April 22, 2024 • 54 mins
Discover the heartbeat of public health with Veronica, whose compassionate leadership in Health Policy and Community Affairs is redefining the landscape of care for New Yorkers. As Senior Director at Public Health Solutions, she brings a unique blend of personal history and professional acumen to the fight for health equity, advocating for fair wages and essential services in the big city. Her story isn't just a narrative of triumphs; it's a testament to the resilience required to navigate the gritty, often unseen challenges that define the public health sector.
This episode takes you through the streets of Sunset Park, Brooklyn, where Veronica's roots stretch back to a family history rich in service, and leads you to the corridors of NYU. It's here where her ambitions crystallized amidst adversity—a life-altering car accident that sharpened her focus, leading to a shift from politics and journalism to politics and history. Embark on a journey into her formative years and the critical decisions that set her on a path to impacting global policy, from a study abroad campus in Buenos Aires to grad school choices that eschewed the expected for the purposeful.
Step into the complex world of urban development and government relations as Veronica shares tales from her tenure at the Port Authority and beyond. Her efforts to expand bike lanes on the George Washington Bridge exemplify the power of community advocacy. As the conversation winds down, Veronica offers an intimate glimpse into her life, from the media that shaped her to the sustaining support of family. Her reflections affirm that the road to fulfillment is often winding, but it's the dedication to service and empowerment that makes the journey worthwhile.
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The thoughts, views, and opinions expressed on Career Cheat Code are those of the individual guests and do not necessarily reflect those of the host, affiliated organizations & employers. This podcast is intended for informational and inspirational purposes, highlighting the guests and their unique career journeys. We hope these stories inspire you to chase your purpose, define success on your own terms & take the next step in your career.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
That's how I was raised.
You know my parents.
We always had, you know, randompeople from Ecuador living in
our house.
You know, I'm like who is this?
I would always be like this isthe clown house.
I'm like there's so many peoplehere but my grandpa, my mom and
my grandma, like, if we canhelp, we got to help.
You know, and to me, likethat's kind of ingrained in me
(00:25):
and I genuinely it genuinelymakes me feel good to know that,
like I'm working for anorganization that is helping
people and I love being able tosay, like you know the girl that
does my nails, you know, I wasjust like, do you have insurance
?
And she's like, no, I need help.
Because I was like, okay, yougotta call this person, you
gotta call this person, and I'mlike that's a good thing, like
people need need to know thatthis is available.
You know, and just like,because somebody helped me,
somebody helped my grandma,somebody is available.
(00:46):
You know, and just like,because somebody helped me,
somebody helped my grandma.
Somebody helped my grandpa.
You know, you don't, you can'tget, you can't go through life
without somebody.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Welcome to Career Cheat Code.
In this podcast, you'll hearhow everyday people impact the
world through their careers.
Learn about their journey,career hacks and obstacles along
the way.
Whether you're already havingthe impact you want or are
searching for it, this is thepodcast for you.
All right, veronica, welcome tothe show.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Hi, happy Friday.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Happy Friday.
I appreciate you taking thetime to join us.
Let's dive right in.
Let's tell the world what it isyou do for a living.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Oh boy, I am the Senior Director of Health Policy
and Community Affairs forPublic Health Solutions.
It is the largest public healthnonprofit in New York City and
they do a little bit ofeverything, quite frankly,
anything from direct servicesthat focus on food and nutrition
, maternal and child's health,sexual and reproductive health,
(01:40):
health insurance access.
We also run a program calledNew York City Smoke Free, which
is a tobacco control program,and that's our direct services
kind of prong.
The second prong is ouradministrative management
partnerships where we partnerwith the city.
We're a bona fide fiscal agentand we manage a number of their
Department of Mental Health andHygiene contracts on their
(02:00):
behalf.
And then we also are apass-through entity for the
discretionary funding that goesto CBOs from the city council.
So we help CBOs cross the T's,dot the I's and make sure that
they can focus on the directservices work.
And then, the third thing isthat we also we work to build
(02:21):
pathways between health systemsand the resources that are
available in our community, sothat's like a three-prong
approach.
Our mission is to advancehealth equity for all New
Yorkers, and my job is toamplify the work that this
organization has been doing forthe last 60 years and making
sure that everybody knows thatthey are a thought leader in it.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Awesome.
So what does that mean as asenior director of health policy
and community affairs?
What does that mean for you ona Monday when you walk in?
What are you tasked withthinking about, with leading,
with executing?
Speaker 1 (02:51):
It varies from day to day.
I don't think there's like ayou know, a set schedule.
My job is to advise theexecutive team regarding policy
regarding government andcommunity relations.
I lead the government communityrelations strategy for the
organization, so we have a statelobbyist, a city lobbyist, so I
am the point person to justkind of talk with them and get
(03:12):
their guidance and develop thebest strategy so that we can
position ourselves in the bestway in front of key decision
makers at the state and city andfederal level.
So it's dynamic, it changes.
Right now we're in the thick ofthe budget New York State budget
and city budget as well sowe've been advocating for two
big priorities for our sector.
(03:32):
One is more so for the sectorjust improving the wages of the
community based public healthworkforce, because these are
folks that are the frontlineworkers but they are paid
poverty wages.
You have a nutritionist thatgoes to college, wants to work
in his or her community, workswith us for six months and they
qualify for the same benefitsthat we are advising our clients
(03:55):
to apply for, and that'sunacceptable.
So there's a lot of educationthat has to be done, because I
think people assume that they'repart of a bucket that was given
bonuses and cost of livingadjustments, but they're not.
So that's been our charge sinceI joined to really advocate for
that and making sure that youknow these people that look like
your mom, look like my mom,who've been, you know, serving
(04:18):
the community and making sureAbuela gets her health insurance
, be able to pay their bills,you know.
So that's one.
And then for another prioritythat we've been that my focus
has been on for the last yearand a half, but definitely
during this budget season, is tomake sure that we get funding
for our two sectionalreproductive health clinics that
(04:40):
we have in Brooklyn.
You know we have a little bitof an operational deficit, but
we've been really, really,really good about getting grants
and we have an incredible, youknow, almost $4 million grant
that the state gave us last year.
But that just handles thecapital.
So you know it's me kind ofshaking my little we need money.
(05:01):
We need money because this is a, this is a clinic that has been
around.
These, these two clinics, havebeen around for a long time and
they're they're a key part ofthe fabric of the neighborhoods
Brownsville and Fort Greene.
So we want to make sure that wecan, you know, keep the doors
open and make sure that we cankind of kind of fulfill the,
like the long-term dream ofmaking it a big, you know know,
(05:23):
campus that's holistic andprovides you know so many more
services that we think peopleshould have access to seeing
that you do so much um, is thiswhat you always wanted to do for
a living, though?
Speaker 2 (05:35):
yes really tell me more.
When you were 16, what did youthink you wanted to do and how
was that?
Speaker 1 (05:41):
actually yes and no.
Uh, I wanted to sing when I was16 and I wanted to sing on
broadway when I was 16, but uh,you know, when you're a daughter
of immigrants, it's not reallyfeasible to do that.
My father, my grandfather, wasa professional singer and pretty
well known back home in ecuador, and so we always grew up with
our own musicians and with musicand a very important part of my
(06:05):
upbringing.
But doesn't pay the bills.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
So, when you say yes to that answer or to that
question, what did you mean bythat?
How are you doing?
Speaker 1 (06:13):
that.
Well, I always liked government.
I always wanted to.
I always thought politics wasreally interesting.
Again, my family after Sunday,after church.
It was always talking aboutreligion, politics, ethics,
money.
It was that kind ofconversation with all my tios
and tias and I would be the10-year-old in the mess and be
like, well I think I don't know.
(06:34):
They never shooed me awaybecause I just liked listening
to them argue hard, but it wasalways really interesting just
to hear their perspective andthey were very, very
knowledgeable about politics andabout things that were
important and so I kind of grewup with that kind of mindset.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Right.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
So I always wanted to work in politics, not not
necessarily like running foroffice I would go back and forth
about it but I wanted to be theperson in the room.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Tell me more.
You said you mentioned yourfamily's from Ecuador.
Where were your parents born?
Where were you born and wherewere you raised?
Speaker 1 (07:09):
Yeah, my mom is from Guayaquil, ecuador.
My father is from Santo Domingo, dr.
And I was born in Brooklyn andmy mom lives in Sunset Park.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Got it Awesome.
Yeah, I know much about SunsetPark.
I spent a lot of my time at EDCworking in Sunset Park and
doing a bunch of things there.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Yeah, yeah, my parents actually met at the
World Trade Centers.
They both worked there.
Wow, obviously.
My dad was apparently trying torap to my mom for a while and
she was like whatever.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
What were they doing there?
What kind of work?
Speaker 1 (07:41):
So my dad, if I remember correctly, he worked
for like an import exportcompany, like an insurance
company like logistics, and thenmy mom was an executive
assistant for some company.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Your parents meet at the World Trade Center.
Eventually they get together.
You start growing up in SunsetPark.
Tell me what happens.
You're a senior, you're in highschool.
What did you think you weregoing to do and what did you
actually end up doing?
Speaker 1 (08:02):
I thought I was going to go to NYU and I did.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
I love that for you.
What did you go to NYU for?
Speaker 1 (08:09):
Initially I didn't want to apply because I didn't
think I would get in.
But my AP English teacher waslike you'd be a fool not to
apply and my aunt, katie waslike you have to apply.
But ever since I was little Ialways saw NYU and I always
thought it was like the dreamschool.
So I didn't think I could getin, but I got in.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Great.
What'd you get in for?
Did you go deciding what yourmajor was going to be, or did
you figure that out along theway?
Speaker 1 (08:34):
Yeah, it was going to be politics and journalism, but
it ended up being politics andhistory.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
Got it Okay, well, one, why that switch?
Okay, well one, why that switch.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
And two, what kind of student were you?
Were you like a super involved,all the clubs, all the
extracurricular stuff, or youjust, you know, head down into
books?
I had a car accident theweekend before the second
semester of my freshman year, sothat kind of changed things.
Got my teeth knocked out, lipwas hanging off my face, kind of
disfigured for a whole yearpretty much.
(09:14):
I was out of school for aboutthree months so that kind of
interrupted a lot of things, butI was able to finish and do
what I need to do.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
So tell me about that time.
So you get into this caraccident, Did you so?
Did you basically take asemester off at that point?
Speaker 1 (09:30):
No.
So I was out of school forthree months, no, two months,
well, not from January.
I didn't go back to schooluntil like end of March,
beginning of April, and theywanted to kick me out because I
remember the dean was likethere's no way you can catch up.
Of course they have no problemkicking out a Latina who's on a
scholarship Right.
So I was like the hell, you aregoing to kick me out?
(09:51):
There's no way.
And thank God, my, my teachersand my professors, they were all
really cool and they were likeno, we got here, we'll, we'll,
we'll make it work.
And I went to school.
I went back to school with athing on my mouth.
I was like a weirdo, but I madethe Dean's List that year.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
That's awesome.
That's how you got them back.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
That's how you showed them, I don't like somebody
telling me I can't do something,Especially when it comes from
an old white man.
Don't tell me I can't do this.
I went to his office.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
I was like here Were you involved in in a bunch of
clubs and uh internships oranything like that, where you
were there or um.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
So I worked for anthony wiener during college as
an internship, yeah yeah.
And then, as far as clubs, notso much, I joined a sorority.
End of sophomore year, yeah,spring of sophomore year, I
joined a sorority, a mostlywhite sorority.
Shout them out yeah, yeah,alpha Phi Zeta, and they were
local and they'd been around forlike 30 years and they were
just really fun and I loved them.
(10:54):
Best decision I made in collegeBecause I found my folks.
But like even before then, likewhen you first started NYU,
because we got into like thescholarship program, like they
kind of thought that you weren'tsmart enough to hack it, so
they made you go to summerschool before.
So that's where I met my fiveLatina girlfriends that I'm
(11:15):
still really, really close withmost of them at this point.
So, yeah, I had that crew rightand then I was able to to dorm
on campus.
I think I got my way to gettinggetting housing and I lived for
the sorority and it was.
I loved it.
It felt like real college atthat point you know that makes
(11:36):
sense.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
It's a whole different experience when you're
there immersed and you haveyour group of friends at that
point.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And like it was great because Istill went home on sunday.
You know what I mean I was.
You know I was so beat that andyou know get my laundry done
and whatever.
But it was, I think, living oncampus, you know, having your
folks like nyu had like a cutelittle like um, you know like
the little trolleys and stuffthat would take you from dorm to
dorm.
So it was great, I loved itforward.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
you're now in a sorority, you have your major in
politics and history.
You have internships withelected officials at that time,
senior year.
Similarly, did you have a goodsense of what was going to
happen after college, and thenhow did that actually play out?
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Like a week before I was supposed to register for
like to graduate, the studyabroad, buenos Aires campus
opened and my scholarship wasfor five years.
So I called my mom.
I'm like I'm not graduating inMaine.
She's like, yeah, I was likeI'm gonna go to Buenos Aires for
free and I did my last semester.
So I graduated in four and ahalf semesters or four and a
(12:41):
half years.
So my last semester I was inBuenos Aires, kind of not really
doing work.
I had like one real class thatI had to take.
Everything else was like anelective.
But it was just how could I not?
You know, I had studied abroadin the summer in when I was a
junior in Italy, in SouthernItaly.
But this to me Buenos Aires,south America I was just like
(13:02):
hell, yeah, I'm going to do it.
And the South America I wasjust like hell, yeah, I'm gonna
do it.
And the pain for it.
I was just like I'd be crazynot to do it.
So when I came back in June I'msorry, in December of 2008, I
was like, right when therecession hit.
so I was kind of I was nervousbut I was just like I'll be fine
, I'll figure it out.
I was working with a friend whomanaged a like a radiology
(13:24):
facility on the Upper East Side.
So she's like, well, you know,you can work here until you find
something and I was like, allright, I had a job when I got
home.
I didn't really have tostruggle, which is a blessing.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
What were you doing there?
Speaker 1 (13:38):
So I was a patient coordinator for the offices, for
the offices, so basically likefront desk receptionist-ish, but
then like managing slots andmanaging, you know, all of the
radiologists and the techs andstuff and the patients, because
we saw a very, very wide varietyof patients.
(13:58):
Like we had patients that youknow had very limited means, and
then we had Mariah Carey andNick Cannon coming in so you
have to treat them with the samelevel of respect.
So it wasn't a job that I wouldever be at long term, but it
definitely taught me how to dealwith people with a smile on my
face, even when I didn't want tohave a smile on my face, even
(14:21):
if they were really, really outof pocket and rude and all that
stuff.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
Yeah, yeah, I mean, and it plays into what you do
now, right, so it's just an yeah, you got a starting point you
have to do one of these.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
You know, I've, I've.
I remember there was, it wasthe upper east side, so it was
one of those where they're likedo you speak english?
And I'm like, I speak threelanguages, which one would you
prefer?
I remember charlie rose came inone time.
He was the meanest guy in thewhole world so when he went down
after for the me too thing, Iwas like I was like good for you
(14:55):
, buddy, I was just like yousuck, um, but oh, he was nasty,
nasty, nasty.
And then, uh, most of thepeople were lovely, like you
know, most of the celebritieswere like athletes, were really
sweet, really kind, and I can'treally complain.
But like I was there for fouryears and I still remember
charlie rose and how rude he was, he was just like such a grumpy
(15:20):
, mean old man that had neverbeen told.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
No, Absolutely so.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
I really enjoyed it when he went down.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
That's funny.
Why did you stop working there?
What came after that?
Speaker 1 (15:33):
Well, I never intended to be there forever.
I was going to be there until Ifigured out am I going to go to
law school, Am I going to get amaster's?
So I was studying to take myLSATs after two years there, and
then I had taken the classesand stuff and the morning of the
exam I walked out of my houseand I walked right back in.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
I was like I don't want to do this.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
I was like I don't want to do this and I upset
everyone in my family and myfriends and everybody that
thought that of course Veronicais going to be the lawyer.
She never likes to shut upfamily and my friends and
everybody that thought that ofcourse Veronica is going to be
the lawyer she never likes toshut up, you know, um, but I was
like I really don't want to dothis.
So then I took another twoyears to figure out my next
steps I think a year longer thanI should have, honestly because
(16:16):
you start making money, youstart hanging out, you start
kind of thing.
You're just like I don't knowwhat to do.
But I I think my family and myfriends definitely were like
Veronica, like you are destinedfor a lot more than what you're
doing right now.
And so get it together, youknow, and I felt a little stuck.
So I definitely needed that,that push from people and a
(16:37):
little bit of that shaming likegentle, right, they're like we
love you, we're like we don'tknow what's going on with you,
but you need to figure it out.
You know, right, they're likewe love you.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
We're like we don't know what's going on with you
but you need to figure it out.
And I was like you're right, Ido All right.
So tell me, where did you applyto grad school and why?
Speaker 1 (16:54):
So I applied to the new school, the Milano School
for Public Engagement, in 2012.
And I applied honestly, becauseit was one of the few programs
that didn't require GRE.
I was like I studied for theLSAT, I didn't take the LSAT, I
am not doing this again.
I'm like that's it.
(17:18):
So I just what.
What filtered out my optionswas do.
I have to provide it you know,take the GRE or not.
So and it was in, it was in thecity, it was by 14th Street,
and then I had gone to aninformation session and I had no
idea that the school had beenaround as long.
It had been started by Jewishintellectuals after World War I
or II and MLK gave courses ortaught there or lectured there.
(17:40):
It was really interesting.
I was like, oh, I had no idea.
I got in and they gave me alittle bit of a scholarship,
which is awesome.
I was living on my own at thatpoint and I had to move back in
with my grandparents and my momand give them my independence,
my apartment, because I couldn'tafford to do both.
But it was an investment, itwas worth it.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
What did you get your master's in and why did you
feel like that was an investmentthat you needed at that time?
Speaker 1 (18:07):
I got my master's in international affairs,
management and urban policy andI think that gave me I didn't
want to be limited to just onething with my master's degree,
you know, and I I also wanted towork for the UN at one point
and so like I wanted thatinternational kind of lens too.
And then the urban policy pieceis just you know how cities run
(18:29):
and I've always been interestedin that, and the management
piece is, I think, also reallyimportant and kind of overlooked
.
Um, so that was the the majorthat I really kind of focused on
.
I really liked it.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
Did you know what you wanted to do with that?
Like, offer it Like.
Was it?
Like I want to do?
I want to go to the UN at somepoint.
Like, what did you?
Speaker 1 (18:46):
Yeah, I did.
I interpreted for a worldconference my last year of
college.
Yeah, the women's like the 50s.
It was like the 52nd or 53rdannual like women's conference
and I interpreted as a Spanishspeaking interpreter for for one
of their sessions.
And it was awesome.
It was so cool.
(19:06):
I'd never been there.
But then I realized that it wasreally really hard to get into
the UN.
It's kind of impossible.
It's like Google, like you gotto know somebody to get in, that
kind of thing.
But I remember being like youknow, maybe I want to be a
foreign service diplomat, MaybeI want to you know work for the
CIA or that kind of thing.
So I wanted to make sure tokeep my options open.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Now, in retrospect, do you feel like that was an
investment that was worth it?
Speaker 1 (19:31):
Yes, I loved it.
If I could go back, it was abetter experience in NYU, 100%
NYU.
My teachers were great, thefriends and the networks that I
made were great, but it was notthe kumbaya liberal experience
that you thought it was, and alot of the people students that
(19:52):
went there made it very made yourealize very quickly that
you're not one of them, becausethere's a lot of wealth, you
know.
So, as a Brooklyn person, who,person, who was, you know, more
or less like lower middle class,but I always went to a good
school.
I lived in a house, you know,we had cars.
I was like, oh, I'm poor.
When and because they made theywere very clear about that.
(20:14):
The people, like some of thestudents, and they were awful
and I hated them, but I found mypeople so it was fine.
I still remember the collegerepublicans had a sale based off
of, you know, they.
They had baked goods andcookies and stuff and each, each
cookie was 25 cents If you wereNative American female, uh, 50
cents if you were a white man,cause they were protesting
(20:35):
affirmative action.
And I would have to always, youknow, say like I didn't get
here through affirmative action,I got here through the HEOP
program.
But even if I did, I'm like youcan't even spell.
So you know me.
Taking the one seat in a 200person lecture class because
your buddy Chad couldn't get inis not my problem.
It was those kinds of peopleand that sucked.
(20:56):
But the teachers are awesomeand the people that I, you know,
my sorority, my, my, my, myHEOP friends, like they were all
awesome.
But the new school, theteachers, the professors, they
were real world practitioners,they weren't just academics,
which is why I loved it.
These are folks that hadstarted NGOs, had worked at the
(21:18):
World Bank, you know, or like onMSNBC, giving like the finance
tips, that kind of stuff, soeverything that we learned.
They were very clear if it wassomething that was practical or
not.
So they would say you know Xtheory, you have to learn this,
but this shit doesn't reallywork in practice, you know.
(21:38):
But you should know it.
But this is not real.
And then everybody that I wentto school with all the students.
I had never felt so smallinitially, my first month,
because they they were like 22,23.
And I was already 26 or 27.
Cause I went to grad schoolafter four years after college
and they were like oh, when Iwas was 10, I started my own ngo
(22:00):
and I was like you know,they're like and you know I sued
this person and I was able tochange this law and I was just
like, god damn, I was like jesus, I'm like.
I thought I was smart but I waslike clearly I am, I have no
ambition.
So it was intimidating to bearound those people, but they
were for the most part.
Everybody was always reallysweet and cool and I usually got
along with the older studentsthat were like adults because
(22:25):
they were serious about doingtheir work and going home.
But I made some really goodfriends there too.
So I just loved it.
I loved it so much.
Okay, I tell everyone I'm likego to the new school, get your
master's there, it's great.
And the teachers, theprofessors.
I still talk to some of them.
There was one, robert buckley,older guy, and he was just just
the cutest, like grandpa, butthe smart, really smart, you
(22:49):
know.
And this other guy, michaelcohen, he was incredible, but I
just loved them.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
They were just good people yeah, the new school has
a great reputation forattracting really good faculty
and talent and students.
Yeah, so that makes sense.
You get this master's ininternational affairs and you
graduate.
What do you do next?
Speaker 1 (23:13):
I had gotten an internship with the Port
Authority in New York, newJersey, while I was in graduate
school, because the first yearof grad school I didn't, I went
there full time, right, but thenthe second year I was like I
don't have money.
I was like, so I was lookingfor internships and all of these
internships were unpaid and Iwas just like, clearly, these
are for folks that have money,these are for like and I'm like
this is not.
(23:34):
I'm like, this doesn't work forme.
So I had gone to an informationsession for the leadership
fellowship program for the PortAuthority and that was for
graduating grad students and itbasically was like a sped up
track to middle management,because the Port Authority had a
(23:57):
lot of folks that were retiringso there was a big gap between
folks that had just started and,like senior people and a lot of
the middle management wasleaving.
So this program had beencreated, you know, years, years
in advance, to kind of createlike a pipeline.
You know, and you did like atwo year program was rotational,
you did six months at eachdepartment and then basically,
(24:18):
like departments will fight forfor you and then you end up at
the department you wanted.
However, I was in my first yearof grad school.
So they're like well, it's forthe second year.
I'm like, okay, well, do youhave anything else?
And like, yeah, we have thecollege, you know, in the grad
school internship program.
They're like and it's paid.
I was like, say no more andthat's it.
(24:39):
So I applied and I got in and Iwas an intern for the
government community relationsdepartment for New York in 2014,
.
May 2014 is when I started andthen I was made a full-time
employee in December of 2014, inseven months.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
Tell me about what you were tasked with doing when
you were hired full-time Um, andhow long did you stay there?
Speaker 1 (25:02):
When I was hired full time.
I was hired as a seniorlegislative representative, so
my task was to monitor, trackand or respond to legislation
that impacted the Port Authority, whether it was positively or
negatively.
So I had to track bills, youknow, at the state level and to
(25:24):
a certain extent city level,even though the Port Authority
is a bi-state entity.
So it's not really bound bysingle state legislation, right,
or city council, but theagencies that we work with are
right.
So you still have to be awareof what was happening, right.
And you know EDC, portAuthority.
We have a lot of crossover soit was my job to track that.
(25:45):
And then I also had some of theassets from the tunnel, bridges
and terminals department undermy portfolio, where I was like
the dedicated governmentrelations liaison for that, and
I had the George WashingtonBridge bus station and the
George Washington Bridgeredevelopment project where we
modernized the hub, thetransportation hub up there.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
Wow, do you have a standout project that kind of
stuck with you that you were apart of?
Speaker 1 (26:12):
Yeah, so the Restoring the George is a $2
billion 10-year capital programmade up of 11 projects.
So that was under my purviewand it was.
The bridge is like an old lady,right she's, you know, in her,
I think she was 89 at that point.
Um, so, like all the approaches, all of like it was a massive,
(26:36):
massive project.
So it was really important tomake sure that we, um that we
were keeping the community inmind and looped in and, um, it
was important to me because I'mhalf dominican so I always felt
that the same amount ofattention that the midtown bus
terminal got, I also believethat the uptown terminal should
get right.
(26:56):
In addition to therestoringoring the George.
The there, headed up by StateSenator Espaillat and Councilman
(27:25):
Rodriguez at the time, had kindof a contentious relationship
with the Port Authority becausethey wanted a community space
there for free.
But we were able to negotiate acommunity space for 10 years,
rent free.
I was the key lead in thatprocess.
It took five years, but nowthere is a dedicated community
space that's run by the fabulousLaura Acosta from the Juan
(27:47):
Pablo Duarte Foundation and it'sa cultural hub for folks you
know, and it's a place where youcan have workshops and
educational seminars and it's agathering place, but it's a
place that's for the community,not just electives, absolutely.
You know, and I loved her.
I still love her.
(28:07):
She's fantastic.
I'm going to plug that.
She's having her 25thanniversary festival annual
festival this year, I think inJune, and it's an organization
that does really, really goodwork.
It's been around for a longtime and I think she's the best
steward for managing that spaceand me and her got along very
well and I think it was criticalto make sure that there was
(28:30):
somebody to be the liaisonbetween her, the engineers, the
operations folks to make surethat we got this project over
the finish line.
To make sure that we got thisproject over the finish line and
we did.
We got it designed, planned,constructed and opened in a year
.
$2 million investment for acommunity space.
(28:51):
It's about 1,600 square feet,it's beautiful and it's
rent-free for 10 years.
Speaker 2 (28:56):
That's awesome, so that's something that if I pass
by there I'm like that's cool.
As someone that grew up inWashington Heights, I definitely
remember that redevelopment andyou know, even years later,
like my mom still shops at thatsupermarket right.
So like that's in a way thatshe never really used the
(29:18):
terminal before, right, Like wewould walk past it when I was
really young to go a blockfurther for blockbuster.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
but that was, you know, I remember I was told
because I didn't I never went upthere when I was younger,
because I'm from brooklyn, right, um, and they're like oh, this
is where the pigeons all gather,and it was like a sports
betting place, like it wasreally really kind of not shady
and not good.
Now Now it's a commerce, anarea of commerce, right, and
like there's dedicated seatingfor people to wait for the
jitney buses and it's you know,it's you don't have to wait
(29:48):
outside and in the elements,like it's an important thing,
you know, and I'm really proudof that.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
Fast forward.
You stayed at the PortAuthority like five years or so,
right, six, six years.
So tell me, what title did youleave with at the end of it and
what kind of made you determinethat it was time to make a move
after that, after six years?
Speaker 1 (30:09):
so the title that I left with I was a band four,
which is nice band for externalrelations executive yeah, okay,
sounds fancy, it sounds fancy,yeah, yeah, I know it was.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
I know I well.
Speaker 1 (30:24):
I started as an intern, junior analyst, senior
legislative representative andthen ended up as an external
affairs, external relationsexecutive yeah, uh, what?
Speaker 2 (30:34):
what does that mean for someone that wants to get
into, like, external relations?
Right, or government,government affairs, which is how
our paths cross togetherbetween edc and port authority?
Right, like, is this alucrative type of career?
Like doing external affairs?
Like can people make moneyenough to, like feed their
families while doing some workthat is representative of what
they feel like it's really goodimpact?
(30:56):
Right, like working withcommunities, as you said.
Right, like you may not be fromthe heights, but you know the
people of the heights.
Right, so for you is like I amspeaking on behalf of this
community or working for thiscommunity and trying to bridge
projects with this communitybecause they are people they
benefit from.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
You know absolutely because this is, this is their
neighborhood.
You know, we are influencingthem.
You know, granted, they're alsobenefiting from living across
one of the most beautifulbridges in the world.
And they're like well, why arewe doing this construction?
I'm like do you want it to fallon you?
I was like how do you thinkwe're going to keep it up?
They're like, well, we don'tStart charging us toll.
I was like listen, the PortAuthority does not get any tax
(31:34):
revenue from you.
If, if you go into a store andtake something, you got to pay
for it, don't you?
And they're like, well, yeah,and I'm like same concept.
They're like, hi, but are youon the MTA?
I was just like no, no, no, no,no, no.
I was like go complain to thestate for the MTA.
I'm like that's not us.
The Port Authority ran like abusiness, you know, and I think
(31:55):
they do a really that get a badrap.
And I'm like you don't get to dothat to these folks because
they could be making double ortriple their salary and they
chose to work in public servicebecause they believe in it.
So, to answer your question, yes, I think you can make money,
but you can make a lot moremoney in the private sector, but
it's a trade-off, Like I, youknow, I have a pension and
(32:17):
having a pension, I think, and alevel of stability is really
important to me.
I'm not one of these folks thatlike to hop and skip around,
Like I really really one of thethings that attracted me to the
agency was that there are peoplethat have been there for 30
years, 40 years, and they hadhad so many different careers
because they started out in thisdepartment and then they moved
to this department.
And I'm just like I, I likethat, I, I believe in that kind
(32:41):
of longevity and loyalty, and tome that's that's important.
You know, Cause I, I think,even if you're at a place for a
year, it takes a full year tofinally kind of get your
bearings and then, like you,live in two and just like you.
Just you didn't even, you didn'teven like give it enough time,
you know.
But I understand why people dothat, because that's the only
(33:02):
way to, to, to, to, like youknow, increase your salary Right
.
But to me, like I, I genuinelythink that I cut my public
policy teeth at the government,that the government community
relations department of the PortAuthority.
I had wonderful mentors, I hadwonderful colleagues, you know,
and I'm still very, very closewith a lot of them.
Speaker 2 (33:20):
So you leave the Port Authority, you go to this other
organization called E-Corps,i-corps, i-corps.
Speaker 1 (33:28):
I-Corps Strategies yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:29):
Why did you go there and what were you doing there?
Speaker 1 (33:32):
So, funnily enough, I used to manage the internship
program for the Port Authority,for the Government Relations
Department.
So we would get two internsevery summer.
So for four years I managed theprocess.
I would screen them, I wouldinterview them, I would manage
them, I would review them, Iwould give you know they were my
responsibility.
So one of the interns, a girlnamed Phoebe, a four-lens-a,
(33:53):
ended up working at I-CorpsStrategies a couple of years
after she had left, you know,finished her internship and she
had reached out to me and saidhey, veronica, how are you like?
I hope you're doing well.
I'm like, oh man, phoebe, andshe's like well, I'm working
here and it's in Brooklyn andit's.
You know, I'm a black owned um,a community engagement firm,
and I think you know we'relooking for for a director for
(34:16):
like to manage the east uhregion for clients and I think
you'd be a good fit.
So I was like all right, let mecheck it out.
I met with the um, the ceo, ericeve, who is kind of new york
royal political royalty.
His father is eric eve isarthur eve, who was the deputy
(34:37):
speaker of the new york stateassembly for a long time.
His sister sister is Lisa Eve,who ran for attorney general and
is one of the poor authorityboard of commissioners.
So I knew he was a serious guyand he had worked in government
and then worked in the privatesector and then decided to start
his own thing.
So, you know, we talked for afew months.
The first job that he offered,I declined Cause I didn't think
(35:03):
it was worth leaving a pensionfor, you know, um.
So then he came back and hegave me something that I think
that I couldn't say no to, youknow.
But I thought about it for along time and then, like I, I, I
got guidance from my mentor,brian Simon.
Um was my first Port Authorityboss director and was an
(35:25):
incredible person and you shouldabsolutely talk to him.
He kind of guided me throughthe process.
He's like ask for this, ask forthis, ask for this.
And I was just like, okay, theygave it to me.
He's like, well, now you got todo it.
He's like, if you don't like it, you leave.
And I'm like, okay.
He's like okay.
He's like you're going to befine.
So I did, so I left March of2020.
Speaker 2 (35:42):
Okay, what were you tasked with doing there?
Speaker 1 (35:49):
So it gave me the opportunity to manage a team,
which is what I really wanted,right, because at the Port
Authority I was an individualcontributor and I had a
portfolio and I had likeprojects right, but like I had
never managed people aside frominterns, right, so I wanted that
management experience.
So I had a team of two directreports and then by the time I
left, it was five direct reportsfour direct reports and
(36:11):
consultants that I managed.
So like to me.
What attracted me to that jobwas that I was I started off as
a vice president of client andcommunity engagement for the
East region, so the East Coast.
I really learned how to managea team during that time, yeah,
and.
I'm very grateful for that,because that's something that I
(36:31):
had lacked and I wanted.
Speaker 2 (36:33):
In external affairs right, had conversations with
people where they view they cansometimes view our roles right
as basically the mouthpiece ofan organization Like your job is
to go and tell me what theorganization is going to do and
nothing's going to changeregardless of what I say.
So why should I even engagewith you?
Why should I even like workwith you?
(36:54):
Can you tell me about yourexperience working with people
and kind of shifting some ofthat mindset right?
Because for me I had to dealwith that going into, actually,
sunset Park where you know, atthe time, edc did not have the
best relationship this is, youknow, talking about like a
decade ago right With thatneighborhood, considering that
(37:18):
you know the organizationmanaged so much square footage
of the waterfront.
However, you know, I think wein these external relations
roles are tasked with going inthere and like talking to people
and like listening and thencoming back and delivering some
results.
Speaker 1 (37:32):
They do make a strategic thing to, like you
know, put the black and brownpeople in front of folks and
that's strategic and I get it.
But for me, I would say therewere tangible things Like my job
wasn't just to kind of be amouthpiece for the agency, my
job was also to be a mouthpiecefor the community and be like
hey, are you guys thinking aboutX, y and Z?
Because the community is notgoing to be down with X, y and Z
(37:53):
if you do X, so at least forthe Port Authority.
When I first started it, atleast for the Port Authority
when I first started, it wasvery, very reactive.
They didn't talk to anybody.
It was only when things wereafire and by the time I left it
was just night and day in termsof being proactive and building
relationships.
And there were times where I wastold explicitly not to talk to
(38:14):
people and I'd still call Carmende la Rosa.
I'd be like, hey, I can't talkto you, but because I I'm like
we can't just go to these peoplewhen we need something.
I'm like that it doesn't work.
Like that it's a relationship.
You have to talk to people.
You got to show up and you gotto be there, even if they don't
want you there, you still got togo because someone will respect
the fact that you went in thereknowing that you were going to
get heat.
(38:34):
And to me, I'm just like, I'mnot scared of anybody because I
wasn't raised that way and I'mcoming in good faith.
So even if you're alreadycoming to me with a guard up,
it's my job to convince youotherwise.
And if I don't do a good job atthat, then that's okay.
But I'm going to come back nexttime.
And eventually you're going tobe like you know what?
(38:55):
She's still here and I'm likeokay, now can we talk?
Speaker 2 (38:58):
Absolutely, she's still here and I'm like okay,
now can we talk Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (39:00):
You know, and I think it's really important to do
that and the agency, the portauthority.
I will say, for the capitalplan, the two biggest changes to
the capital plan were directfeedback from the community.
So we did listen to thecommunity, you know so, and it
was, and I would say that I,when people would be like, why
are you even here?
I'm like, we expanded the bikelanes on the gwb because of
(39:20):
y'all, you guys kept talking andtalking and talking, and so we,
finally, we reviewed and we'relike you know what, we couldn't
make this, but we couldn't, I'mlike, and it changed the project
.
It actually was a little bitmore costly, but we knew that it
was important to you.
So the two changes of thecapital plan when I was there
was to expand, you know, the,the, the, the, the middle part
(39:40):
of the bridge I can't God, Ishould remember this but to make
it wider so that it so thatpedestrians and cyclists didn't
kind of kind of bump into eachother, and that was a direct
piece of feedback that wasincorporated after the public
comment period, you know.
So I'm just like guys, like youknow, be honest here.
(40:01):
If you wanna use us as aboogeyman, that's cool, but we
are listening to you, you know.
So, when I would say thoseexamples, they're like, well,
that's true, like you are alwayshere, you do do job fairs and
you do call us and you do talk.
I was like, yeah, cause, youknow, I'm like I don't know who
you talked to before, but that'snot me.
(40:22):
You're talking to me now.
Speaker 2 (40:23):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (40:24):
So if you have a problem, you call me what's
going on.
You know, I think I, you knowyou you earn people's trust.
You kind of have to.
You just kind of you got tokeep doing it.
Speaker 2 (40:33):
I love that and I think you know part of some of
the cheat codes that you kind ofdropped there, right?
Or like that inside outsidegame, there's a lot of value,
like, yes, I work for thisorganization and yes, I am
tasked with delivering thisproject and I am also tasked
with building trust and buildingcommunity and having people not
just for the sake of onespecific project but for the
(40:54):
long term of our presence inthese communities.
So that inside outside a gameof hey, I know you told me not
to talk to these people and I'mnot going to tell you, I'm going
to talk to them, but I'mabsolutely going to talk to them
and I think you know part ofthat is also just being a person
of service, right, Like youwork for the community.
Speaker 1 (41:10):
And there were times where I fundamentally disagreed
with decisions that you know mybosses made and I was like
you're wrong, I'm like this isgoing to blow in your face if
you do this, you know, andsometimes they listened to me
and sometimes they didn't, but Iwas very much like you know
what, like I know that I'mrepresenting the agency, I'm
(41:34):
like, but what you guys areplanning is not right and this
is not right and it's going to,it's not strategic either.
So please do X, y and Z.
Or there were there was onetime the construction folks, the
consultants.
Sometimes they ran the programmanagers which drove me nuts and
the program managers wereincredible.
But you know, like some ofthese people were a, but you
know like some of these peoplewere a little like, you know,
(41:55):
sneaky.
Speaker 2 (41:56):
Well, they're tasked and evaluated by different
metrics.
Speaker 1 (41:59):
Right, sure, and there was a habit for a long
time Look, the governmentrelations folks, like some of
the line departments, thedepartments that made money,
that brought in revenue, likedidn't want to include us
because they're like, oh, you'regoing to tell us, no, we can't
do this.
But my, I worked really hard tobecome friends with the
engineers and the architects andthe program managers, cause I'm
like, my job is to protect you.
(42:20):
So the only reason I the onlyway I can do that is, if you
loop me in, do not bring me inat the end, cause if you brought
me in when we were planning it,I would have told you this is
going to be a problem.
This is going to be a problem.
This is going to be a problem.
Do not call me when there's anissue.
So there was one time wherethese construction guys up at
the GWB were going to takeparking for two weeks during
(42:43):
Christmas and I said, no, you'renot.
I don't know who you are andwhy you're delaying our project.
I'm like I'm sorry, thisproject is a year and a half
delayed.
I'm like, do not pin that on me.
If you want to take parkingspaces, have you guys flyered?
Have you guys informed thecommunity board?
Have you guys talked to theelected officials?
(43:03):
Because if you want the numberof the congressman, I will
literally forward the voicemailthat he calls me to you because
you will talk to him.
I was like we're not doing it,do it in January.
You can wait after the holidays.
And they're like they werepissed.
But my boss at the time, JustinBernbach, I went to him.
I'm like you're going to get aphone call and he's just like
(43:24):
you're right.
He's like that's fine.
He's like I trust you, he'slike I trust you.
I was like they can't do thisright now.
And now they're saying they'recomplaining that I'm, that the
go-kart is deleting the project.
I was just like no, no, no, no,no, no, no.
That's your poor planning, thatis not my problem, but you are
not going to do this to folksand if we are going to do it,
we're going to do it the rightway.
(43:46):
So I made sure to flyer.
I created brochures, we put theflyers on all of the cars in
advance to get people heads upand we did not take parking
spaces for two weeks duringChristmas.
We did it in January, in mid tolate January, because I was
like why would you do thisduring Christmas?
People are away, so peoplemight have their cars towed.
(44:08):
People are visiting and it'sthe damn holidays.
And I remember telling theseguys I'm like gentlemen, this
isn't Legos.
If you would you like thishappening in your, in your, in
your neighborhood?
They're like well, no, I'm like, so why would you do it in my
neighborhood?
I was like no, I'm like.
And if there's a problem withthis, then I'm like, that's fine
.
I'm like but call whoever youneed to call.
(44:29):
I'm like, but we're not doingit.
So I said no and then I wentimmediately to my boss.
I was just like you're going toget a phone call.
But I explained to him why.
And he's just like but you'reright.
And I was like and then it wasit.
Speaker 2 (44:40):
I love that that was it.
Speaker 1 (44:41):
I think, but it's just like don't do that, Like
just have some common sense.
Parking in Washington Heightsby the bridge is a nightmare
anyway and you're going to takeit away for during the holidays,
yeah.
Speaker 2 (44:54):
And yeah, and I think part of it is like people you
know they're tasked withdelivering a project on time and
on budget.
Speaker 1 (45:02):
We're tasked with you got to remember, like this is
you're not, you're not.
You're not working in a vacuum.
These are people's homes, theseare neighborhoods.
These working in a vacuum,these are people's homes, these
are neighborhoods.
These are people that you'reimpacting, and my job is to make
sure that we mitigate theimpacts as much as possible.
And it's my job to tell youthat this is an issue you should
know already.
I hear you, but it's reallyreally insensitive and kind of
(45:28):
careless to think that peoplewouldn't have a problem with
having this done during theholidays.
So to me, it was my.
I'm like would you do this inthe Midtown Tunnel?
I don't think so.
There's another thing there.
Speaker 2 (45:39):
Let's be clear.
I love that.
What's your favorite part ofyour role, like whether it's
right now or generally throughyour role as an external affairs
professional?
Speaker 1 (45:52):
It's funny, it's like I don't like people, but I do
like people.
I think people are just so kindof divided and in their corners
and I'm like everyone justneeds someone and I
fundamentally believe ingovernment and public service as
like the only entities that arelarge enough to tackle big
(46:14):
problems.
And you might be in a goodposition today, but you won your
sake and you might be in areally bad position tomorrow,
and I just feel like I thinkit's really, really important to
help people.
If you can.
You know I think that you can.
You know it's not entirelyaltruistic, like, yeah, you, you
(46:34):
want to make money, you want to.
You know, you want to live nice, but I, I want to be proud of
the work that I do, you know,and, and that's important to me
and I realized it's taking me,it took me a long time, but I'm
like I have to believe in thework that I'm doing to do it.
If I don't believe in it, Ican't do it.
You know, and to me, that's howI was raised.
(46:54):
You know my parents.
We always had, you know, randompeople from Ecuador living in
our house.
You know I'm like who is this?
I would always be like this isthe clown house.
I'm like there's there's somany people here but my grandpa,
my mom and my and my grandmalike that, like if we can help,
we we got to help.
You know, and to me, like that'skind of ingrained in me and I
(47:15):
genuinely, it genuinely makes mefeel good to know that, like
I'm working for an organizationthat is helping people and I
love being able to say like youknow, the girl that does my
nails, you know.
I was just like, do you haveinsurance?
And she's like no, I need help.
And I was like, okay, you gotto call this person, you got to
call this person.
And I'm like that's a goodthing.
People need to know that thisis available Because somebody
(47:37):
helped me, somebody helped mygrandma, somebody helped my
grandpa.
You can't go through lifewithout somebody.
And I just feel like there's somany people that are struggling
and it's a policy choice.
I want to make sure that I'mnot contributing to that?
Speaker 2 (47:55):
Are there any forms of media that could be books,
podcasts, shows that you havewatched or read or listened to
that have shaped you personallyor professionally?
Speaker 1 (48:07):
That have shaped me.
Well, my favorite show when Iwas in high school was buffy the
vampire slayer, and my grandmahated it.
She's like oh, this is ademonial, that's all like you
know, demonic stuff.
And I'm like this show wasactually very smart because it
wasn't about monsters.
The monsters were a metaphorfor growing up and like the
teenage years and and she was,you know, a female like
(48:31):
superhero, and I just and shewas funny to me, I just thought
she was so cool, I love thatshow so much, so like that was
like my formative show growingup when I was in, you know, in
high school.
But in terms of like shows orlike things, I'm trying to think
Like I don't know, I love film,I love TV, like I'm definitely
(48:53):
one of those folks that you knowin another life.
I would have loved to be onstage.
You know, so like the arts issomething that's very near and
dear to me.
You know, like sometimes Iwould be at Broadway shows and I
would cry because I'm like Icould have done that and like it
kind of hurts, like it's alittle painful to watch it now
because you're just like I couldhave done that and like it kind
of hurts, like it's a littlepainful to watch him now because
you're just like to be on stage.
(49:13):
It's the best feeling in theworld.
Speaker 2 (49:15):
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (49:17):
But podcasts, I listen to the Daily a lot, New
York Times and then Errol Lewis,that's my man.
I love that guy because he'sfair and he goes after everybody
you know.
So Spectrum, New York One,that's kind of my Bible a little
bit.
Speaker 2 (49:33):
You know, I think it's easy for folks to see you
on LinkedIn or on whateverplatform and realize you're
Highlight Rio and think you knoweverything has always been
great and peachy and amazing.
Are there any hurdles thatyou've had to overcome or low
moments in your life career thatyou're like you know what.
We went through that and we'refine right now.
What would you like to sharewith people?
Speaker 1 (49:55):
It's not linear, that's for sure I would say.
You know, I thought my life wasgoing to be very, very specific
, like I'm going to do this andI want to do this and we'll do
this, and my life went like that, you know.
But thankfully I always hadpeople in my life that loved me
and cared about me and protectedme.
You know what I mean.
And hurdles, yeah, definitely,my car accident messed me up
(50:16):
really bad.
As a 19-year-old, getting yourface messed up is not great.
I did very well that semester,but a year later I had the worst
grades I've ever had in myentire life and I had to crawl
back to graduate with like a 3-3.
But it was hard because I justI went through depression, like
(50:39):
it was really hard.
It was really hard.
I think the sorority definitelysaved my life because I had
something to do and I definitelylike kept going because I was
like, well, I can't let thesegirls down, like I gotta keep.
But I was a mess during thattime, a whole, complete mess.
And then, like after, I waskind of lost because I didn't
really know, like I hadconvinced myself that I was
(51:00):
gonna be a lawyer and then, whenI decided I didn't want to do
it.
I was like, well, what do I donow?
You know, and there's also thatlike expectation of, like you
know, my family has worked sohard to to get me to where I am,
you know, and my mom had a caraccident after I was born and
she became disabled after thatand subsequently every part-time
job that she worked at was atmy school and never cashed her
(51:21):
own check because it went to mytuition.
You know my grandparents if Ididn't have them, my life would
have been very different, youknow.
So, like, so, like.
There's a lot of I couldn't beselfish because I have a lot of
people that depend on me, eventhough they'd be like, well, no,
like you know, you put that onyourself.
I'm like, yeah, but like mymom's, my mom, and you know it's
(51:43):
my job to take care of her,it's my job to take care of my,
my family, and they've beenthrough way way too much for me
to give up over something, overlike the, you know, first world
problems.
So whenever I would get in myfeelings, I'm like my
grandparents did not raise me tobe a punk, you know, but I
(52:05):
think in the last few yearsCOVID hit me really hard.
I got sick twice and thatmessed me up a lot.
And my dad died my grandfathersix years ago.
So to me my life is very muchbefore him and after him, and
it's been very hard to livewithout him.
Speaker 2 (52:25):
Is there anything else the world should know about
Veronica that we have notdiscussed?
Speaker 1 (52:29):
today.
I don't know what you see iswhat you get.
I'm a little bit too opensometimes.
And then my boss, brian simon,one of the best pieces of advice
he gave me, especially in inbusiness, is like you need to
master, tell he's like you areincredible because you are so
genuine and authentic.
He goes.
But that can be used againstyou if you're not careful.
So mask your tail, you know, um.
(52:52):
So I worked very, very hard to,you know, not be very clear
about how I feel about things,you know, because my face says
everything.
Sometimes I'm like, and I'malways like, fix your face, fix
your face, fix your face,especially if you're managing a
team like you, gotta you, you dohave to move differently, you
know.
And me at public healthsolutions, I'm on the executive
team.
Like you, gotta there, you, youdo have to move differently,
(53:13):
you know.
And me at at public healthsolutions, I'm on the executive
team.
Like you, you do have to movedifferently.
And you know veronica, you know, at home was very different
from veronica from phs, you know.
And there's a reason for that,you know, because I'm not
representing just me, I'mrepresenting an organization and
they deserve to have a level ofum professional.
That is expected, right?
(53:33):
If you know me, I'm very, veryhonest.
You know that, roddy.
Speaker 2 (53:41):
Absolutely.
To a full, got it.
I love it.
Well, thank you for joining ustoday.
This has been great to learnabout you and your path, so
appreciate it, thank you.
I hope you enjoyed this episode.
If you did and believe on themission we're on, please like,
rate and subscribe to thispodcast on whatever platform
you're using, and share thispodcast with your friends and
your networks.
Make sure you follow us onInstagram and LinkedIn at career
(54:02):
cheat code and tell us peopleor careers you would like to see
highlighted.
See you next week with somemore cheat codes.
Peace.
That's how I was raised.
You know my parents.
We always had, you know, randompeople from Ecuador living in
our house.
You know, I'm like who is this?
I would always be like this isthe clown house.
I'm like there's so many peoplehere but my grandpa, my mom and
my grandma, like, if we canhelp, we got to help.
You know, and to me, likethat's kind of ingrained in me
(00:25):
and I genuinely it genuinelymakes me feel good to know that,
like I'm working for anorganization that is helping
people and I love being able tosay, like you know the girl that
does my nails, you know, I wasjust like, do you have insurance
?
And she's like, no, I need help.
Because I was like, okay, yougotta call this person, you
gotta call this person, and I'mlike that's a good thing, like
people need need to know thatthis is available.
You know, and just like,because somebody helped me,
somebody helped my grandma,somebody is available.
(00:46):
You know, and just like,because somebody helped me,
somebody helped my grandma.
Somebody helped my grandpa.
You know, you don't, you can'tget, you can't go through life
without somebody.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Welcome to Career Cheat Code.
In this podcast, you'll hearhow everyday people impact the
world through their careers.
Learn about their journey,career hacks and obstacles along
the way.
Whether you're already havingthe impact you want or are
searching for it, this is thepodcast for you.
All right, veronica, welcome tothe show.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Hi, happy Friday.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Happy Friday.
I appreciate you taking thetime to join us.
Let's dive right in.
Let's tell the world what it isyou do for a living.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Oh boy, I am the Senior Director of Health Policy
and Community Affairs forPublic Health Solutions.
It is the largest public healthnonprofit in New York City and
they do a little bit ofeverything, quite frankly,
anything from direct servicesthat focus on food and nutrition
, maternal and child's health,sexual and reproductive health,
(01:40):
health insurance access.
We also run a program calledNew York City Smoke Free, which
is a tobacco control program,and that's our direct services
kind of prong.
The second prong is ouradministrative management
partnerships where we partnerwith the city.
We're a bona fide fiscal agentand we manage a number of their
Department of Mental Health andHygiene contracts on their
(02:00):
behalf.
And then we also are apass-through entity for the
discretionary funding that goesto CBOs from the city council.
So we help CBOs cross the T's,dot the I's and make sure that
they can focus on the directservices work.
And then, the third thing isthat we also we work to build
(02:21):
pathways between health systemsand the resources that are
available in our community, sothat's like a three-prong
approach.
Our mission is to advancehealth equity for all New
Yorkers, and my job is toamplify the work that this
organization has been doing forthe last 60 years and making
sure that everybody knows thatthey are a thought leader in it.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Awesome.
So what does that mean as asenior director of health policy
and community affairs?
What does that mean for you ona Monday when you walk in?
What are you tasked withthinking about, with leading,
with executing?
Speaker 1 (02:51):
It varies from day to day.
I don't think there's like ayou know, a set schedule.
My job is to advise theexecutive team regarding policy
regarding government andcommunity relations.
I lead the government communityrelations strategy for the
organization, so we have a statelobbyist, a city lobbyist, so I
am the point person to justkind of talk with them and get
(03:12):
their guidance and develop thebest strategy so that we can
position ourselves in the bestway in front of key decision
makers at the state and city andfederal level.
So it's dynamic, it changes.
Right now we're in the thick ofthe budget New York State budget
and city budget as well sowe've been advocating for two
big priorities for our sector.
(03:32):
One is more so for the sectorjust improving the wages of the
community based public healthworkforce, because these are
folks that are the frontlineworkers but they are paid
poverty wages.
You have a nutritionist thatgoes to college, wants to work
in his or her community, workswith us for six months and they
qualify for the same benefitsthat we are advising our clients
(03:55):
to apply for, and that'sunacceptable.
So there's a lot of educationthat has to be done, because I
think people assume that they'repart of a bucket that was given
bonuses and cost of livingadjustments, but they're not.
So that's been our charge sinceI joined to really advocate for
that and making sure that youknow these people that look like
your mom, look like my mom,who've been, you know, serving
(04:18):
the community and making sureAbuela gets her health insurance
, be able to pay their bills,you know.
So that's one.
And then for another prioritythat we've been that my focus
has been on for the last yearand a half, but definitely
during this budget season, is tomake sure that we get funding
for our two sectionalreproductive health clinics that
(04:40):
we have in Brooklyn.
You know we have a little bitof an operational deficit, but
we've been really, really,really good about getting grants
and we have an incredible, youknow, almost $4 million grant
that the state gave us last year.
But that just handles thecapital.
So you know it's me kind ofshaking my little we need money.
(05:01):
We need money because this is a, this is a clinic that has been
around.
These, these two clinics, havebeen around for a long time and
they're they're a key part ofthe fabric of the neighborhoods
Brownsville and Fort Greene.
So we want to make sure that wecan, you know, keep the doors
open and make sure that we cankind of kind of fulfill the,
like the long-term dream ofmaking it a big, you know know,
(05:23):
campus that's holistic andprovides you know so many more
services that we think peopleshould have access to seeing
that you do so much um, is thiswhat you always wanted to do for
a living, though?
Speaker 2 (05:35):
yes really tell me more.
When you were 16, what did youthink you wanted to do and how
was that?
Speaker 1 (05:41):
actually yes and no.
Uh, I wanted to sing when I was16 and I wanted to sing on
broadway when I was 16, but uh,you know, when you're a daughter
of immigrants, it's not reallyfeasible to do that.
My father, my grandfather, wasa professional singer and pretty
well known back home in ecuador, and so we always grew up with
our own musicians and with musicand a very important part of my
(06:05):
upbringing.
But doesn't pay the bills.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
So, when you say yes to that answer or to that
question, what did you mean bythat?
How are you doing?
Speaker 1 (06:13):
that.
Well, I always liked government.
I always wanted to.
I always thought politics wasreally interesting.
Again, my family after Sunday,after church.
It was always talking aboutreligion, politics, ethics,
money.
It was that kind ofconversation with all my tios
and tias and I would be the10-year-old in the mess and be
like, well I think I don't know.
(06:34):
They never shooed me awaybecause I just liked listening
to them argue hard, but it wasalways really interesting just
to hear their perspective andthey were very, very
knowledgeable about politics andabout things that were
important and so I kind of grewup with that kind of mindset.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Right.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
So I always wanted to work in politics, not not
necessarily like running foroffice I would go back and forth
about it but I wanted to be theperson in the room.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Tell me more.
You said you mentioned yourfamily's from Ecuador.
Where were your parents born?
Where were you born and wherewere you raised?
Speaker 1 (07:09):
Yeah, my mom is from Guayaquil, ecuador.
My father is from Santo Domingo, dr.
And I was born in Brooklyn andmy mom lives in Sunset Park.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Got it Awesome.
Yeah, I know much about SunsetPark.
I spent a lot of my time at EDCworking in Sunset Park and
doing a bunch of things there.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Yeah, yeah, my parents actually met at the
World Trade Centers.
They both worked there.
Wow, obviously.
My dad was apparently trying torap to my mom for a while and
she was like whatever.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
What were they doing there?
What kind of work?
Speaker 1 (07:41):
So my dad, if I remember correctly, he worked
for like an import exportcompany, like an insurance
company like logistics, and thenmy mom was an executive
assistant for some company.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
Your parents meet at the World Trade Center.
Eventually they get together.
You start growing up in SunsetPark.
Tell me what happens.
You're a senior, you're in highschool.
What did you think you weregoing to do and what did you
actually end up doing?
Speaker 1 (08:02):
I thought I was going to go to NYU and I did.
Speaker 2 (08:06):
I love that for you.
What did you go to NYU for?
Speaker 1 (08:09):
Initially I didn't want to apply because I didn't
think I would get in.
But my AP English teacher waslike you'd be a fool not to
apply and my aunt, katie waslike you have to apply.
But ever since I was little Ialways saw NYU and I always
thought it was like the dreamschool.
So I didn't think I could getin, but I got in.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Great.
What'd you get in for?
Did you go deciding what yourmajor was going to be, or did
you figure that out along theway?
Speaker 1 (08:34):
Yeah, it was going to be politics and journalism, but
it ended up being politics andhistory.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
Got it Okay, well, one, why that switch?
Okay, well one, why that switch.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
And two, what kind of student were you?
Were you like a super involved,all the clubs, all the
extracurricular stuff, or youjust, you know, head down into
books?
I had a car accident theweekend before the second
semester of my freshman year, sothat kind of changed things.
Got my teeth knocked out, lipwas hanging off my face, kind of
disfigured for a whole yearpretty much.
(09:14):
I was out of school for aboutthree months so that kind of
interrupted a lot of things, butI was able to finish and do
what I need to do.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
So tell me about that time.
So you get into this caraccident, Did you so?
Did you basically take asemester off at that point?
Speaker 1 (09:30):
No.
So I was out of school forthree months, no, two months,
well, not from January.
I didn't go back to schooluntil like end of March,
beginning of April, and theywanted to kick me out because I
remember the dean was likethere's no way you can catch up.
Of course they have no problemkicking out a Latina who's on a
scholarship Right.
So I was like the hell, you aregoing to kick me out?
(09:51):
There's no way.
And thank God, my, my teachersand my professors, they were all
really cool and they were likeno, we got here, we'll, we'll,
we'll make it work.
And I went to school.
I went back to school with athing on my mouth.
I was like a weirdo, but I madethe Dean's List that year.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
That's awesome.
That's how you got them back.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
That's how you showed them, I don't like somebody
telling me I can't do something,Especially when it comes from
an old white man.
Don't tell me I can't do this.
I went to his office.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
I was like here Were you involved in in a bunch of
clubs and uh internships oranything like that, where you
were there or um.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
So I worked for anthony wiener during college as
an internship, yeah yeah.
And then, as far as clubs, notso much, I joined a sorority.
End of sophomore year, yeah,spring of sophomore year, I
joined a sorority, a mostlywhite sorority.
Shout them out yeah, yeah,alpha Phi Zeta, and they were
local and they'd been around forlike 30 years and they were
just really fun and I loved them.
(10:54):
Best decision I made in collegeBecause I found my folks.
But like even before then, likewhen you first started NYU,
because we got into like thescholarship program, like they
kind of thought that you weren'tsmart enough to hack it, so
they made you go to summerschool before.
So that's where I met my fiveLatina girlfriends that I'm
(11:15):
still really, really close withmost of them at this point.
So, yeah, I had that crew rightand then I was able to to dorm
on campus.
I think I got my way to gettinggetting housing and I lived for
the sorority and it was.
I loved it.
It felt like real college atthat point you know that makes
(11:36):
sense.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
It's a whole different experience when you're
there immersed and you haveyour group of friends at that
point.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And like it was great because Istill went home on sunday.
You know what I mean I was.
You know I was so beat that andyou know get my laundry done
and whatever.
But it was, I think, living oncampus, you know, having your
folks like nyu had like a cutelittle like um, you know like
the little trolleys and stuffthat would take you from dorm to
dorm.
So it was great, I loved itforward.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
you're now in a sorority, you have your major in
politics and history.
You have internships withelected officials at that time,
senior year.
Similarly, did you have a goodsense of what was going to
happen after college, and thenhow did that actually play out?
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Like a week before I was supposed to register for
like to graduate, the studyabroad, buenos Aires campus
opened and my scholarship wasfor five years.
So I called my mom.
I'm like I'm not graduating inMaine.
She's like, yeah, I was likeI'm gonna go to Buenos Aires for
free and I did my last semester.
So I graduated in four and ahalf semesters or four and a
(12:41):
half years.
So my last semester I was inBuenos Aires, kind of not really
doing work.
I had like one real class thatI had to take.
Everything else was like anelective.
But it was just how could I not?
You know, I had studied abroadin the summer in when I was a
junior in Italy, in SouthernItaly.
But this to me Buenos Aires,south America I was just like
(13:02):
hell, yeah, I'm going to do it.
And the South America I wasjust like hell, yeah, I'm gonna
do it.
And the pain for it.
I was just like I'd be crazynot to do it.
So when I came back in June I'msorry, in December of 2008, I
was like, right when therecession hit.
so I was kind of I was nervousbut I was just like I'll be fine
, I'll figure it out.
I was working with a friend whomanaged a like a radiology
(13:24):
facility on the Upper East Side.
So she's like, well, you know,you can work here until you find
something and I was like, allright, I had a job when I got
home.
I didn't really have tostruggle, which is a blessing.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
What were you doing there?
Speaker 1 (13:38):
So I was a patient coordinator for the offices, for
the offices, so basically likefront desk receptionist-ish, but
then like managing slots andmanaging, you know, all of the
radiologists and the techs andstuff and the patients, because
we saw a very, very wide varietyof patients.
(13:58):
Like we had patients that youknow had very limited means, and
then we had Mariah Carey andNick Cannon coming in so you
have to treat them with the samelevel of respect.
So it wasn't a job that I wouldever be at long term, but it
definitely taught me how to dealwith people with a smile on my
face, even when I didn't want tohave a smile on my face, even
(14:21):
if they were really, really outof pocket and rude and all that
stuff.
Speaker 2 (14:25):
Yeah, yeah, I mean, and it plays into what you do
now, right, so it's just an yeah, you got a starting point you
have to do one of these.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
You know, I've, I've.
I remember there was, it wasthe upper east side, so it was
one of those where they're likedo you speak english?
And I'm like, I speak threelanguages, which one would you
prefer?
I remember charlie rose came inone time.
He was the meanest guy in thewhole world so when he went down
after for the me too thing, Iwas like I was like good for you
(14:55):
, buddy, I was just like yousuck, um, but oh, he was nasty,
nasty, nasty.
And then, uh, most of thepeople were lovely, like you
know, most of the celebritieswere like athletes, were really
sweet, really kind, and I can'treally complain.
But like I was there for fouryears and I still remember
charlie rose and how rude he was, he was just like such a grumpy
(15:20):
, mean old man that had neverbeen told.
Speaker 2 (15:23):
No, Absolutely so.
Speaker 1 (15:27):
I really enjoyed it when he went down.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
That's funny.
Why did you stop working there?
What came after that?
Speaker 1 (15:33):
Well, I never intended to be there forever.
I was going to be there until Ifigured out am I going to go to
law school, Am I going to get amaster's?
So I was studying to take myLSATs after two years there, and
then I had taken the classesand stuff and the morning of the
exam I walked out of my houseand I walked right back in.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
I was like I don't want to do this.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
I was like I don't want to do this and I upset
everyone in my family and myfriends and everybody that
thought that of course Veronicais going to be the lawyer.
She never likes to shut upfamily and my friends and
everybody that thought that ofcourse Veronica is going to be
the lawyer she never likes toshut up, you know, um, but I was
like I really don't want to dothis.
So then I took another twoyears to figure out my next
steps I think a year longer thanI should have, honestly because
(16:16):
you start making money, youstart hanging out, you start
kind of thing.
You're just like I don't knowwhat to do.
But I I think my family and myfriends definitely were like
Veronica, like you are destinedfor a lot more than what you're
doing right now.
And so get it together, youknow, and I felt a little stuck.
So I definitely needed that,that push from people and a
(16:37):
little bit of that shaming likegentle, right, they're like we
love you, we're like we don'tknow what's going on with you,
but you need to figure it out.
You know, right, they're likewe love you.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
We're like we don't know what's going on with you
but you need to figure it out.
And I was like you're right, Ido All right.
So tell me, where did you applyto grad school and why?
Speaker 1 (16:54):
So I applied to the new school, the Milano School
for Public Engagement, in 2012.
And I applied honestly, becauseit was one of the few programs
that didn't require GRE.
I was like I studied for theLSAT, I didn't take the LSAT, I
am not doing this again.
I'm like that's it.
(17:18):
So I just what.
What filtered out my optionswas do.
I have to provide it you know,take the GRE or not.
So and it was in, it was in thecity, it was by 14th Street,
and then I had gone to aninformation session and I had no
idea that the school had beenaround as long.
It had been started by Jewishintellectuals after World War I
or II and MLK gave courses ortaught there or lectured there.
(17:40):
It was really interesting.
I was like, oh, I had no idea.
I got in and they gave me alittle bit of a scholarship,
which is awesome.
I was living on my own at thatpoint and I had to move back in
with my grandparents and my momand give them my independence,
my apartment, because I couldn'tafford to do both.
But it was an investment, itwas worth it.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
What did you get your master's in and why did you
feel like that was an investmentthat you needed at that time?
Speaker 1 (18:07):
I got my master's in international affairs,
management and urban policy andI think that gave me I didn't
want to be limited to just onething with my master's degree,
you know, and I I also wanted towork for the UN at one point
and so like I wanted thatinternational kind of lens too.
And then the urban policy pieceis just you know how cities run
(18:29):
and I've always been interestedin that, and the management
piece is, I think, also reallyimportant and kind of overlooked
.
Um, so that was the the majorthat I really kind of focused on
.
I really liked it.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
Did you know what you wanted to do with that?
Like, offer it Like.
Was it?
Like I want to do?
I want to go to the UN at somepoint.
Like, what did you?
Speaker 1 (18:46):
Yeah, I did.
I interpreted for a worldconference my last year of
college.
Yeah, the women's like the 50s.
It was like the 52nd or 53rdannual like women's conference
and I interpreted as a Spanishspeaking interpreter for for one
of their sessions.
And it was awesome.
It was so cool.
(19:06):
I'd never been there.
But then I realized that it wasreally really hard to get into
the UN.
It's kind of impossible.
It's like Google, like you gotto know somebody to get in, that
kind of thing.
But I remember being like youknow, maybe I want to be a
foreign service diplomat, MaybeI want to you know work for the
CIA or that kind of thing.
So I wanted to make sure tokeep my options open.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Now, in retrospect, do you feel like that was an
investment that was worth it?
Speaker 1 (19:31):
Yes, I loved it.
If I could go back, it was abetter experience in NYU, 100%
NYU.
My teachers were great, thefriends and the networks that I
made were great, but it was notthe kumbaya liberal experience
that you thought it was, and alot of the people students that
(19:52):
went there made it very made yourealize very quickly that
you're not one of them, becausethere's a lot of wealth, you
know.
So, as a Brooklyn person, who,person, who was, you know, more
or less like lower middle class,but I always went to a good
school.
I lived in a house, you know,we had cars.
I was like, oh, I'm poor.
When and because they made theywere very clear about that.
(20:14):
The people, like some of thestudents, and they were awful
and I hated them, but I found mypeople so it was fine.
I still remember the collegerepublicans had a sale based off
of, you know, they.
They had baked goods andcookies and stuff and each, each
cookie was 25 cents If you wereNative American female, uh, 50
cents if you were a white man,cause they were protesting
(20:35):
affirmative action.
And I would have to always, youknow, say like I didn't get
here through affirmative action,I got here through the HEOP
program.
But even if I did, I'm like youcan't even spell.
So you know me.
Taking the one seat in a 200person lecture class because
your buddy Chad couldn't get inis not my problem.
It was those kinds of peopleand that sucked.
(20:56):
But the teachers are awesomeand the people that I, you know,
my sorority, my, my, my, myHEOP friends, like they were all
awesome.
But the new school, theteachers, the professors, they
were real world practitioners,they weren't just academics,
which is why I loved it.
These are folks that hadstarted NGOs, had worked at the
(21:18):
World Bank, you know, or like onMSNBC, giving like the finance
tips, that kind of stuff, soeverything that we learned.
They were very clear if it wassomething that was practical or
not.
So they would say you know Xtheory, you have to learn this,
but this shit doesn't reallywork in practice, you know.
(21:38):
But you should know it.
But this is not real.
And then everybody that I wentto school with all the students.
I had never felt so smallinitially, my first month,
because they they were like 22,23.
And I was already 26 or 27.
Cause I went to grad schoolafter four years after college
and they were like oh, when Iwas was 10, I started my own ngo
(22:00):
and I was like you know,they're like and you know I sued
this person and I was able tochange this law and I was just
like, god damn, I was like jesus, I'm like.
I thought I was smart but I waslike clearly I am, I have no
ambition.
So it was intimidating to bearound those people, but they
were for the most part.
Everybody was always reallysweet and cool and I usually got
along with the older studentsthat were like adults because
(22:25):
they were serious about doingtheir work and going home.
But I made some really goodfriends there too.
So I just loved it.
I loved it so much.
Okay, I tell everyone I'm likego to the new school, get your
master's there, it's great.
And the teachers, theprofessors.
I still talk to some of them.
There was one, robert buckley,older guy, and he was just just
the cutest, like grandpa, butthe smart, really smart, you
(22:49):
know.
And this other guy, michaelcohen, he was incredible, but I
just loved them.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
They were just good people yeah, the new school has
a great reputation forattracting really good faculty
and talent and students.
Yeah, so that makes sense.
You get this master's ininternational affairs and you
graduate.
What do you do next?
Speaker 1 (23:13):
I had gotten an internship with the Port
Authority in New York, newJersey, while I was in graduate
school, because the first yearof grad school I didn't, I went
there full time, right, but thenthe second year I was like I
don't have money.
I was like, so I was lookingfor internships and all of these
internships were unpaid and Iwas just like, clearly, these
are for folks that have money,these are for like and I'm like
this is not.
(23:34):
I'm like, this doesn't work forme.
So I had gone to an informationsession for the leadership
fellowship program for the PortAuthority and that was for
graduating grad students and itbasically was like a sped up
track to middle management,because the Port Authority had a
(23:57):
lot of folks that were retiringso there was a big gap between
folks that had just started and,like senior people and a lot of
the middle management wasleaving.
So this program had beencreated, you know, years, years
in advance, to kind of createlike a pipeline.
You know, and you did like atwo year program was rotational,
you did six months at eachdepartment and then basically,
(24:18):
like departments will fight forfor you and then you end up at
the department you wanted.
However, I was in my first yearof grad school.
So they're like well, it's forthe second year.
I'm like, okay, well, do youhave anything else?
And like, yeah, we have thecollege, you know, in the grad
school internship program.
They're like and it's paid.
I was like, say no more andthat's it.
(24:39):
So I applied and I got in and Iwas an intern for the
government community relationsdepartment for New York in 2014,
.
May 2014 is when I started andthen I was made a full-time
employee in December of 2014, inseven months.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
Tell me about what you were tasked with doing when
you were hired full-time Um, andhow long did you stay there?
Speaker 1 (25:02):
When I was hired full time.
I was hired as a seniorlegislative representative, so
my task was to monitor, trackand or respond to legislation
that impacted the Port Authority, whether it was positively or
negatively.
So I had to track bills, youknow, at the state level and to
(25:24):
a certain extent city level,even though the Port Authority
is a bi-state entity.
So it's not really bound bysingle state legislation, right,
or city council, but theagencies that we work with are
right.
So you still have to be awareof what was happening, right.
And you know EDC, portAuthority.
We have a lot of crossover soit was my job to track that.
(25:45):
And then I also had some of theassets from the tunnel, bridges
and terminals department undermy portfolio, where I was like
the dedicated governmentrelations liaison for that, and
I had the George WashingtonBridge bus station and the
George Washington Bridgeredevelopment project where we
modernized the hub, thetransportation hub up there.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
Wow, do you have a standout project that kind of
stuck with you that you were apart of?
Speaker 1 (26:12):
Yeah, so the Restoring the George is a $2
billion 10-year capital programmade up of 11 projects.
So that was under my purviewand it was.
The bridge is like an old lady,right she's, you know, in her,
I think she was 89 at that point.
Um, so, like all the approaches, all of like it was a massive,
(26:36):
massive project.
So it was really important tomake sure that we, um that we
were keeping the community inmind and looped in and, um, it
was important to me because I'mhalf dominican so I always felt
that the same amount ofattention that the midtown bus
terminal got, I also believethat the uptown terminal should
get right.
(26:56):
In addition to therestoringoring the George.
The there, headed up by StateSenator Espaillat and Councilman
(27:25):
Rodriguez at the time, had kindof a contentious relationship
with the Port Authority becausethey wanted a community space
there for free.
But we were able to negotiate acommunity space for 10 years,
rent free.
I was the key lead in thatprocess.
It took five years, but nowthere is a dedicated community
space that's run by the fabulousLaura Acosta from the Juan
(27:47):
Pablo Duarte Foundation and it'sa cultural hub for folks you
know, and it's a place where youcan have workshops and
educational seminars and it's agathering place, but it's a
place that's for the community,not just electives, absolutely.
You know, and I loved her.
I still love her.
(28:07):
She's fantastic.
I'm going to plug that.
She's having her 25thanniversary festival annual
festival this year, I think inJune, and it's an organization
that does really, really goodwork.
It's been around for a longtime and I think she's the best
steward for managing that spaceand me and her got along very
well and I think it was criticalto make sure that there was
(28:30):
somebody to be the liaisonbetween her, the engineers, the
operations folks to make surethat we got this project over
the finish line.
To make sure that we got thisproject over the finish line and
we did.
We got it designed, planned,constructed and opened in a year
.
$2 million investment for acommunity space.
(28:51):
It's about 1,600 square feet,it's beautiful and it's
rent-free for 10 years.
Speaker 2 (28:56):
That's awesome, so that's something that if I pass
by there I'm like that's cool.
As someone that grew up inWashington Heights, I definitely
remember that redevelopment andyou know, even years later,
like my mom still shops at thatsupermarket right.
So like that's in a way thatshe never really used the
(29:18):
terminal before, right, Like wewould walk past it when I was
really young to go a blockfurther for blockbuster.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
but that was, you know, I remember I was told
because I didn't I never went upthere when I was younger,
because I'm from brooklyn, right, um, and they're like oh, this
is where the pigeons all gather,and it was like a sports
betting place, like it wasreally really kind of not shady
and not good.
Now Now it's a commerce, anarea of commerce, right, and
like there's dedicated seatingfor people to wait for the
jitney buses and it's you know,it's you don't have to wait
(29:48):
outside and in the elements,like it's an important thing,
you know, and I'm really proudof that.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
Fast forward.
You stayed at the PortAuthority like five years or so,
right, six, six years.
So tell me, what title did youleave with at the end of it and
what kind of made you determinethat it was time to make a move
after that, after six years?
Speaker 1 (30:09):
so the title that I left with I was a band four,
which is nice band for externalrelations executive yeah, okay,
sounds fancy, it sounds fancy,yeah, yeah, I know it was.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
I know I well.
Speaker 1 (30:24):
I started as an intern, junior analyst, senior
legislative representative andthen ended up as an external
affairs, external relationsexecutive yeah, uh, what?
Speaker 2 (30:34):
what does that mean for someone that wants to get
into, like, external relations?
Right, or government,government affairs, which is how
our paths cross togetherbetween edc and port authority?
Right, like, is this alucrative type of career?
Like doing external affairs?
Like can people make moneyenough to, like feed their
families while doing some workthat is representative of what
they feel like it's really goodimpact?
(30:56):
Right, like working withcommunities, as you said.
Right, like you may not be fromthe heights, but you know the
people of the heights.
Right, so for you is like I amspeaking on behalf of this
community or working for thiscommunity and trying to bridge
projects with this communitybecause they are people they
benefit from.
Speaker 1 (31:14):
You know absolutely because this is, this is their
neighborhood.
You know, we are influencingthem.
You know, granted, they're alsobenefiting from living across
one of the most beautifulbridges in the world.
And they're like well, why arewe doing this construction?
I'm like do you want it to fallon you?
I was like how do you thinkwe're going to keep it up?
They're like, well, we don'tStart charging us toll.
I was like listen, the PortAuthority does not get any tax
(31:34):
revenue from you.
If, if you go into a store andtake something, you got to pay
for it, don't you?
And they're like, well, yeah,and I'm like same concept.
They're like, hi, but are youon the MTA?
I was just like no, no, no, no,no, no.
I was like go complain to thestate for the MTA.
I'm like that's not us.
The Port Authority ran like abusiness, you know, and I think
(31:55):
they do a really that get a badrap.
And I'm like you don't get to dothat to these folks because
they could be making double ortriple their salary and they
chose to work in public servicebecause they believe in it.
So, to answer your question, yes, I think you can make money,
but you can make a lot moremoney in the private sector, but
it's a trade-off, Like I, youknow, I have a pension and
(32:17):
having a pension, I think, and alevel of stability is really
important to me.
I'm not one of these folks thatlike to hop and skip around,
Like I really really one of thethings that attracted me to the
agency was that there are peoplethat have been there for 30
years, 40 years, and they hadhad so many different careers
because they started out in thisdepartment and then they moved
to this department.
And I'm just like I, I likethat, I, I believe in that kind
(32:41):
of longevity and loyalty, and tome that's that's important.
You know, Cause I, I think,even if you're at a place for a
year, it takes a full year tofinally kind of get your
bearings and then, like you,live in two and just like you.
Just you didn't even, you didn'teven like give it enough time,
you know.
But I understand why people dothat, because that's the only
(33:02):
way to, to, to, to, like youknow, increase your salary Right
.
But to me, like I, I genuinelythink that I cut my public
policy teeth at the government,that the government community
relations department of the PortAuthority.
I had wonderful mentors, I hadwonderful colleagues, you know,
and I'm still very, very closewith a lot of them.
Speaker 2 (33:20):
So you leave the Port Authority, you go to this other
organization called E-Corps,i-corps, i-corps.
Speaker 1 (33:28):
I-Corps Strategies yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:29):
Why did you go there and what were you doing there?
Speaker 1 (33:32):
So, funnily enough, I used to manage the internship
program for the Port Authority,for the Government Relations
Department.
So we would get two internsevery summer.
So for four years I managed theprocess.
I would screen them, I wouldinterview them, I would manage
them, I would review them, Iwould give you know they were my
responsibility.
So one of the interns, a girlnamed Phoebe, a four-lens-a,
(33:53):
ended up working at I-CorpsStrategies a couple of years
after she had left, you know,finished her internship and she
had reached out to me and saidhey, veronica, how are you like?
I hope you're doing well.
I'm like, oh man, phoebe, andshe's like well, I'm working
here and it's in Brooklyn andit's.
You know, I'm a black owned um,a community engagement firm,
and I think you know we'relooking for for a director for
(34:16):
like to manage the east uhregion for clients and I think
you'd be a good fit.
So I was like all right, let mecheck it out.
I met with the um, the ceo, ericeve, who is kind of new york
royal political royalty.
His father is eric eve isarthur eve, who was the deputy
(34:37):
speaker of the new york stateassembly for a long time.
His sister sister is Lisa Eve,who ran for attorney general and
is one of the poor authorityboard of commissioners.
So I knew he was a serious guyand he had worked in government
and then worked in the privatesector and then decided to start
his own thing.
So, you know, we talked for afew months.
The first job that he offered,I declined Cause I didn't think
(35:03):
it was worth leaving a pensionfor, you know, um.
So then he came back and hegave me something that I think
that I couldn't say no to, youknow.
But I thought about it for along time and then, like I, I, I
got guidance from my mentor,brian Simon.
Um was my first Port Authorityboss director and was an
(35:25):
incredible person and you shouldabsolutely talk to him.
He kind of guided me throughthe process.
He's like ask for this, ask forthis, ask for this.
And I was just like, okay, theygave it to me.
He's like, well, now you got todo it.
He's like, if you don't like it, you leave.
And I'm like, okay.
He's like okay.
He's like you're going to befine.
So I did, so I left March of2020.
Speaker 2 (35:42):
Okay, what were you tasked with doing there?
Speaker 1 (35:49):
So it gave me the opportunity to manage a team,
which is what I really wanted,right, because at the Port
Authority I was an individualcontributor and I had a
portfolio and I had likeprojects right, but like I had
never managed people aside frominterns, right, so I wanted that
management experience.
So I had a team of two directreports and then by the time I
left, it was five direct reportsfour direct reports and
(36:11):
consultants that I managed.
So like to me.
What attracted me to that jobwas that I was I started off as
a vice president of client andcommunity engagement for the
East region, so the East Coast.
I really learned how to managea team during that time, yeah,
and.
I'm very grateful for that,because that's something that I
(36:31):
had lacked and I wanted.
Speaker 2 (36:33):
In external affairs right, had conversations with
people where they view they cansometimes view our roles right
as basically the mouthpiece ofan organization Like your job is
to go and tell me what theorganization is going to do and
nothing's going to changeregardless of what I say.
So why should I even engagewith you?
Why should I even like workwith you?
(36:54):
Can you tell me about yourexperience working with people
and kind of shifting some ofthat mindset right?
Because for me I had to dealwith that going into, actually,
sunset Park where you know, atthe time, edc did not have the
best relationship this is, youknow, talking about like a
decade ago right With thatneighborhood, considering that
(37:18):
you know the organizationmanaged so much square footage
of the waterfront.
However, you know, I think wein these external relations
roles are tasked with going inthere and like talking to people
and like listening and thencoming back and delivering some
results.
Speaker 1 (37:32):
They do make a strategic thing to, like you
know, put the black and brownpeople in front of folks and
that's strategic and I get it.
But for me, I would say therewere tangible things Like my job
wasn't just to kind of be amouthpiece for the agency, my
job was also to be a mouthpiecefor the community and be like
hey, are you guys thinking aboutX, y and Z?
Because the community is notgoing to be down with X, y and Z
(37:53):
if you do X, so at least forthe Port Authority.
When I first started it, atleast for the Port Authority
when I first started, it wasvery, very reactive.
They didn't talk to anybody.
It was only when things wereafire and by the time I left it
was just night and day in termsof being proactive and building
relationships.
And there were times where I wastold explicitly not to talk to
(38:14):
people and I'd still call Carmende la Rosa.
I'd be like, hey, I can't talkto you, but because I I'm like
we can't just go to these peoplewhen we need something.
I'm like that it doesn't work.
Like that it's a relationship.
You have to talk to people.
You got to show up and you gotto be there, even if they don't
want you there, you still got togo because someone will respect
the fact that you went in thereknowing that you were going to
get heat.
(38:34):
And to me, I'm just like, I'mnot scared of anybody because I
wasn't raised that way and I'mcoming in good faith.
So even if you're alreadycoming to me with a guard up,
it's my job to convince youotherwise.
And if I don't do a good job atthat, then that's okay.
But I'm going to come back nexttime.
And eventually you're going tobe like you know what?
(38:55):
She's still here and I'm likeokay, now can we talk?
Speaker 2 (38:58):
Absolutely, she's still here and I'm like okay,
now can we talk Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (39:00):
You know, and I think it's really important to do
that and the agency, the portauthority.
I will say, for the capitalplan, the two biggest changes to
the capital plan were directfeedback from the community.
So we did listen to thecommunity, you know so, and it
was, and I would say that I,when people would be like, why
are you even here?
I'm like, we expanded the bikelanes on the gwb because of
(39:20):
y'all, you guys kept talking andtalking and talking, and so we,
finally, we reviewed and we'relike you know what, we couldn't
make this, but we couldn't, I'mlike, and it changed the project
.
It actually was a little bitmore costly, but we knew that it
was important to you.
So the two changes of thecapital plan when I was there
was to expand, you know, the,the, the, the, the middle part
(39:40):
of the bridge I can't God, Ishould remember this but to make
it wider so that it so thatpedestrians and cyclists didn't
kind of kind of bump into eachother, and that was a direct
piece of feedback that wasincorporated after the public
comment period, you know.
So I'm just like guys, like youknow, be honest here.
(40:01):
If you wanna use us as aboogeyman, that's cool, but we
are listening to you, you know.
So, when I would say thoseexamples, they're like, well,
that's true, like you are alwayshere, you do do job fairs and
you do call us and you do talk.
I was like, yeah, cause, youknow, I'm like I don't know who
you talked to before, but that'snot me.
(40:22):
You're talking to me now.
Speaker 2 (40:23):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (40:24):
So if you have a problem, you call me what's
going on.
You know, I think I, you knowyou you earn people's trust.
You kind of have to.
You just kind of you got tokeep doing it.
Speaker 2 (40:33):
I love that and I think you know part of some of
the cheat codes that you kind ofdropped there, right?
Or like that inside outsidegame, there's a lot of value,
like, yes, I work for thisorganization and yes, I am
tasked with delivering thisproject and I am also tasked
with building trust and buildingcommunity and having people not
just for the sake of onespecific project but for the
(40:54):
long term of our presence inthese communities.
So that inside outside a gameof hey, I know you told me not
to talk to these people and I'mnot going to tell you, I'm going
to talk to them, but I'mabsolutely going to talk to them
and I think you know part ofthat is also just being a person
of service, right, Like youwork for the community.
Speaker 1 (41:10):
And there were times where I fundamentally disagreed
with decisions that you know mybosses made and I was like
you're wrong, I'm like this isgoing to blow in your face if
you do this, you know, andsometimes they listened to me
and sometimes they didn't, but Iwas very much like you know
what, like I know that I'mrepresenting the agency, I'm
(41:34):
like, but what you guys areplanning is not right and this
is not right and it's going to,it's not strategic either.
So please do X, y and Z.
Or there were there was onetime the construction folks, the
consultants.
Sometimes they ran the programmanagers which drove me nuts and
the program managers wereincredible.
But you know, like some ofthese people were a, but you
know like some of these peoplewere a little like, you know,
(41:55):
sneaky.
Speaker 2 (41:56):
Well, they're tasked and evaluated by different
metrics.
Speaker 1 (41:59):
Right, sure, and there was a habit for a long
time Look, the governmentrelations folks, like some of
the line departments, thedepartments that made money,
that brought in revenue, likedidn't want to include us
because they're like, oh, you'regoing to tell us, no, we can't
do this.
But my, I worked really hard tobecome friends with the
engineers and the architects andthe program managers, cause I'm
like, my job is to protect you.
(42:20):
So the only reason I the onlyway I can do that is, if you
loop me in, do not bring me inat the end, cause if you brought
me in when we were planning it,I would have told you this is
going to be a problem.
This is going to be a problem.
This is going to be a problem.
Do not call me when there's anissue.
So there was one time wherethese construction guys up at
the GWB were going to takeparking for two weeks during
(42:43):
Christmas and I said, no, you'renot.
I don't know who you are andwhy you're delaying our project.
I'm like I'm sorry, thisproject is a year and a half
delayed.
I'm like, do not pin that on me.
If you want to take parkingspaces, have you guys flyered?
Have you guys informed thecommunity board?
Have you guys talked to theelected officials?
(43:03):
Because if you want the numberof the congressman, I will
literally forward the voicemailthat he calls me to you because
you will talk to him.
I was like we're not doing it,do it in January.
You can wait after the holidays.
And they're like they werepissed.
But my boss at the time, JustinBernbach, I went to him.
I'm like you're going to get aphone call and he's just like
(43:24):
you're right.
He's like that's fine.
He's like I trust you, he'slike I trust you.
I was like they can't do thisright now.
And now they're saying they'recomplaining that I'm, that the
go-kart is deleting the project.
I was just like no, no, no, no,no, no, no.
That's your poor planning, thatis not my problem, but you are
not going to do this to folksand if we are going to do it,
we're going to do it the rightway.
(43:46):
So I made sure to flyer.
I created brochures, we put theflyers on all of the cars in
advance to get people heads upand we did not take parking
spaces for two weeks duringChristmas.
We did it in January, in mid tolate January, because I was
like why would you do thisduring Christmas?
People are away, so peoplemight have their cars towed.
(44:08):
People are visiting and it'sthe damn holidays.
And I remember telling theseguys I'm like gentlemen, this
isn't Legos.
If you would you like thishappening in your, in your, in
your neighborhood?
They're like well, no, I'm like, so why would you do it in my
neighborhood?
I was like no, I'm like.
And if there's a problem withthis, then I'm like, that's fine
.
I'm like but call whoever youneed to call.
(44:29):
I'm like, but we're not doingit.
So I said no and then I wentimmediately to my boss.
I was just like you're going toget a phone call.
But I explained to him why.
And he's just like but you'reright.
And I was like and then it wasit.
Speaker 2 (44:40):
I love that that was it.
Speaker 1 (44:41):
I think, but it's just like don't do that, Like
just have some common sense.
Parking in Washington Heightsby the bridge is a nightmare
anyway and you're going to takeit away for during the holidays,
yeah.
Speaker 2 (44:54):
And yeah, and I think part of it is like people you
know they're tasked withdelivering a project on time and
on budget.
Speaker 1 (45:02):
We're tasked with you got to remember, like this is
you're not, you're not.
You're not working in a vacuum.
These are people's homes, theseare neighborhoods.
These working in a vacuum,these are people's homes, these
are neighborhoods.
These are people that you'reimpacting, and my job is to make
sure that we mitigate theimpacts as much as possible.
And it's my job to tell youthat this is an issue you should
know already.
I hear you, but it's reallyreally insensitive and kind of
(45:28):
careless to think that peoplewouldn't have a problem with
having this done during theholidays.
So to me, it was my.
I'm like would you do this inthe Midtown Tunnel?
I don't think so.
There's another thing there.
Speaker 2 (45:39):
Let's be clear.
I love that.
What's your favorite part ofyour role, like whether it's
right now or generally throughyour role as an external affairs
professional?
Speaker 1 (45:52):
It's funny, it's like I don't like people, but I do
like people.
I think people are just so kindof divided and in their corners
and I'm like everyone justneeds someone and I
fundamentally believe ingovernment and public service as
like the only entities that arelarge enough to tackle big
(46:14):
problems.
And you might be in a goodposition today, but you won your
sake and you might be in areally bad position tomorrow,
and I just feel like I thinkit's really, really important to
help people.
If you can.
You know I think that you can.
You know it's not entirelyaltruistic, like, yeah, you, you
(46:34):
want to make money, you want to.
You know, you want to live nice, but I, I want to be proud of
the work that I do, you know,and, and that's important to me
and I realized it's taking me,it took me a long time, but I'm
like I have to believe in thework that I'm doing to do it.
If I don't believe in it, Ican't do it.
You know, and to me, that's howI was raised.
(46:54):
You know my parents.
We always had, you know, randompeople from Ecuador living in
our house.
You know I'm like who is this?
I would always be like this isthe clown house.
I'm like there's there's somany people here but my grandpa,
my mom and my and my grandmalike that, like if we can help,
we we got to help.
You know, and to me, like that'skind of ingrained in me and I
(47:15):
genuinely, it genuinely makes mefeel good to know that, like
I'm working for an organizationthat is helping people and I
love being able to say like youknow, the girl that does my
nails, you know.
I was just like, do you haveinsurance?
And she's like no, I need help.
And I was like, okay, you gotto call this person, you got to
call this person.
And I'm like that's a goodthing.
People need to know that thisis available Because somebody
(47:37):
helped me, somebody helped mygrandma, somebody helped my
grandpa.
You can't go through lifewithout somebody.
And I just feel like there's somany people that are struggling
and it's a policy choice.
I want to make sure that I'mnot contributing to that?
Speaker 2 (47:55):
Are there any forms of media that could be books,
podcasts, shows that you havewatched or read or listened to
that have shaped you personallyor professionally?
Speaker 1 (48:07):
That have shaped me.
Well, my favorite show when Iwas in high school was buffy the
vampire slayer, and my grandmahated it.
She's like oh, this is ademonial, that's all like you
know, demonic stuff.
And I'm like this show wasactually very smart because it
wasn't about monsters.
The monsters were a metaphorfor growing up and like the
teenage years and and she was,you know, a female like
(48:31):
superhero, and I just and shewas funny to me, I just thought
she was so cool, I love thatshow so much, so like that was
like my formative show growingup when I was in, you know, in
high school.
But in terms of like shows orlike things, I'm trying to think
Like I don't know, I love film,I love TV, like I'm definitely
(48:53):
one of those folks that you knowin another life.
I would have loved to be onstage.
You know, so like the arts issomething that's very near and
dear to me.
You know, like sometimes Iwould be at Broadway shows and I
would cry because I'm like Icould have done that and like it
kind of hurts, like it's alittle painful to watch it now
because you're just like I couldhave done that and like it kind
of hurts, like it's a littlepainful to watch him now because
you're just like to be on stage.
(49:13):
It's the best feeling in theworld.
Speaker 2 (49:15):
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (49:17):
But podcasts, I listen to the Daily a lot, New
York Times and then Errol Lewis,that's my man.
I love that guy because he'sfair and he goes after everybody
you know.
So Spectrum, New York One,that's kind of my Bible a little
bit.
Speaker 2 (49:33):
You know, I think it's easy for folks to see you
on LinkedIn or on whateverplatform and realize you're
Highlight Rio and think you knoweverything has always been
great and peachy and amazing.
Are there any hurdles thatyou've had to overcome or low
moments in your life career thatyou're like you know what.
We went through that and we'refine right now.
What would you like to sharewith people?
Speaker 1 (49:55):
It's not linear, that's for sure I would say.
You know, I thought my life wasgoing to be very, very specific
, like I'm going to do this andI want to do this and we'll do
this, and my life went like that, you know.
But thankfully I always hadpeople in my life that loved me
and cared about me and protectedme.
You know what I mean.
And hurdles, yeah, definitely,my car accident messed me up
(50:16):
really bad.
As a 19-year-old, getting yourface messed up is not great.
I did very well that semester,but a year later I had the worst
grades I've ever had in myentire life and I had to crawl
back to graduate with like a 3-3.
But it was hard because I justI went through depression, like
(50:39):
it was really hard.
It was really hard.
I think the sorority definitelysaved my life because I had
something to do and I definitelylike kept going because I was
like, well, I can't let thesegirls down, like I gotta keep.
But I was a mess during thattime, a whole, complete mess.
And then, like after, I waskind of lost because I didn't
really know, like I hadconvinced myself that I was
(51:00):
gonna be a lawyer and then, whenI decided I didn't want to do
it.
I was like, well, what do I donow?
You know, and there's also thatlike expectation of, like you
know, my family has worked sohard to to get me to where I am,
you know, and my mom had a caraccident after I was born and
she became disabled after thatand subsequently every part-time
job that she worked at was atmy school and never cashed her
(51:21):
own check because it went to mytuition.
You know my grandparents if Ididn't have them, my life would
have been very different, youknow.
So, like, so, like.
There's a lot of I couldn't beselfish because I have a lot of
people that depend on me, eventhough they'd be like, well, no,
like you know, you put that onyourself.
I'm like, yeah, but like mymom's, my mom, and you know it's
(51:43):
my job to take care of her,it's my job to take care of my,
my family, and they've beenthrough way way too much for me
to give up over something, overlike the, you know, first world
problems.
So whenever I would get in myfeelings, I'm like my
grandparents did not raise me tobe a punk, you know, but I
(52:05):
think in the last few yearsCOVID hit me really hard.
I got sick twice and thatmessed me up a lot.
And my dad died my grandfathersix years ago.
So to me my life is very muchbefore him and after him, and
it's been very hard to livewithout him.
Speaker 2 (52:25):
Is there anything else the world should know about
Veronica that we have notdiscussed?
Speaker 1 (52:29):
today.
I don't know what you see iswhat you get.
I'm a little bit too opensometimes.
And then my boss, brian simon,one of the best pieces of advice
he gave me, especially in inbusiness, is like you need to
master, tell he's like you areincredible because you are so
genuine and authentic.
He goes.
But that can be used againstyou if you're not careful.
So mask your tail, you know, um.
(52:52):
So I worked very, very hard to,you know, not be very clear
about how I feel about things,you know, because my face says
everything.
Sometimes I'm like, and I'malways like, fix your face, fix
your face, fix your face,especially if you're managing a
team like you, gotta you, you dohave to move differently, you
know.
And me at public healthsolutions, I'm on the executive
team.
Like you, gotta there, you, youdo have to move differently,
(53:13):
you know.
And me at at public healthsolutions, I'm on the executive
team.
Like you, you do have to movedifferently.
And you know veronica, you know, at home was very different
from veronica from phs, you know.
And there's a reason for that,you know, because I'm not
representing just me, I'mrepresenting an organization and
they deserve to have a level ofum professional.
That is expected, right?
(53:33):
If you know me, I'm very, veryhonest.
You know that, roddy.
Speaker 2 (53:41):
Absolutely.
To a full, got it.
I love it.
Well, thank you for joining ustoday.
This has been great to learnabout you and your path, so
appreciate it, thank you.
I hope you enjoyed this episode.
If you did and believe on themission we're on, please like,
rate and subscribe to thispodcast on whatever platform
you're using, and share thispodcast with your friends and
your networks.
Make sure you follow us onInstagram and LinkedIn at career
(54:02):
cheat code and tell us peopleor careers you would like to see
highlighted.
See you next week with somemore cheat codes.
Peace.
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