to keep up, but we have to be transparent, and that's what we constantly are trying to do. [00:46:19] Crystal Fincher: Yeah, and even that area is a big challenge. For the person making the request, it's always interesting, but I think there have been some instances - certainly that I can recall - where someone who disagrees with the nature of the request, or maybe it's from some political - people who disagree with decisions that they've made before, or reporters who are simply investigating what is going on - being characterized as malicious, but seemingly making some standard requests. Now, there are certainly bad actors out there, but that is not the entirety of the issue. And so for - looking at implementing records management processes across the state, assisting municipalities with that - is there anything that can be done? Is it a situation where truly - sure, we have these retention policies, we have to save this, but if we don't have the staff, then that's just it. And ultimately, then the public does not get access to information that they're entitled to. Are we really relying on allocations of funding from the Legislature and from other levels of government to be able to deliver upon this really basic entitlement that the public has? [00:47:32] Secretary Hobbs: Well, there's certainly attempts and technology changes to make this easier, but it does come down sometimes to people. And so that is a struggle. But we've done a really good job of meeting the public records requests ourselves in our own - we're a separately elected agency - but some of these small towns and cities are, they're having some challenges out there. [00:48:02] Crystal Fincher: Well, as we get close to wrapping up our time here, as voters are considering who they're going to choose in this election and trying to weigh - okay, I'm hearing arguments on one side, I'm hearing arguments from the opponent. Why should I choose you, and what am I going to see that's different, or what will I not see that's different - if they vote for you? What do you say to voters who are undecided as they consider this decision? [00:48:33] Secretary Hobbs: What I would say to them is the Office of Secretary of State has changed. It has changed across the United States and those offices as well. It's not one that it just simply works with the counties to manage, oversee, and support elections. It is now one where you have to protect democracy, you have to protect elections from threats of misinformation and cyber threats. And I am the only candidate that has the background to do that - with my background in the military, having served in the NSA, with my background of being a Public Affairs Officer, being a graduate of Department of Defense Information School, knowing how to combat misinformation and combat cyber threats. Also, the fact that I can work across the aisle and have done so in my 15 years in the State Senate - it's the one of the reasons why I have Republican endorsements and why I've been endorsed by organizations that typically oppose each other, like the Association of Washington Business and the Washington State Labor Council. Also, we need to have somebody that understands and can speak for those communities that are underserved and underrepresented. I'm a son of an Asian immigrant. I am the first API member that's ever been Secretary of State, and I'm the only statewide official who's a person of color. We need to have somebody that represents them as well. And lastly, I ask you this - because in all these elections, when you're trying to get rid of someone, is that person just not working for you? Are they not doing a good job? I've been in this office for almost a year. Are there any complaints? If the horse is getting you to the place where you need to go to, and the horse is a good horse and strong and improving, why change horses? We've done, like I said, we've handled three fairly large misinformation campaigns that - reported in NPR and NBC News. We've had two special elections in a statewide primary, and those have gone smoothly. And then you've heard in this episode here about what I want to do with other aspects of the office, such as libraries and corporations and legacy. So if you're happy with those things, there's really no need to change. And so I'm hoping that you will give me a chance to do the full term. And just to think of the improvements that I can do in the next two years. And of course, I'm always going to be there to defend democracy, defend elections, because I did it for real in Kosovo and Iraq, and I'm doing it now as your Secretary of State. [00:51:34] Crystal Fincher: Well, thank you so much for joining us today, for having this conversation, and for letting the voters get to know you a little bit more. Much appreciated. Thank you so much. [00:51:42] Secretary Hobbs: Thank you. [00:51:43] Crystal Fincher: Thank you all for listening to Hacks & Wonks. The producer of Hacks & Wonks is Lisl Stadler. Our assistant producer is Shannon Cheng, and our post-production assistant is Bryce Cannatelli. You can find Hacks & Wonks on Twitter @HacksWonks, and you can follow me @finchfrii, spelled F-I-N-C-H-F-R-I-I. You can catch Hacks & Wonks on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts - just type "Hacks and Wonks" into the search bar. Be sure to subscribe to get our Friday almost-live shows and our midweek show delivered right to your podcast feed. If you like us, leave us a review wherever you listen. You can also get a full transcript of this episode and links to the resources referenced in the show at officialhacksandwonks.com and in the episode notes. Thanks for tuning in - talk to you next time.

On today's episode we speak with Gil Jaramillo with the Tulare-Kings Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He talks about some major events on the way & more!

We had the pleasure of talking with President/CEO Enrique Riverea and Director of Operations Mari Ramos of the Idaho Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. With their offices being located in Nampa, Idaho, we of course know that their support for Canyon County businesses has been a great one. With their mission being to "promote the integration advancement and economic growth for Idaho Hispanic businesses as the premiere connection to resources all of Idaho to thrive", it has been so impressive to see how much growth these business have had especially in Canyon County. Mari & Enrique are always looking for more ways to collaborate, learn and grow together to improve the lives and businesses of our Hispanic community which means involving the rest of our local business community to support and connect as well. Listen in to our wonderful discussion we had Enrique and Mari and here is where you can find out more info on how to get involved in the Idaho Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Website: https://www.idahohcc.net Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/idahohcc Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/idahohcc/

Monica Villalobos, President and CEO of the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, joins Arizona's Morning News to discuss the future of Latino-owned businesses in the state. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Silvana Montenegro was a college student in Brazil when she applied for an internship in human resources at JPMorgan Chase & Co. She had no idea what human resources even meant, but she knew she wanted to see the world, and JPMorgan seemed like a good first step. It's 25 years later, and today she's the firm's Global Head of Advancing Hispanics & Latinos, and was recently named by Latino Leaders magazine as one of the country's top 100 Latinas. In this episode, Silvana sits down with Women on the Move host Sam Saperstein to discuss her career, the importance of being curious and creating personal connections, and her thoughts on the future of the Hispanic and Latino community. Growing up in Brazil, Silvana was influenced by a father who wanted his children to see the world and appreciate history, and a social activist grandmother. She says she always dreamed of an international career, so she jumped at the chance to intern at JPMorgan Chase & Co. And although she started out knowing nothing about human resources, she was quickly drawn in when she realized it was all about lifting people up. “And because of my family background, I have always been very curious,” she tells Sam. “I went to university to study psychology. So the way I learn and I relate to the world is by learning about people's stories over the years, it gave me an appreciation of how can I be most impactful to lift people up.” Changing the narrative Silvana describes her role today as centered around creating access and opportunities for the Hispanic and Latino community. One critical factor to that mission, she says, is helping to change the narrative of how the community is perceived in the United States today. “I think we're probably better known for some of the barriers that we face and continue to face as well as the culture, right?” she notes. “When we see Latinos on TV, they're not presented in the most positive ones. I want to see more movies and more TV shows that actually portray the families as they are. The Latinos from the most affluent to those who actually face significant barriers.” She notes that she knows her team's mission and the journey ahead is important, but for now it starts by portraying a more holistic narrative of the community. One key part of the narrative that she wants to emphasize is the Latino impact on the U.S. economy. She notes that Latinos make up nearly 20 percent of the U.S. population, and are also the youngest demographic. Providing the tools and services for community success A second component of Silvana's goal is to do more to support Hispanics and Latinos to have the tools they need to grow and thrive. She says she sees opportunities in several areas. One is simple talent mobility and helping Latinos succeed at work. Another is promoting financial health education, particularly on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, with so many people working in the United States to provide for families in Mexico. “How can we think about cross-border products so that we can support the need?” she asks. “From the U.S. side, I think it's doing more to demonstrate to the community that we're the bank for Hispanics. And it's the little things. It's being in the community, partnering with organizations that have trust in the community so that they can see and feel that we're there for them.” One product where Silvana sees big growth potential is digital account opening. “Because Latinos are very digital and that's how they engage,” she tells Sam. “And they tend to go to untraditional financial places to actually send money to their families. And the fees that they're paying are very high. So how can we help them send money to their families and do that banking seamlessly and not as expensively?” Looking forward, Silvana's excited to build on the success of initiatives already underway both internally at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and with external partners such as the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “The funding that we provide actually enables the local chambers to provide coaching to the small businesses there,” she notes. “And we also have the opportunity to connect these businesses with our local business consultants. It's a very holistic approach. And right now we are in 11 markets, we're reaching 5,000 businesses, and we're making real change, giving them the tools they need to grow and thrive.”   Disclaimer: The speakers' opinions belong to them and may differ from opinions of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co and its affiliates. Views presented on this podcast are those of the speakers; they are as of XYZ date and they may not materialize.”   Transcript here 

Dr. Val Torres, the Board Director of The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Pinellas County, explains how he's building broad community support to expand opportunity in his region. Connect with Dr. Torres on LinkedIn. https://bit.ly/3POSFAt Including You is brought to you by Lead at Any Level. Learn more about them on their website. http://bit.ly/2lPvOMM

While tech startups are winning the headlines and press attention, it's the everyday small business that continues to drive our economy.  Today, we sit with Carolyn Rodz (Founder, Hello Alice), who has built a platform to support the growth of these small businesses.   Carolyn shares her journey from investment banker to successful entrepreneur.  More importantly, she shares her experience and learning lessons from launching 2 failed business.  In just a few short years, Carolyn when from high earning banker to $25/hr contract work.  It's clear that she has returned to her status as a rockstar, but we are fortunate that she was very willing to share a very candid recount of the journey.   Founder's Bio: An investment banker turned three-time award winning Latina entrepreneur from Bolivia, Carolyn Rodz serves as the Founder and CEO of Hello Alice. A free multi-channel platform powered by AI technology, Hello Alice guides business owners by providing access to funding, networks and services. Through a network of nearly half a million companies in all 50 states and across the globe.   During her time at Hello Alice, Carolyn was recognized as a “17 Women to Watch,” by Inc. Magazine, in 2020 was named Hispanic CEO of the year by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, has testified before the U.S. Congressional House Small Business Committee, and was featured in a U.S. Senate report by Senator Shaheen titled, “Tackling the Gender Gap: What Women Entrepreneurs Need to Thrive.” She was selected by Mayor Turner of Houston to co-chair the Women and Minority Small Business Task Force in 2019.   Prior to Hello Alice, Carolyn launched the world's first completely virtual accelerator, supporting over 300 women from across the United States and internationally and helped them raise over $76 million in investments. Fast Company highlighted the accelerator as the “most innovative and fastest growing for women.”   Timestamps: 3:13 Growing up as a Bolivian-American | Raised in Houston, TX 4:46  Early career as an investment banker in JPMorgan's M&A group 6:45  Leaving banking at 25 to “jump blindly” into launching a business in retail 11:00  A humble recovery from a public failure as a first first-time entrepreneur 17:27  Launching and exiting a digital marketing company 22:18  Introducing Hello Alice | A community that helps 600K small businesses succeed 25:40  How entrepreneurs can tap into grants to launch and/or grow their small business 28:54  Landing Dell as an corporate partner as a very early stage startup 34:51  Creating an trustworthy and effective marketplace revenue model 40:13  Hello Alice's funding journey from grants to venture capital 44:00  From Seed to Series B | Key metrics investors focus on with marketplaces 48:44  The benefit of moving from in-office (Houston & San Francisco) to fully-remote 52:00  Check out Hello Alice at helloalice.com for free