October 24, 2024 • 36 mins
In this episode of Associations NOW Presents, guest host Lowell Aplebaum, EdD, FASAE, CAE, CPF, from Association Rockstars, continues the conversation on workforce development in the association space. He speaks with Eduardo Arabu, CEO of the National Hispanic Corporate Council, and Justin Bradley Reyes, membership manager at the Latino Corporate Directors Association. They discuss the importance of creating safe, inclusive spaces, the value of mentorship and sponsorship, and the role of proactive networking in fostering equitable professional growth through associations.
Check out the video podcast here: https://youtu.be/dRs0LFsHltE This episode is sponsored by Visit Omaha. Associations NOW Presents is produced by Association Briefings. TranscriptLowell Aplebaum 0:03 Greetings everyone. Welcome to episode three of Associations NOW Presents, an original podcast series from the American Society of Association Executives. It's my pleasure to be with you. My name is Lowell Aplebaum. Typically, you'll catch me as host of Association Rockstars. It is my pleasure and my honor to be the host of this episode today, which is a part two, as we look into workforce development as our theme. We'd like to thank our episode sponsor Visit Omaha for their support of this podcast. And if you've not yet listened to part one of this two part series on workforce development, we'll be right here.
Lowell Aplebaum 0:39 So go on, take a listen and come on back for our conversation today. And we are excited to have two wise, wise individuals from our community for our conversation today. For each of you all, just give a brief introduction, a sentence about certainly your name and your organization, but I'd love for to hear each of you introduce yourselves, if you will, with a little bit about your own professional journey, right? So we think about workforce development, what developed you in the workforce? And today's conversation is going to have a large focus on network and community and relationships. So feel free to put into your own journey story, any critical relationships that were really important to your own journey along the way. And so let's first start Eduardo Arabu is the CEO the National Hispanic Corporate Council and the Latino DEI Collective. Eduardo. You want to tell us a little bit about yourself and your own journey?
Eduardo Arabu 1:38 Yes, absolutely. Thank you Lowell for that wonderful introduction. I'm thrilled to be here and be a part of this conversation with my colleague Justin Reyes as well. A little bit about myself. Yes, I am the CEO at the National Hispanic Corporate Council, that organization focused on helping Fortune companies on their competitiveness and corporate performance around workplace and marketplace strategy. And so we work with major Fortune 1000 companies are under Hispanic and Latino strategy for talent, customer, supplier, community relations and their employee resource group as well. The Latino DEI Collective focuses on amplifying, cultivating and elevating Latino DEI practitioner. So Chief Diversity Officer, Vice President of Diversity Equity and Inclusion, not only in Fortune company, but government, nonprofit, sports and many other sectors as well. I'm based in Chicago. My background is Venezuelan. I consider myself bicultural. So was born in Venezuela, but grew up in Chicago, Illinois. I spent about seven years in Washington, D.C., as well. I think my career trajectory to where I'm at is a little bit unorthodox. Many of you in the association space, we didn't sign up for it. We were voluntold to put you into it, and here we are. My background consisted of corporate functions, HR and government affairs, public policy. I have my time in Washington, D.C., and so more of a business public policy background also works in sports and
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Lowell Aplebaum (00:03):
Greetings everyone. Welcome to episode
three of Associations NOWPresents, an original podcast
series from the American Societyof Association Executives. It's
my pleasure to be with you. Myname is Lowell Aplebaum.
Typically, you'll catch me ashost of Association Rockstars.
It is my pleasure and my honorto be the host of this episode
(00:23):
today, which is a part two, aswe look into workforce
development as our theme. We'dlike to thank our episode
sponsor Visit Omaha for theirsupport of this podcast. And if
you've not yet listened to partone of this two part series on
workforce development, we'll beright here.
So go on, take a listen and comeon back for our conversation
today. And we are excited tohave two wise, wise individuals
(00:47):
from our community for ourconversation today. For each of
you all, just give a briefintroduction, a sentence about
certainly your name and yourorganization, but I'd love for
to hear each of you introduceyourselves, if you will, with a
little bit about your ownprofessional journey, right? So
we think about workforcedevelopment, what developed you
(01:08):
in the workforce? And today'sconversation is going to have a
large focus on network andcommunity and relationships. So
feel free to put into your ownjourney story, any critical
relationships that were reallyimportant to your own journey
along the way. And so let'sfirst start Eduardo Arabu is the
(01:29):
CEO the National HispanicCorporate Council and the Latino
DEI Collective. Eduardo. Youwant to tell us a little bit
about yourself and your ownjourney?
Eduardo Arabu (01:38):
Yes, absolutely. Thank you Lowell for that
wonderful introduction. I'mthrilled to be here and be a
part of this conversation withmy colleague Justin Reyes as
well. A little bit about myself.Yes, I am the CEO at the
National Hispanic CorporateCouncil, that organization
focused on helping Fortunecompanies on their
competitiveness and corporateperformance around workplace and
(02:01):
marketplace strategy. And so wework with major Fortune 1000
companies are under Hispanic andLatino strategy for talent,
customer, supplier, communityrelations and their employee
resource group as well. TheLatino DEI Collective focuses on
amplifying, cultivating andelevating Latino DEI
practitioner. So Chief DiversityOfficer, Vice President of
(02:22):
Diversity Equity and Inclusion,not only in Fortune company, but
government, nonprofit, sportsand many other sectors as well.
I'm based in Chicago. Mybackground is Venezuelan. I
consider myself bicultural. Sowas born in Venezuela, but grew
up in Chicago, Illinois. I spentabout seven years in Washington,
D.C., as well. I think my careertrajectory to where I'm at is a
(02:46):
little bit unorthodox. Many ofyou in the association space, we
didn't sign up for it. We werevoluntold to put you into it,
and here we are. My backgroundconsisted of corporate
functions, HR and governmentaffairs, public policy. I have
my time in Washington, D.C., andso more of a business public
policy background also works insports and Government Affairs
(03:08):
and many other functions aswell. One unique opportunity
that I had was to complete afellowship with the
Congressional HispanicLeadership Institute, where I
had a chance to go toWashington, D.C., working
corporate affairs and governmentaffairs as well. As we
mentioned, relationship, theexecutive director of the
Congressional HispanicLeadership Institute, when I did
(03:31):
my fellowship forward severalyears, was the executive
director at the NationalHispanic Corporate Council. So
we're emphasizing onrelationship. My time as a
fellow in that program, go on togo to work in force and go to
pursue a Master's Degree inPublic Policy at Carnegie
Mellon. End up back inWashington, D.C., and I get a
(03:52):
phone call from then executivedirector at CHLI now executive
director at NHCC, and he taughtme to be the number two person,
right hand person to support theNational Hispanic Corporate
Council. Five years later, theboard promoted me to Executive
Director, then CEO, and eversince then, been looking for
(04:12):
ways to contribute, collaborate,into the association sector and
give, take, learn, connect,learn, all those wonderful
opportunities as well.
Lowell Aplebaum (04:21):
Excellent. Thank you. And our second, no
less distinguished, wise thoughtleader for today. Justin Bradley
Reyes, is the membership managerfor Latinos Corporate Directors
Association. Justin, why don'tyou tell us a little bit about
your journey?
Justin Bradley Reyes (04:36):
How do you Lowell or Hola, as I'm trying to
implement into my vocabulary,especially in the tune of
Hispanic Heritage Month. But asyou mentioned, my name is Justin
Bradley Reyes. I'm themembership manager at the Latino
Corporate Directors Association,and have been privileged to hold
this role within LCDA over thelast couple of years, almost
three years and everythingmembership, managing membership,
(05:00):
recruiting Latino talent,developing our regional
networking, engagement with ourmembers in the field, and just
ultimately, just empoweringmembers to utilize the resources
the network, the people at LCDA,to amplify their journey to
corporate board. A little bitabout LCDA before I dive into
(05:20):
myself. LCDA has been fullyfunctional for about 10 years,
and the mission of theorganization is to create a
pipeline for Latino talent,Latino executives, the creme de
la creme of corporate Americainto serving on corporate
boards. There's a ton of dataout there. Feel free to visit
latinocorporatedirectors.org.But just a little snippet is the
(05:44):
fact of the matter is with theUS population of Latinos, at
about 20% of the US population.Latino representation on
corporate boards, specificallywithin Fortune 1000 companies,
is at about 5% and so ourmission is typically to create a
pipeline so that we can reachparity and ultimately support
(06:05):
corporate organizations tocreate a network where they may
not have a Latino executive inhopes to elevate the deep pool
of Latino talent that doesexist, unfortunately they may
not have the network to get tothat point again as a membership
manager, day in, day out, it'sbeen a privilege to be a part of
(06:26):
an ecosystem of highlyaccomplished Latinos, first NASA
astronaut and later director ofNASA, Dr Ellen Ochoa, a
powerhouse attorney, RoelCampos. You have individuals
like Marty Chavez who are on thealphabet board. It's just
phenomenal that I have thechance to work in support of
these individuals. Although I'mnot a corporate America expert,
(06:48):
through my role as a membershipmanager, I'm able to contribute
to the machine that is LCDA.Now, over the last nine years,
I've made a career inassociation management, or as I
tell some folks, I'm in theacronym business. So whether
it's the national associationhome builders, NHB, ABC, NASDA,
now, LCDA, I've had theopportunity to be a part of
(07:11):
something much larger than who Iam. It allows me to scale the
impact of my work beyond where Icall home, and it's really
because I have an inbornfondness for associations that
merge public and privatepartnerships to uncover
solutions for whatever industrythat they serve. And so that's
just been a phenomenal journey,and it all started with an
(07:32):
organization called NASDA,National Association of State
Departments of Agricultureshortly after graduating from
college, with the intention toteach in the classroom, which I
did. But just before that, I hada brief sit in DC where I had
the opportunity to attendcongressional meetings and just
interact with these seniorpolicy officials around
(07:52):
agriculture. A few months beforethat, I was working in the
fields of South Texas wearingboots and jeans and a cowboy hat
and just working my butt off,just lots of manual labor, and
then shifting to a setting withsuits and policy, it just really
transformed my outlook in lifeand expanded the horizon that I
(08:12):
have in terms of what can I do,not just in education, but
professionally. And it was soinfectious that two years later,
I decided, let's make this afull time gig. So after working
two years in the classroom,started with NHB, and been all
downhill since then. I amLatino, a Mexican-American
distend. But of course, beingfrom Texas, being proud Texan, I
(08:35):
am Tejano, which for theaudience, if you don't know what
that is, it's an individual ofMexican-American descent, born
in Texas. So thought to be alittle extra there. But anyway,
small town in Texas. My familyis multi-generational American
but really the back load of myfamily is we're ranchers, we're
farmers, we're cowboys, and soit was really a great to be a
(08:56):
part of that. But again, fastforward today. I now call
Charlotte, North Carolina homewith my wife, a government
affairs professional withLowe's, who used to be a trade
association professional, aswell as my niece Raylene, and,
of course, my two fur babies,Bailey and Begonia.
Lowell Aplebaum (09:12):
Thank you. In both of your journeys, there is
this aspect and this element ofnetwork and community. And so as
we're thinking about workforcedevelopment, I want to talk
about that for a little bit. Iwant to talk about from two or
three angles. So the first let'stalk about for the
responsibility of associationsand organizations that often are
the organizers right of thesecritical places where
(09:35):
professionals come together,where the opportunity is should
be in the room for thoserelationships to be made that
can then lead to careerjourneys, to those opportunities
that nordo You said someone totap you on the shoulder, to say,
No, you need to come to to myorganization and work here. We
need to have you. I'm justcurious about either of your
(09:56):
perspectives, about what roleyou think associations, the
organizations themselves, andleaders can play in facilitating
more equitable networkingopportunities, whether that's
live at conferences or remote orhybrid ways. Right? How should
associations create the spacesso more of those critical
connections can be made?
Eduardo Arabu (10:17):
I would say, to answer your question, the
responsibility falls on twosides of the coin, right? One is
individual. As leaders in thatspace, whether entry level or
more senior role, have aresponsibility to make sure that
they find the most opportunitiesthat they can program, get
involved, volunteer, all thatgood stuff from an individual
(10:40):
perspective. But I also thinkthat the organization also has
to be intentional, and part ofthat process, and so in terms of
creating equitable networkingspace and so forth, is to
evaluate their own principles: DEI, diversity, equity and (10:51):
undefined
inclusion and belonging, or asASAE called it, conscious
inclusion. And to evaluateorganizationally, top down,
bottom up, where can they bemore inclusive and offer those
opportunities? And so whetherit's at the organization, board
(11:11):
of director, the executivestaff, the middle management,
entry level intern, all the wayinternally, from a workplace
perspective and also from amarketplace perspective, your
customer, your stakeholders,your members, also community
relations effort and supplychain supplier diversity, and
also granting opportunity fromexternal perspective as well.
(11:34):
But I think if the organizationcan be intentional on what they
want to do and provide thoseopportunity to make those
connection, right? Thenetworking, I think it's really
important to create capacitybuilding, to create access to
senior leader, to create assetsor pathways of career mobility,
career navigating, and even justoffering safe space and ways to
(11:57):
feel inclusive and belonging,right? Those employee resource
group or affinity groups, or aways where you can be other at
your level or of yourbackground, and have that space
to have conversation, whetherit's work related or career
development or many otheropportunities. So organizations
(12:18):
that are intentional, and I keepbringing that up there, they
want to make that consciouseffort to provide networking
platforms, I think, really addto the inclusivity and
engagement of the associate atthe organization
Lowell Aplebaum (12:32):
On either of your journeys, both of you sound
like you've had meaningfulmoments where you've connected
with key individuals that haveBeen accelerants along your own
journey along the way. Do youfeel like that? Either of you
are naturally inclined, like youwalk in the room and you just
feel comfortable talking toanyone, right? Or there are
those that perhaps walk in theroom and feel like, who am I
supposed to talk to? Theobligation you started with
(12:54):
there Eduardo, which is theindividual obligation for
building the professionalcommunity that you need. And I
just want to leave it open asyou think about the experiences
you've had or the experiencethat you would impart in terms
of advice or insight to thoselistening in, how do you go
about building that community?How do you walk in the room and
figure out who to talk to oractually talk to anyone?
Justin Bradley Reyes (13:17):
Yeah, I'll chime in here. So I think I'm a
little bit of an outlier, butit's because of my mother's
upbringing. She was a verysocial person. Unfortunately,
she did not have the opportunityto finish her high school
education, but that didn't limither career outlook. First Center
of Excellence was doing the workthat she did and commanding the
respect of the community that weserved in, whether it was
(13:38):
ironing or cleaning. My mom inthe community, small town,
Cotulla, she would clean thehomes of the judges, the county
sheriff, these just influentialindividuals in the community.
And because of that, it exposedme to a network that was just
non traditional. And so withthat said, I'm like I said a
little different. When I walkinto a room, I just I'm
(14:00):
inquisitive. I'm very curiousabout how things work. I love to
learn how other people'sstories, to borrow lessons that
I can apply to myself. But morethan that, it's about I'm a
sponge, and whatever I learn orwhatever experiences that I'm
able to have, whether or nottheir mind. You know, I try to
(14:23):
share that with other youngLatino professionals, other
young professionals who may nothave the opportunity to sit in
the same spaces that I do, andjust to impart just these
antidotes of interactions that Ihave and and I think ultimately,
what it falls on is just to getto that point, it's creating
these safe, intentional spacesfor these individuals with
(14:46):
untraditional pathways in termsof careers and supporting them,
instilling self efficacy,instilling opportunities to
develop strong, soft skills sothat we're better able to
communicate. I think that'sreally what. It is at the end of
the day, is communicating, butmore than that, it's about
executive presence. How do youadvocate for yourself, asking
(15:08):
the right questions andfollowing up on interactions?
You have this moment whereyou're in a room, virtually,
you're in person, where you meetthese folks, but what's the
follow up? What are these? I saysimple, but best practice this
so that you're able to develop amuch more authentic relationship
from rapport, because then it'salmost like an interview. You're
(15:29):
checking each other out andseeing, do we vibe with each
other? And if we do, how do weintentionally continue this
relationship? Where one I canborrow from? Maybe it's your
platform, your access. Maybeyou're a hiring manager or
influential in that space. Andlikewise, I think Eduardo had
mentioned this earlier. It's atwo way street. So one I learned
(15:50):
from you, but likewise, ininteracting with me, you learn a
little bit about me. Now, I'monly one part of the greater
Latino ecosystem of 20 pluscountries, but that little
sliver of interaction, I wouldhope, would educate you and
teach you a little bit moreabout a culture that's just
different than what you're usedto.
Eduardo Arabu (16:10):
I think, just to keep you very humble, actually,
a phenomenal networker is anindividual that really goes out
there and make it happen, evenif it's just a simple
introduction or simple hello orso forth. They want to give them
a shout out for that. He'salways challenging me and
saying, Hey, do you know so? Anddo you know so? And I'm like,
(16:30):
No, I don't. How do you knowthem? ABC, and he's always make
those connections. Super excitedto be with him. I think we're on
a different spectrum of beingintroverted, extroverted, and
somewhere in there, we wouldmanage accordingly how we want
to engage in the reception and aconference and a meeting and so
forth. And I think for mostmulticultural people of color
(16:53):
and folks, we tend to be veryinclusive and welcoming, right?
We want to build community. Wewant to break bread together,
right those type of scenarios.And when we go to the
quote-unquote "corporate world"or association or professional
world, we tend to be a littlebit more introverted, not sure
how our culture or how weinteract, mix them well with
(17:16):
more of a professional tricktype of environment and so
forth. It's looking for ways tobuild those relationships, make
those connections be meaningful,follow up and things like that,
but you never know who you canmeet in the room. And I really
think it takes practice. Ittakes a little bit of
preparation. It takes a littlebit of best practices in terms
of how to network, how tointroduce yourself. People love
(17:38):
to talk a lot about themselves.So how do you pose question?
Then let that person take theburden of the pressure and let
you be more of a listening andlooking for ways to make that
connection. Oh, you were in DC,so was I? Oh, you're from
Chicago. When they right, youstart to build those common
trades, common skill, commongoals and things like that. That
(17:59):
nothing the burden, thepressure. But it's not easy, and
it all depends on the personlevel of confidence to do that,
and over time, practice, makeperfect.
Lowell Aplebaum (18:11):
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Lowell Aplebaum (19:10):
Most of you had a overlap of talking about
creating spaces. Justin, yourefer to it around the idea of
forming a network happens bestin that safe and intentional
space. Eduardo, you were talkingabout an inclusive space that
you feel like you belong. I waswondering if either of you could
just reflect on moments thatyou've walked into these spaces
(19:32):
and you have felt that the spacehas been designed to be
inclusive and safe andintentional, right, like when
that has been done. Well, isthere anything you can describe
so that those listening thatwant to create those spaces,
right? What would you say whenyou walked into those spaces?
What had been done that youexperienced that? So maybe
(19:53):
there's something there to learnfrom.
Justin Bradley Reyes (19:56):
I guess. Can I go ahead and chime in
here? So as I mentioned. I'mabout nine years into
association managementprofessionally, but as a member,
a volunteer, an advocate, aleader, I've been a part of an
association since I was 14, soalmost 20 years. It is at 20
years. But when you bring thatup, the first thing that pops in
my head FFA, which used to standfor Future Farmers of America.
(20:19):
But what was phenomenal aboutthis association was that I grew
up in a predominantly Latinocommunity, but in the greater
ecosystem FFA, it's prettydiverse. Not once did I ever
feel like I was less than interms of being Latino, we would
wear these blue corduroy jacketswith our names and where we're
(20:40):
from in the back, and that'swhat united us. And what was
phenomenal about it was just thethe culture, the ecosystem of
support, passing it back, if youwill. Here's the FFA model,
learning to do, doing to learn,learning to live, and living
serve. I'm in my 30s, and Istill live by this day in, day
(21:01):
out, and it's because of thepositive experiences that I had
there that had it not been forthe FFA, I would have never
joined agricultural TeachersAssociation of Texas when I was
a teacher, or the Americanrabbit Breeders Association when
I was trying to figure out, howam I going to select the
appropriate rabbit project formy students, and then later on
their life, ASAE, AssociationForum. These are organizations
(21:25):
that that one had a culturewhere I could be my best
authentic self, but likewiseallowed me to expand my
knowledge, to seek assistance,mentors, and ultimately, to this
day, sponsorship from peers likeEduardo, who are able to elevate
my profile to a much wideraudience, so people know that
(21:47):
I'm here, and if there's anopportunity for me to connect
and help, reach out and I'mthere, when you talk about that,
it all started very early onwith that student organization.
Eduardo Arabu (22:00):
For me, I've been officially involved with
Association space for the past10 years - first five years as
the deputy at NHCC, and now aCEO. So it's been a collective
of 10 years. But from a formalprofessional development, career
development and things alongthose nature, maybe for the past
two years, mostly, so to theASAE, which have been a
(22:23):
phenomenal platform. I've neverseen anything where leaders of
different organization cometogether to support each other,
from A to Z and creating all thedifferent spaces, whether it for
us, by us in a certaindemographic or culture, into
intersectionality, into allyshipand to bringing others to the
(22:43):
room and so forth. So I neverexperienced anything. And so
shout out to ASAE for what theydo and the work that they do
with conscious inclusion andmany other aspects of their
programming. And so I think it'simportant to not only create
those spaces, but also seek itout. Yeah, you don't know what
you don't know. So if you'retrying to be on a corporate
director, the LCDA is a spacefor that. If you're trying to
(23:08):
advance your career inaccounting, there's the
so-and-so association ofaccounting or engineering or law
or medical, whatever it may bethat there are many
organizations that support thatdevelopment within those
organization, we need to makesure that they're inclusive and
not just one particular group,one particular demographic. And
what we spoke earlier aboutcreating those spaces allow for
(23:30):
inclusivity, belonging workforcedevelopment and many other
areas, but then also havinginclusive intentional
programming. And I benefit a lotof this by going to program that
our bridge program to gradschool, bridge program to
working on Capitol Hill, BridgeProgram to Corporate America.
These are not only safe spaces,but they're intentional and
(23:54):
they're inclusive and promotethat certain community to
advance whatever sector,whatever field organization that
they want to participate in.
Lowell Aplebaum (24:04):
Time always goes by quickly on these
conversations. I want to ask onemore question, I think, and then
we'll start to wrap up. We'vebeen talking about on the
journey about creating spacesand creating connections, and
the critical nature ofrelationships and support of
workforce development within theminority environment, but also
in the general funnel. We livein a day and age where, as much
(24:25):
as people love to be together,time is a challenge, and the
cost and distance to being inperson can be just wondering in
your experience, either of you,as you think about a more hybrid
or mobile or virtualopportunities for professional
community connection, creatingthat inclusive space that could
elevate the voices we need tosee shine and learn. Do you have
(24:46):
any reflections on how thataspect of virtual right, that
aspect of distance, comes toplay in terms of workforce
development, building a career,seeing strong minority voices be
part of our leadership?
Justin Bradley Reyes (25:00):
So, I've had the opportunity to work
remotely over the last nineyears, spending seven years in
Kansas City and now Charlotte,North Carolina. But one of the
most significant challenges inworking for an organization like
LCDA that's completely remote isstaying top of mind within
networks. So what does thatmean? Without the ability to
(25:21):
walk in a room and be seen dayin day out. I think, especially
for minority professionals whowork remotely like myself, we
just have to work a little extraharder to ensure that we're
noticed and that we're again topof mind, whether it's for career
volunteering or simplycontributing to projects with
(25:41):
that said, what can be done. AndI think a lot of that for me
within ASAE, for example, isshowing up to the ASAE Annual
Meeting, showing up formicro-volunteering
opportunities. One, I'm givingback to the community. But two,
I'm able to interact with otherindividuals who hold values like
myself and forging genuinerelationships, or at least for
(26:05):
me, finding new role models thatI can follow on LinkedIn and on
the Internet of Things, andborrow themes of their
leadership that I can apply toin my home and community. But
with that said, it can bechallenging, it can be cost
prohibitive. I thinkorganizations like ASAE, with
their DELP program, with the CAEscholarship, with the USAE/ASAE
(26:27):
travel scholarship, those typesof programs help minority
professionals overcome thesecost barriers. These individuals
are wanting to show up, butsometimes, as it may cost a
significant amount of dollarsand investment just to get to
the location and to register andall that. So I think that's
(26:49):
really important fororganizations and associations
to keep in mind, how are wecreating an equitable space, and
if it doesn't exist, what aresome resources that we can
allocate so that communitieslike remote working minority
professionals can utilize, sothat can share the space,
contribute to that culture andultimately grow professionally.
(27:14):
But I think, again, those arejust some of the things that
that I think have helped me,personally in my own journey,
Eduardo Arabu (27:20):
I've had the opportunity to work remote for
about 10 years before it wascool or necessary. However you
want to look at it, some peopleadjust differently for that.
Some people like it. Some peopledon't. And there's lots of
challenges around that space ofhybrid remote. Return back to
office strategy. There are someopportunities and challenges for
(27:42):
our conversation in terms ofprofessional development and
workforce development as well. Ithink if we look at it from an
internal perspective, thatvisibility, it's harder when
you're working remote or hybrid,especially if you're onboarded
virtually, if you have a remoteteam, if you are 100% hybrid,
(28:03):
100% remote, you may not havethose traditional water cooler
conversation or some otheropportunities of senior
leadership seeing you, and Ithink that's very important to
have that visibility that youconsider for project or
promotion, mentorship and manyother opportunities. So you have
to take it upon yourself again,personal responsibility. Think
(28:27):
out, connect, reach out,identify if it's not available,
then start it or start thatconversation with some
colleagues and so forth. Yourcareer growth is tied to the
network that you're able tobuild, because that is capacity
building. Part of that leads tomentorship, opportunity, and,
(28:47):
more importantly, sponsorshipopportunity. The difference
between that mentors help yougrow and advise you and coach
you the sponsorship. They talkabout you when you're not in the
room. They are intentionallysaying that after I leave or
after this project is done, soand so if pipeline for the next
level or the next opportunity,or what it might be, I think
(29:08):
it's important for you tochallenge yourself. If it's a
two, three days work week in theoffice, try to make it three or
four, try to do the best youcan. And I always adjust it and
become accustomed to certainliberties of working from home,
but make sure that you arenavigating that part correctly,
that you are showing up to atmany meetings. You're on campus
(29:30):
as much as you can, and thenwhen you're there, you're
strategically reaching out tomentor sponsors, senior leaders,
asking for project networking,hosting a happy hour, whatever
it may be, all of thoseopportunities, and then also
externally, if the other part ofthe conversation is, where can
you externally get with ASAEvolunteer opportunity, your
(29:53):
society, community volunteerleadership position, and many
other ways and not wait? For theday, that you need your next job
or your next role, that you areactively building a network.
You're actively brandingyourself, promoting yourself as
a thought leader, as astrategist, someone who is
competent, someone who'saccomplished and have the
(30:15):
confidence to lead and managethe next phase of their career
and an opportunity for that, anorganization as a whole. How can
they offer everything that Ijust mentioned? How are they
intentionally creating the statespace, the inclusive
programming, allowing fordevelopment when you're in
person, team, development,capacity, building, asset to
(30:38):
network, all of that, not onlywaiting for someone to ask for
it, but as an organizationoffering it, and at least
listening to what are the needsof the associate and how can
they play a role in thatintegrated workforce
development.
Lowell Aplebaum (30:52):
Love it. All right. I have at least five
thoughts that pulled from ourconversation today, but I'll let
you two go first. Just as we'rewinding down from our
conversation or from your ownlife experience, as you think
about workforce development--theroles and the place that you
have had in your own journey,and those that are looking and
(31:12):
listening to this conversationto be a guidepost, a partner
along the way of their ownjourney--what is one piece of
advice or one insight that youwould take and share if someone
is looking to take the next stepon their professional journey?
Eduardo Arabu (31:29):
I would say one piece of advice is maybe a
couple of pieces of advice wedon't want this to end. I would
say one is to beunapologetically yourself and be
bold. It is who you are and askfor things. Raise your hand,
speak up, let others know yourcareer path. Take an assignment.
(31:49):
Just being very vocal of who youare and what you want and the
expectation, and hopefully theorganization is able to create
those pathways. If not, you mayhave to seek opportunities
elsewhere, but at least you aretrue to yourself to your goal,
and hopefully that leads to theobjective that you have.
Justin Bradley Reyes (32:08):
Well, man, so many thoughts here as well.
The first thing that gets in mymind is this term that I've been
using for a couple years thatlearned from a mentor the
Greater Kansas City HispanicChamber of Commerce, Carlos
Gomez, get your hands in thematzah. What does that mean? Get
in the kitchen. It's one thingto see the cook making these
exquisite meals, but it'sanother when you lend a hand. So
(32:32):
with that said, whether you're aminority professional or not, I
think it's really important forus. Eduardo mentioned the
allyship aspect of it, right?There's an association for
everything, especially when youtalk about minority serving
organizations that their missionstatement or their mission
objectives, just like HispanicChambers of Commerce, is you
don't have to be the premierexpert, but you can augment your
(32:56):
understanding. You can augmentyour efforts by partnering with
organizations like the oneEduardo leads at NHCC; ALPFA,
the Association of LatinoProfessionals for America. If
you're talking about publicpolicy, if you're trying to
recruit government affairsprofessional, guess what? The
Congressional Hispanic CaucusInstitute has a program that
(33:16):
brings in interns to work inCapitol Hill who work around
public policies. There areorganizations out there doing
great work to serve differentparts of lack of parity on X, Y
and Z, but be uncomfortable ingetting comfortable with getting
involved with contributing tothat point, mentorship,
(33:37):
sponsorship, hiring. That'sanother thing too. Is what are
your organization's hiring bestpractices? Are you regionally
attracting talent beyond a 50mile radius of your
organization's located? Are youtargeting HBCUs? Are you
targeting HSI? Like I said, wecan go on and on. Of course I
would have to throw in. But youhave organizations like SACNAS,
(33:58):
the Society for Advancement ofChicanos and Native Americans
and Sciences led by my mentor,Juan Amador. I have to give him
a shout out there, because he'sreally what got me into the
scene and where I'm atcurrently. But again, there are
these organizations led bypassionate people who are
committed to the missionstatements, and if it's a
daunting task, just reach outand ask questions. You might
(34:22):
uncover opportunities for formalpartnerships, but at the very
least, if that's not theoutcome, it's at least learning
a little bit more. Not justabout learning more, but it's
about ignoring less. And sothat's what I challenge, not
only minority professionals, butour allies in the community, is
get involved within theseecosystems. You never know who
(34:44):
you're going to meet. You neverknow what you're going to learn
that's really going to create asignificant impact in the
organization, and ultimately,the industries that you serve.
When you think about workforcedevelopment,
Lowell Aplebaum (34:55):
Love it. I'll just say two or three of the
questions I'm walking away withfrom the. The brilliance you all
have shared today. I love thequestion of, how do you stay top
of mind in your network, right,especially when we're at
distance? How do we do that? Howcan our organizations create the
opportunity for meaningfulvisibility so that those who
could benefit from mentorshipand sponsorship find those
opportunities to do how do youcome to professional
(35:17):
relationship developmentopportunities with questions and
curiosity you become top of mindby learning about others. And
then the one I took near theend, how do organizations create
safe space and inclusiveproactively and not wait for
someone to ask for it? Just afew of the questions I captured
from you all. Eduardo andJustin, thank you both so much
for spending time with us andfor sharing your perspectives as
(35:40):
we talk about this criticaltopic.
Eduardo Arabu (35:43):
My pleasure.
Lowell Aplebaum (35:44):
Thank you to everyone who is listening in to
this episode of Associations NOWPresents. We hope you'll join us
each month as we explore keytopics relevant to association
professionals. We discuss thechallenges opportunities in the
field today and highlight thesignificant impact associations
have on the economy the US andthe world. We'd like to thank
our episode sponsor Visit Omahaonce again for more information
(36:05):
you can check out visitomaha.com meetings and be sure
to subscribe to our podcast onApple, Spotify, or wherever you
listen to your favorite podcastsfor more information on
workforce development in theassociation space, visit
associations now online atassociationsnow.com Until next
time, stay out there. Stayleadership. We look forward to
(36:25):
talking to you again soon.
Greetings everyone. Welcome to episode
three of Associations NOWPresents, an original podcast
series from the American Societyof Association Executives. It's
my pleasure to be with you. Myname is Lowell Aplebaum.
Typically, you'll catch me ashost of Association Rockstars.
It is my pleasure and my honorto be the host of this episode
(00:23):
today, which is a part two, aswe look into workforce
development as our theme. We'dlike to thank our episode
sponsor Visit Omaha for theirsupport of this podcast. And if
you've not yet listened to partone of this two part series on
workforce development, we'll beright here.
So go on, take a listen and comeon back for our conversation
today. And we are excited tohave two wise, wise individuals
(00:47):
from our community for ourconversation today. For each of
you all, just give a briefintroduction, a sentence about
certainly your name and yourorganization, but I'd love for
to hear each of you introduceyourselves, if you will, with a
little bit about your ownprofessional journey, right? So
we think about workforcedevelopment, what developed you
(01:08):
in the workforce? And today'sconversation is going to have a
large focus on network andcommunity and relationships. So
feel free to put into your ownjourney story, any critical
relationships that were reallyimportant to your own journey
along the way. And so let'sfirst start Eduardo Arabu is the
(01:29):
CEO the National HispanicCorporate Council and the Latino
DEI Collective. Eduardo. Youwant to tell us a little bit
about yourself and your ownjourney?
Eduardo Arabu (01:38):
Yes, absolutely. Thank you Lowell for that
wonderful introduction. I'mthrilled to be here and be a
part of this conversation withmy colleague Justin Reyes as
well. A little bit about myself.Yes, I am the CEO at the
National Hispanic CorporateCouncil, that organization
focused on helping Fortunecompanies on their
competitiveness and corporateperformance around workplace and
(02:01):
marketplace strategy. And so wework with major Fortune 1000
companies are under Hispanic andLatino strategy for talent,
customer, supplier, communityrelations and their employee
resource group as well. TheLatino DEI Collective focuses on
amplifying, cultivating andelevating Latino DEI
practitioner. So Chief DiversityOfficer, Vice President of
(02:22):
Diversity Equity and Inclusion,not only in Fortune company, but
government, nonprofit, sportsand many other sectors as well.
I'm based in Chicago. Mybackground is Venezuelan. I
consider myself bicultural. Sowas born in Venezuela, but grew
up in Chicago, Illinois. I spentabout seven years in Washington,
D.C., as well. I think my careertrajectory to where I'm at is a
(02:46):
little bit unorthodox. Many ofyou in the association space, we
didn't sign up for it. We werevoluntold to put you into it,
and here we are. My backgroundconsisted of corporate
functions, HR and governmentaffairs, public policy. I have
my time in Washington, D.C., andso more of a business public
policy background also works insports and Government Affairs
(03:08):
and many other functions aswell. One unique opportunity
that I had was to complete afellowship with the
Congressional HispanicLeadership Institute, where I
had a chance to go toWashington, D.C., working
corporate affairs and governmentaffairs as well. As we
mentioned, relationship, theexecutive director of the
Congressional HispanicLeadership Institute, when I did
(03:31):
my fellowship forward severalyears, was the executive
director at the NationalHispanic Corporate Council. So
we're emphasizing onrelationship. My time as a
fellow in that program, go on togo to work in force and go to
pursue a Master's Degree inPublic Policy at Carnegie
Mellon. End up back inWashington, D.C., and I get a
(03:52):
phone call from then executivedirector at CHLI now executive
director at NHCC, and he taughtme to be the number two person,
right hand person to support theNational Hispanic Corporate
Council. Five years later, theboard promoted me to Executive
Director, then CEO, and eversince then, been looking for
(04:12):
ways to contribute, collaborate,into the association sector and
give, take, learn, connect,learn, all those wonderful
opportunities as well.
Lowell Aplebaum (04:21):
Excellent. Thank you. And our second, no
less distinguished, wise thoughtleader for today. Justin Bradley
Reyes, is the membership managerfor Latinos Corporate Directors
Association. Justin, why don'tyou tell us a little bit about
your journey?
Justin Bradley Reyes (04:36):
How do you Lowell or Hola, as I'm trying to
implement into my vocabulary,especially in the tune of
Hispanic Heritage Month. But asyou mentioned, my name is Justin
Bradley Reyes. I'm themembership manager at the Latino
Corporate Directors Association,and have been privileged to hold
this role within LCDA over thelast couple of years, almost
three years and everythingmembership, managing membership,
(05:00):
recruiting Latino talent,developing our regional
networking, engagement with ourmembers in the field, and just
ultimately, just empoweringmembers to utilize the resources
the network, the people at LCDA,to amplify their journey to
corporate board. A little bitabout LCDA before I dive into
(05:20):
myself. LCDA has been fullyfunctional for about 10 years,
and the mission of theorganization is to create a
pipeline for Latino talent,Latino executives, the creme de
la creme of corporate Americainto serving on corporate
boards. There's a ton of dataout there. Feel free to visit
latinocorporatedirectors.org.But just a little snippet is the
(05:44):
fact of the matter is with theUS population of Latinos, at
about 20% of the US population.Latino representation on
corporate boards, specificallywithin Fortune 1000 companies,
is at about 5% and so ourmission is typically to create a
pipeline so that we can reachparity and ultimately support
(06:05):
corporate organizations tocreate a network where they may
not have a Latino executive inhopes to elevate the deep pool
of Latino talent that doesexist, unfortunately they may
not have the network to get tothat point again as a membership
manager, day in, day out, it'sbeen a privilege to be a part of
(06:26):
an ecosystem of highlyaccomplished Latinos, first NASA
astronaut and later director ofNASA, Dr Ellen Ochoa, a
powerhouse attorney, RoelCampos. You have individuals
like Marty Chavez who are on thealphabet board. It's just
phenomenal that I have thechance to work in support of
these individuals. Although I'mnot a corporate America expert,
(06:48):
through my role as a membershipmanager, I'm able to contribute
to the machine that is LCDA.Now, over the last nine years,
I've made a career inassociation management, or as I
tell some folks, I'm in theacronym business. So whether
it's the national associationhome builders, NHB, ABC, NASDA,
now, LCDA, I've had theopportunity to be a part of
(07:11):
something much larger than who Iam. It allows me to scale the
impact of my work beyond where Icall home, and it's really
because I have an inbornfondness for associations that
merge public and privatepartnerships to uncover
solutions for whatever industrythat they serve. And so that's
just been a phenomenal journey,and it all started with an
(07:32):
organization called NASDA,National Association of State
Departments of Agricultureshortly after graduating from
college, with the intention toteach in the classroom, which I
did. But just before that, I hada brief sit in DC where I had
the opportunity to attendcongressional meetings and just
interact with these seniorpolicy officials around
(07:52):
agriculture. A few months beforethat, I was working in the
fields of South Texas wearingboots and jeans and a cowboy hat
and just working my butt off,just lots of manual labor, and
then shifting to a setting withsuits and policy, it just really
transformed my outlook in lifeand expanded the horizon that I
(08:12):
have in terms of what can I do,not just in education, but
professionally. And it was soinfectious that two years later,
I decided, let's make this afull time gig. So after working
two years in the classroom,started with NHB, and been all
downhill since then. I amLatino, a Mexican-American
distend. But of course, beingfrom Texas, being proud Texan, I
(08:35):
am Tejano, which for theaudience, if you don't know what
that is, it's an individual ofMexican-American descent, born
in Texas. So thought to be alittle extra there. But anyway,
small town in Texas. My familyis multi-generational American
but really the back load of myfamily is we're ranchers, we're
farmers, we're cowboys, and soit was really a great to be a
(08:56):
part of that. But again, fastforward today. I now call
Charlotte, North Carolina homewith my wife, a government
affairs professional withLowe's, who used to be a trade
association professional, aswell as my niece Raylene, and,
of course, my two fur babies,Bailey and Begonia.
Lowell Aplebaum (09:12):
Thank you. In both of your journeys, there is
this aspect and this element ofnetwork and community. And so as
we're thinking about workforcedevelopment, I want to talk
about that for a little bit. Iwant to talk about from two or
three angles. So the first let'stalk about for the
responsibility of associationsand organizations that often are
the organizers right of thesecritical places where
(09:35):
professionals come together,where the opportunity is should
be in the room for thoserelationships to be made that
can then lead to careerjourneys, to those opportunities
that nordo You said someone totap you on the shoulder, to say,
No, you need to come to to myorganization and work here. We
need to have you. I'm justcurious about either of your
(09:56):
perspectives, about what roleyou think associations, the
organizations themselves, andleaders can play in facilitating
more equitable networkingopportunities, whether that's
live at conferences or remote orhybrid ways. Right? How should
associations create the spacesso more of those critical
connections can be made?
Eduardo Arabu (10:17):
I would say, to answer your question, the
responsibility falls on twosides of the coin, right? One is
individual. As leaders in thatspace, whether entry level or
more senior role, have aresponsibility to make sure that
they find the most opportunitiesthat they can program, get
involved, volunteer, all thatgood stuff from an individual
(10:40):
perspective. But I also thinkthat the organization also has
to be intentional, and part ofthat process, and so in terms of
creating equitable networkingspace and so forth, is to
evaluate their own principles: DEI, diversity, equity and (10:51):
undefined
inclusion and belonging, or asASAE called it, conscious
inclusion. And to evaluateorganizationally, top down,
bottom up, where can they bemore inclusive and offer those
opportunities? And so whetherit's at the organization, board
(11:11):
of director, the executivestaff, the middle management,
entry level intern, all the wayinternally, from a workplace
perspective and also from amarketplace perspective, your
customer, your stakeholders,your members, also community
relations effort and supplychain supplier diversity, and
also granting opportunity fromexternal perspective as well.
(11:34):
But I think if the organizationcan be intentional on what they
want to do and provide thoseopportunity to make those
connection, right? Thenetworking, I think it's really
important to create capacitybuilding, to create access to
senior leader, to create assetsor pathways of career mobility,
career navigating, and even justoffering safe space and ways to
(11:57):
feel inclusive and belonging,right? Those employee resource
group or affinity groups, or aways where you can be other at
your level or of yourbackground, and have that space
to have conversation, whetherit's work related or career
development or many otheropportunities. So organizations
(12:18):
that are intentional, and I keepbringing that up there, they
want to make that consciouseffort to provide networking
platforms, I think, really addto the inclusivity and
engagement of the associate atthe organization
Lowell Aplebaum (12:32):
On either of your journeys, both of you sound
like you've had meaningfulmoments where you've connected
with key individuals that haveBeen accelerants along your own
journey along the way. Do youfeel like that? Either of you
are naturally inclined, like youwalk in the room and you just
feel comfortable talking toanyone, right? Or there are
those that perhaps walk in theroom and feel like, who am I
supposed to talk to? Theobligation you started with
(12:54):
there Eduardo, which is theindividual obligation for
building the professionalcommunity that you need. And I
just want to leave it open asyou think about the experiences
you've had or the experiencethat you would impart in terms
of advice or insight to thoselistening in, how do you go
about building that community?How do you walk in the room and
figure out who to talk to oractually talk to anyone?
Justin Bradley Reyes (13:17):
Yeah, I'll chime in here. So I think I'm a
little bit of an outlier, butit's because of my mother's
upbringing. She was a verysocial person. Unfortunately,
she did not have the opportunityto finish her high school
education, but that didn't limither career outlook. First Center
of Excellence was doing the workthat she did and commanding the
respect of the community that weserved in, whether it was
(13:38):
ironing or cleaning. My mom inthe community, small town,
Cotulla, she would clean thehomes of the judges, the county
sheriff, these just influentialindividuals in the community.
And because of that, it exposedme to a network that was just
non traditional. And so withthat said, I'm like I said a
little different. When I walkinto a room, I just I'm
(14:00):
inquisitive. I'm very curiousabout how things work. I love to
learn how other people'sstories, to borrow lessons that
I can apply to myself. But morethan that, it's about I'm a
sponge, and whatever I learn orwhatever experiences that I'm
able to have, whether or nottheir mind. You know, I try to
(14:23):
share that with other youngLatino professionals, other
young professionals who may nothave the opportunity to sit in
the same spaces that I do, andjust to impart just these
antidotes of interactions that Ihave and and I think ultimately,
what it falls on is just to getto that point, it's creating
these safe, intentional spacesfor these individuals with
(14:46):
untraditional pathways in termsof careers and supporting them,
instilling self efficacy,instilling opportunities to
develop strong, soft skills sothat we're better able to
communicate. I think that'sreally what. It is at the end of
the day, is communicating, butmore than that, it's about
executive presence. How do youadvocate for yourself, asking
(15:08):
the right questions andfollowing up on interactions?
You have this moment whereyou're in a room, virtually,
you're in person, where you meetthese folks, but what's the
follow up? What are these? I saysimple, but best practice this
so that you're able to develop amuch more authentic relationship
from rapport, because then it'salmost like an interview. You're
(15:29):
checking each other out andseeing, do we vibe with each
other? And if we do, how do weintentionally continue this
relationship? Where one I canborrow from? Maybe it's your
platform, your access. Maybeyou're a hiring manager or
influential in that space. Andlikewise, I think Eduardo had
mentioned this earlier. It's atwo way street. So one I learned
(15:50):
from you, but likewise, ininteracting with me, you learn a
little bit about me. Now, I'monly one part of the greater
Latino ecosystem of 20 pluscountries, but that little
sliver of interaction, I wouldhope, would educate you and
teach you a little bit moreabout a culture that's just
different than what you're usedto.
Eduardo Arabu (16:10):
I think, just to keep you very humble, actually,
a phenomenal networker is anindividual that really goes out
there and make it happen, evenif it's just a simple
introduction or simple hello orso forth. They want to give them
a shout out for that. He'salways challenging me and
saying, Hey, do you know so? Anddo you know so? And I'm like,
(16:30):
No, I don't. How do you knowthem? ABC, and he's always make
those connections. Super excitedto be with him. I think we're on
a different spectrum of beingintroverted, extroverted, and
somewhere in there, we wouldmanage accordingly how we want
to engage in the reception and aconference and a meeting and so
forth. And I think for mostmulticultural people of color
(16:53):
and folks, we tend to be veryinclusive and welcoming, right?
We want to build community. Wewant to break bread together,
right those type of scenarios.And when we go to the
quote-unquote "corporate world"or association or professional
world, we tend to be a littlebit more introverted, not sure
how our culture or how weinteract, mix them well with
(17:16):
more of a professional tricktype of environment and so
forth. It's looking for ways tobuild those relationships, make
those connections be meaningful,follow up and things like that,
but you never know who you canmeet in the room. And I really
think it takes practice. Ittakes a little bit of
preparation. It takes a littlebit of best practices in terms
of how to network, how tointroduce yourself. People love
(17:38):
to talk a lot about themselves.So how do you pose question?
Then let that person take theburden of the pressure and let
you be more of a listening andlooking for ways to make that
connection. Oh, you were in DC,so was I? Oh, you're from
Chicago. When they right, youstart to build those common
trades, common skill, commongoals and things like that. That
(17:59):
nothing the burden, thepressure. But it's not easy, and
it all depends on the personlevel of confidence to do that,
and over time, practice, makeperfect.
Lowell Aplebaum (18:11):
We'd like to take a quick break from the
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Lowell Aplebaum (19:10):
Most of you had a overlap of talking about
creating spaces. Justin, yourefer to it around the idea of
forming a network happens bestin that safe and intentional
space. Eduardo, you were talkingabout an inclusive space that
you feel like you belong. I waswondering if either of you could
just reflect on moments thatyou've walked into these spaces
(19:32):
and you have felt that the spacehas been designed to be
inclusive and safe andintentional, right, like when
that has been done. Well, isthere anything you can describe
so that those listening thatwant to create those spaces,
right? What would you say whenyou walked into those spaces?
What had been done that youexperienced that? So maybe
(19:53):
there's something there to learnfrom.
Justin Bradley Reyes (19:56):
I guess. Can I go ahead and chime in
here? So as I mentioned. I'mabout nine years into
association managementprofessionally, but as a member,
a volunteer, an advocate, aleader, I've been a part of an
association since I was 14, soalmost 20 years. It is at 20
years. But when you bring thatup, the first thing that pops in
my head FFA, which used to standfor Future Farmers of America.
(20:19):
But what was phenomenal aboutthis association was that I grew
up in a predominantly Latinocommunity, but in the greater
ecosystem FFA, it's prettydiverse. Not once did I ever
feel like I was less than interms of being Latino, we would
wear these blue corduroy jacketswith our names and where we're
(20:40):
from in the back, and that'swhat united us. And what was
phenomenal about it was just thethe culture, the ecosystem of
support, passing it back, if youwill. Here's the FFA model,
learning to do, doing to learn,learning to live, and living
serve. I'm in my 30s, and Istill live by this day in, day
(21:01):
out, and it's because of thepositive experiences that I had
there that had it not been forthe FFA, I would have never
joined agricultural TeachersAssociation of Texas when I was
a teacher, or the Americanrabbit Breeders Association when
I was trying to figure out, howam I going to select the
appropriate rabbit project formy students, and then later on
their life, ASAE, AssociationForum. These are organizations
(21:25):
that that one had a culturewhere I could be my best
authentic self, but likewiseallowed me to expand my
knowledge, to seek assistance,mentors, and ultimately, to this
day, sponsorship from peers likeEduardo, who are able to elevate
my profile to a much wideraudience, so people know that
(21:47):
I'm here, and if there's anopportunity for me to connect
and help, reach out and I'mthere, when you talk about that,
it all started very early onwith that student organization.
Eduardo Arabu (22:00):
For me, I've been officially involved with
Association space for the past10 years - first five years as
the deputy at NHCC, and now aCEO. So it's been a collective
of 10 years. But from a formalprofessional development, career
development and things alongthose nature, maybe for the past
two years, mostly, so to theASAE, which have been a
(22:23):
phenomenal platform. I've neverseen anything where leaders of
different organization cometogether to support each other,
from A to Z and creating all thedifferent spaces, whether it for
us, by us in a certaindemographic or culture, into
intersectionality, into allyshipand to bringing others to the
(22:43):
room and so forth. So I neverexperienced anything. And so
shout out to ASAE for what theydo and the work that they do
with conscious inclusion andmany other aspects of their
programming. And so I think it'simportant to not only create
those spaces, but also seek itout. Yeah, you don't know what
you don't know. So if you'retrying to be on a corporate
director, the LCDA is a spacefor that. If you're trying to
(23:08):
advance your career inaccounting, there's the
so-and-so association ofaccounting or engineering or law
or medical, whatever it may bethat there are many
organizations that support thatdevelopment within those
organization, we need to makesure that they're inclusive and
not just one particular group,one particular demographic. And
what we spoke earlier aboutcreating those spaces allow for
(23:30):
inclusivity, belonging workforcedevelopment and many other
areas, but then also havinginclusive intentional
programming. And I benefit a lotof this by going to program that
our bridge program to gradschool, bridge program to
working on Capitol Hill, BridgeProgram to Corporate America.
These are not only safe spaces,but they're intentional and
(23:54):
they're inclusive and promotethat certain community to
advance whatever sector,whatever field organization that
they want to participate in.
Lowell Aplebaum (24:04):
Time always goes by quickly on these
conversations. I want to ask onemore question, I think, and then
we'll start to wrap up. We'vebeen talking about on the
journey about creating spacesand creating connections, and
the critical nature ofrelationships and support of
workforce development within theminority environment, but also
in the general funnel. We livein a day and age where, as much
(24:25):
as people love to be together,time is a challenge, and the
cost and distance to being inperson can be just wondering in
your experience, either of you,as you think about a more hybrid
or mobile or virtualopportunities for professional
community connection, creatingthat inclusive space that could
elevate the voices we need tosee shine and learn. Do you have
(24:46):
any reflections on how thataspect of virtual right, that
aspect of distance, comes toplay in terms of workforce
development, building a career,seeing strong minority voices be
part of our leadership?
Justin Bradley Reyes (25:00):
So, I've had the opportunity to work
remotely over the last nineyears, spending seven years in
Kansas City and now Charlotte,North Carolina. But one of the
most significant challenges inworking for an organization like
LCDA that's completely remote isstaying top of mind within
networks. So what does thatmean? Without the ability to
(25:21):
walk in a room and be seen dayin day out. I think, especially
for minority professionals whowork remotely like myself, we
just have to work a little extraharder to ensure that we're
noticed and that we're again topof mind, whether it's for career
volunteering or simplycontributing to projects with
(25:41):
that said, what can be done. AndI think a lot of that for me
within ASAE, for example, isshowing up to the ASAE Annual
Meeting, showing up formicro-volunteering
opportunities. One, I'm givingback to the community. But two,
I'm able to interact with otherindividuals who hold values like
myself and forging genuinerelationships, or at least for
(26:05):
me, finding new role models thatI can follow on LinkedIn and on
the Internet of Things, andborrow themes of their
leadership that I can apply toin my home and community. But
with that said, it can bechallenging, it can be cost
prohibitive. I thinkorganizations like ASAE, with
their DELP program, with the CAEscholarship, with the USAE/ASAE
(26:27):
travel scholarship, those typesof programs help minority
professionals overcome thesecost barriers. These individuals
are wanting to show up, butsometimes, as it may cost a
significant amount of dollarsand investment just to get to
the location and to register andall that. So I think that's
(26:49):
really important fororganizations and associations
to keep in mind, how are wecreating an equitable space, and
if it doesn't exist, what aresome resources that we can
allocate so that communitieslike remote working minority
professionals can utilize, sothat can share the space,
contribute to that culture andultimately grow professionally.
(27:14):
But I think, again, those arejust some of the things that
that I think have helped me,personally in my own journey,
Eduardo Arabu (27:20):
I've had the opportunity to work remote for
about 10 years before it wascool or necessary. However you
want to look at it, some peopleadjust differently for that.
Some people like it. Some peopledon't. And there's lots of
challenges around that space ofhybrid remote. Return back to
office strategy. There are someopportunities and challenges for
(27:42):
our conversation in terms ofprofessional development and
workforce development as well. Ithink if we look at it from an
internal perspective, thatvisibility, it's harder when
you're working remote or hybrid,especially if you're onboarded
virtually, if you have a remoteteam, if you are 100% hybrid,
(28:03):
100% remote, you may not havethose traditional water cooler
conversation or some otheropportunities of senior
leadership seeing you, and Ithink that's very important to
have that visibility that youconsider for project or
promotion, mentorship and manyother opportunities. So you have
to take it upon yourself again,personal responsibility. Think
(28:27):
out, connect, reach out,identify if it's not available,
then start it or start thatconversation with some
colleagues and so forth. Yourcareer growth is tied to the
network that you're able tobuild, because that is capacity
building. Part of that leads tomentorship, opportunity, and,
(28:47):
more importantly, sponsorshipopportunity. The difference
between that mentors help yougrow and advise you and coach
you the sponsorship. They talkabout you when you're not in the
room. They are intentionallysaying that after I leave or
after this project is done, soand so if pipeline for the next
level or the next opportunity,or what it might be, I think
(29:08):
it's important for you tochallenge yourself. If it's a
two, three days work week in theoffice, try to make it three or
four, try to do the best youcan. And I always adjust it and
become accustomed to certainliberties of working from home,
but make sure that you arenavigating that part correctly,
that you are showing up to atmany meetings. You're on campus
(29:30):
as much as you can, and thenwhen you're there, you're
strategically reaching out tomentor sponsors, senior leaders,
asking for project networking,hosting a happy hour, whatever
it may be, all of thoseopportunities, and then also
externally, if the other part ofthe conversation is, where can
you externally get with ASAEvolunteer opportunity, your
(29:53):
society, community volunteerleadership position, and many
other ways and not wait? For theday, that you need your next job
or your next role, that you areactively building a network.
You're actively brandingyourself, promoting yourself as
a thought leader, as astrategist, someone who is
competent, someone who'saccomplished and have the
(30:15):
confidence to lead and managethe next phase of their career
and an opportunity for that, anorganization as a whole. How can
they offer everything that Ijust mentioned? How are they
intentionally creating the statespace, the inclusive
programming, allowing fordevelopment when you're in
person, team, development,capacity, building, asset to
(30:38):
network, all of that, not onlywaiting for someone to ask for
it, but as an organizationoffering it, and at least
listening to what are the needsof the associate and how can
they play a role in thatintegrated workforce
development.
Lowell Aplebaum (30:52):
Love it. All right. I have at least five
thoughts that pulled from ourconversation today, but I'll let
you two go first. Just as we'rewinding down from our
conversation or from your ownlife experience, as you think
about workforce development--theroles and the place that you
have had in your own journey,and those that are looking and
(31:12):
listening to this conversationto be a guidepost, a partner
along the way of their ownjourney--what is one piece of
advice or one insight that youwould take and share if someone
is looking to take the next stepon their professional journey?
Eduardo Arabu (31:29):
I would say one piece of advice is maybe a
couple of pieces of advice wedon't want this to end. I would
say one is to beunapologetically yourself and be
bold. It is who you are and askfor things. Raise your hand,
speak up, let others know yourcareer path. Take an assignment.
(31:49):
Just being very vocal of who youare and what you want and the
expectation, and hopefully theorganization is able to create
those pathways. If not, you mayhave to seek opportunities
elsewhere, but at least you aretrue to yourself to your goal,
and hopefully that leads to theobjective that you have.
Justin Bradley Reyes (32:08):
Well, man, so many thoughts here as well.
The first thing that gets in mymind is this term that I've been
using for a couple years thatlearned from a mentor the
Greater Kansas City HispanicChamber of Commerce, Carlos
Gomez, get your hands in thematzah. What does that mean? Get
in the kitchen. It's one thingto see the cook making these
exquisite meals, but it'sanother when you lend a hand. So
(32:32):
with that said, whether you're aminority professional or not, I
think it's really important forus. Eduardo mentioned the
allyship aspect of it, right?There's an association for
everything, especially when youtalk about minority serving
organizations that their missionstatement or their mission
objectives, just like HispanicChambers of Commerce, is you
don't have to be the premierexpert, but you can augment your
(32:56):
understanding. You can augmentyour efforts by partnering with
organizations like the oneEduardo leads at NHCC; ALPFA,
the Association of LatinoProfessionals for America. If
you're talking about publicpolicy, if you're trying to
recruit government affairsprofessional, guess what? The
Congressional Hispanic CaucusInstitute has a program that
(33:16):
brings in interns to work inCapitol Hill who work around
public policies. There areorganizations out there doing
great work to serve differentparts of lack of parity on X, Y
and Z, but be uncomfortable ingetting comfortable with getting
involved with contributing tothat point, mentorship,
(33:37):
sponsorship, hiring. That'sanother thing too. Is what are
your organization's hiring bestpractices? Are you regionally
attracting talent beyond a 50mile radius of your
organization's located? Are youtargeting HBCUs? Are you
targeting HSI? Like I said, wecan go on and on. Of course I
would have to throw in. But youhave organizations like SACNAS,
(33:58):
the Society for Advancement ofChicanos and Native Americans
and Sciences led by my mentor,Juan Amador. I have to give him
a shout out there, because he'sreally what got me into the
scene and where I'm atcurrently. But again, there are
these organizations led bypassionate people who are
committed to the missionstatements, and if it's a
daunting task, just reach outand ask questions. You might
(34:22):
uncover opportunities for formalpartnerships, but at the very
least, if that's not theoutcome, it's at least learning
a little bit more. Not justabout learning more, but it's
about ignoring less. And sothat's what I challenge, not
only minority professionals, butour allies in the community, is
get involved within theseecosystems. You never know who
(34:44):
you're going to meet. You neverknow what you're going to learn
that's really going to create asignificant impact in the
organization, and ultimately,the industries that you serve.
When you think about workforcedevelopment,
Lowell Aplebaum (34:55):
Love it. I'll just say two or three of the
questions I'm walking away withfrom the. The brilliance you all
have shared today. I love thequestion of, how do you stay top
of mind in your network, right,especially when we're at
distance? How do we do that? Howcan our organizations create the
opportunity for meaningfulvisibility so that those who
could benefit from mentorshipand sponsorship find those
opportunities to do how do youcome to professional
(35:17):
relationship developmentopportunities with questions and
curiosity you become top of mindby learning about others. And
then the one I took near theend, how do organizations create
safe space and inclusiveproactively and not wait for
someone to ask for it? Just afew of the questions I captured
from you all. Eduardo andJustin, thank you both so much
for spending time with us andfor sharing your perspectives as
(35:40):
we talk about this criticaltopic.
Eduardo Arabu (35:43):
My pleasure.
Lowell Aplebaum (35:44):
Thank you to everyone who is listening in to
this episode of Associations NOWPresents. We hope you'll join us
each month as we explore keytopics relevant to association
professionals. We discuss thechallenges opportunities in the
field today and highlight thesignificant impact associations
have on the economy the US andthe world. We'd like to thank
our episode sponsor Visit Omahaonce again for more information
(36:05):
you can check out visitomaha.com meetings and be sure
to subscribe to our podcast onApple, Spotify, or wherever you
listen to your favorite podcastsfor more information on
workforce development in theassociation space, visit
associations now online atassociationsnow.com Until next
time, stay out there. Stayleadership. We look forward to
(36:25):
talking to you again soon.
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