August 19, 2024 • 52 mins
What if only 2% of elected officials represented 20% of the population? Join us as Sindy, President and CEO of Latino Victory, reveals her strategic efforts to bridge this significant representation gap. Discover how Latino Victory's unique structure, including its C3, C4, and super PAC components, is building a robust pipeline of Latino leaders. Sindy introduces us to the Afro Latinas Lead program, aiming to elect the first Afro Latina to Congress, and shares her own journey from shy student to a confident leader advocating for Latino empowerment.
Navigate the joys and hurdles of Latino leadership with Sindy, as she recounts her experiences meeting diverse Latino candidates and the satisfaction of elevating their voices. She candidly discusses the demanding aspects of her role, from extensive travel to combating social media negativity. Anchored in the historical context of Latino presence in America, Sindy emphasizes the importance of reclaiming our narrative and offers practical advice for aspiring leaders, particularly on the power of public speaking and resilience.
Witness how Sindy's personal story intertwines with her professional advocacy, from addressing worker rights during the pandemic to her unexpected path to public service. Learn about her transformative experiences, such as engaging with political figures at a young age and navigating salary negotiations as a nonprofit executive. As we conclude, Sindy highlights the importance of community support and continuous learning, encouraging listeners to follow Latino Victory's Path to Victory training program. Tune in and be inspired to join the mission of amplifying Latino political representation.
Disclaimer:
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):
We have a lot of power, we influence a lot of
people, and oftentimes we givenosotros mismos our power away,
and something that I live by isthat, with every decision that
we make every single decision,whether it's to comerme un
helado o no comerme un helado toa major, major decision that
(00:21):
only you would know of, we'reeither choosing to walk towards
love or we're walking to.
We're choosing to walk towardsfear, and some of the decisions
when you walk towards love arereally, really hard, but they
are worth it in the long term,and so I always tell everyone to
choose to walk towards love.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Welcome to Career Tree 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, cindy, welcome tothe show.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Thank you, happy to be here.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Yeah, thanks for taking the time to connect with
us.
I know you have a pretty hecticschedule, especially around
this time of the year, so youknow excited that you were able
to take some time to talk to ustoday.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Thank you, Radi.
I will tell you, I still havethe ojeras under my eyes.
It's been that type of week andit's going to be like that
until election day.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Absolutely, absolutely.
So let's dive right in, cindy.
Let's tell the world what it isyou do for a living.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
So I will tell you, rady, I feel that at times my
title should be chieftroublemaker in charge, and it's
just, you know, like causing alot of good trouble for our
community, our beloved Latinocommunity, and making sure that
you know our civil rights areprotected and you know, and that
we are represented right Likerepresentation really does
matter.
But truly, my title ispresident and CEO and I serve at
(01:46):
Latino Victory, which missionis to increase Latino
representation and grow theLatino community's political
power.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Wow, that's great.
So what does that mean when youwalk into the office on a
Monday morning Like, what doesyour week look like, what does
your day look like?
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Let me tell you, every day feels like a Monday
because there's just so muchgoing on, and you know, when
you're serving in a president,ceo level, you're never off.
Right, like your phone is neveroff.
There's, no, not necessarily atime when the phone is on
silence, because so many thingscould be happening.
I will tell you, though, myboundary is when I go to church,
(02:22):
so everyone is aware, likeCindy's in church, de esta hora,
esta hora.
She's not going to pick up herphone, but other than that, I
could, you know, work as earlyas seven in the morning and work
as late as two, three in themorning.
It just depends on what'shappening any particular day.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
So tell me something some more about the priorities,
or like the ways that LatinoVictory does this job, Like how
do you all functionally help theLatino community?
Speaker 1 (02:49):
So with Latino Victory we are 10 years young
and we were founded by HenryMunoz and Eva Longoria, so we
have that celebrity star powerand no, Henry has a long track
record of working in democraticpolitics specifically.
But we have the foundation,which is C3.
And what that means is thatwe're completely nonpartisan.
We have the Latino VictoryProject, which is C4.
(03:12):
And that's where we do a lot ofour programmatic work and we'll
probably dive into that in alittle bit.
And then we have a super PAC andwhat that means is that we have
an independent expenditure side, which is where we have
unlimited amount of investment.
That happens in two particularcandidates.
And then we have a federal PACand we do have amount limits
(03:33):
there that we can give tofederal candidates.
We work directly with buildingthat pipeline.
Know, if there's any takeawaythat folks can take away from
listening at this moment is thatin America there's 500,000
positions and of those 500,000elected positions, Latinos
(03:54):
occupy a little bit over 7,000,or a whopping 2%, and when you
start thinking of Latinorepresentation overall, we're
20% of the total US population.
But when you look at electedofficial positions, we only
represent 2%, and so what thatmeans is that we have long ways
(04:15):
to go and that we want to seemore Latinos elected at the
local, state and federal level.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Wow, that's huge.
State and federal level, wow,that's huge.
And that's, you know, one ofthose kind of heartbreaking
stats.
But also give us hope,especially with the work that
you all are doing to kind ofhelp close that gap and to help
make sure that you know that isnot the case long term, right?
So we're at 2% now.
That means we have a lot ofroom to grow.
So tell me, tell me more aboutsome of the programmatic ways
that you're doing it.
You mentioned your C4, youmentioned the C3.
(04:44):
So how are you all attacking it?
Speaker 1 (04:46):
So well, first I will take a state back, Radi, and
say that in our community, andin most communities, it's not
like our parents say oh hijo,hija, cuando ustedes crezcan, yo
quiero que ustedes seanpolíticos.
I don't think I've ever metanyone that has told me that,
including myself, and I wouldtell you just, you know, we also
have to look at how we perceivepolitics and how we perceive
(05:09):
serving in politics.
On the programmatic side, Ravi,you know, part of my job, you
know, aside from that title ofpresident, CEO and chief
troublemaker, is really thinkingstrategically about where the
gaps are.
And so, to give you a sense, wejust launched a program called
Afro Latinas Lead, and althoughAfro Latinas is under the pack
(05:30):
because our goal is to get thefirst Afro Latina elected to
Congress we know that we alreadyhave three Afro Latinos who
serve there Congressman RichieTorres, Congressman Adriano
Espaillat and CongressmanMaxwell Frost Congressman
Adriano Espaillat andCongressman Maxwell Frost but no
Afro-Latinas have served.
And so part of that program isbuilding that pipeline and what
(05:56):
we found last year as we wereconvening roundtables with
Afro-Latinas who had ran foroffice, Afro-Latinas who are
serving in the media,Afro-Latinas who are involved in
some way or are reallyinterested in being part of the
electoral process is that thedata doesn't exist.
And so you know, for so many ofus Latinos, making sure that
there's data is so importantbecause you don't have anything
(06:16):
to measure up against, so wecan't say right now there are X
number of Afro-Latinos who areserving in elected office.
So we have to literally buildthat data.
And why that's important isbecause it tells you just the
massive gap that exists.
You know, we do thankfully knowthat there's no Afro-Latinas in
(06:36):
Congress.
We're able to look at the 535positions and know that clearly.
But when you look across the500,000 positions in America, we
don't have that firm numberRadi of who identifies as
Afro-Latina.
And I think you know, sometimeswe also forget that you may not
necessarily have a Latinosurname, right, Like your name
(06:58):
could be Cindy Williams, right,and you could very well identify
as Latina and be Afro-Latina.
And so for us there's a lot ofwork ahead, I would say.
On the programmatic side, underthe project we also have Path to
Victory, and Path to Victory iswhere we actually train our
candidates for free.
We even provide scholarships.
We want to make sure that ourLatino community doesn't feel
(07:22):
any obstacle or any barrier whenthey're thinking of running for
office.
And we already know, Ravi, thatthe biggest obstacle is raising
money right, Like reallytapping into those networks of
asking our friends, our family,people that we know and people
that may be complete strangersfor donations to support the
(07:42):
campaign.
And so this is where we do alot of that training around
fundraising, aroundcommunication, around the
compliance and legal side.
We don't want any of ourcandidates to get into trouble,
so we want to make sure theyknow the law and they know what
they have to file and when theyhave to file it, and all of this
depends on what state they'rein.
And so we're very, verystrategic in that sense, Radi,
(08:17):
in terms of really thinking ofthe long term and building that
pipeline.
And just to say that, you know,when we started Latino Victory
10 years ago, we were endorsing,on the PAC side, about 7
endorsements for Latinocandidates.
So that just tells you theopportunity exists.
And also, you know, this iswhen you totally break down that
myth that there are noqualified Latinos who can run
for these positions, right, Likethat is a complete myth that is
(08:40):
circulating, and for us it'simportant to note that we have
so many qualified Latinos thatcan run at the local, at the
state, at the federal level.
We've already seen someone likeJulian Castro, who ran for
president of the United States,and so we know that we are here
and we can absolutely win someof these seats.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
That's absolutely, you know, amazing that y'all are
doing this work, and Icompletely agree.
I think there's just a lot ofmisconception and myths, you
know, and I just think we haveso much untapped talent and
potential and just room to growand to showcase that throughout
the country and for thebetterment of this country.
Right clear on what a PAC and asuper PAC are.
(09:22):
Can you break that down alittle bit more so we understand
kind of what the power of thoseare, why those are created and
what their mandate are?
Speaker 1 (09:31):
Sure, and so about 10 years ago, latino Victory, when
it was formed, was formedbecause we saw that lack of
Latino representation andpositions.
But as the PAC was being formed, it was a way for us to
fundraise dollars from ourcommunity and be able to track
(09:51):
it right.
So we have, radi across thecountry, thousands of Latino
donors, people who give to thecampaign, any given campaign,
and in this instance, this was,you know, like back when Obama
was running right, and so whatwe wanted to do was really see
that collective power of ourcommunity.
(10:11):
And we're talking aboutindividuals who give, you know,
like hundreds of thousands ofdollars.
But those are not the onlydonors that exist, radhi.
We have donors who give $25,and we have donors that can cut
a check for $250, or can cut acheck for $5,000, or can cut a
check for $100,000, or can cut acheck for an X amount, and so
(10:34):
we classify them as donors and,through the PAC, what we do is
that we receive that funding.
We do have to abide by federalelection rules and report who
gives us that money.
But on one side of the house wehave the non-contribution side.
It's unlimited amount.
So if someone came to us andsaid, we want to write a check
(10:54):
for $500,000, we're able toaccept it.
On the federal side, it cannotbe more than $5,000.
And so we are veryconscientious of making sure
we're always following thoserules.
And I will tell you that themoney that's given to us on the
federal side goes directly tocandidates, so it goes to
support our Latino candidates.
(11:15):
So not only are we trainingthem, ravi, but we're also
making sure to contribute to thecampaigns of our Latino
candidates so that they're moresuccessful.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
Wow, that's great.
Can you tell me what's yourfavorite part of this job?
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Radi, I would say that I am blessed to serve.
It's funny because I always getasked did you ever imagine
yourself in this position?
No, I did not.
I never imagined myself servingin this position in this
organization.
In fact, radi, I am mostcomfortable behind the scenes,
I'm most comfortable propellingand pushing a principal into the
(11:53):
light and me just gettingthings done behind the scenes
sin que nadie lo sepa.
And so with you know, withserving at Latino Victory, I
really do feel blessed because,although I've had a long
political career and I knowwe're going to dive into that I
never knew, radi, that I wouldbe serving in this executive
role representing a really large, significant organization in
(12:17):
this country that's very closeto the current president, the
current vice president Biden andVice President Harris in the
White House, right Like I neverknew that this was going to be
part of my journey.
But I am so excited because theissue of representation is one
that I have worked on since thevery beginning of my career, and
(12:37):
to be able to meet Latinocandidates, whether it's in
California or Washington Stateor Texas or Arizona, or like
Michigan and Ohio or Virginia orFlorida or New York, is
absolutely amazing, radian.
I tell you, I get goosebumpsbecause in the process of
(12:58):
getting to know our candidates,we get to know their journeys
and their stories and there's somuch that connects us and
there's so much inspiration outthere in nuestra propia
comunidad.
And I feel that if we learnmore of each other and I know
this is what you do in yourpodcast, ravi I feel like we
(13:24):
would be more inspired, morefilled with a sense of pride of
who we are and who our communityis and, I think, more filled
with a sense of urgency in termsof our purpose in this life.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Absolutely, because the Latino community is so
diverse, right.
We have different backgrounds,different upbringings.
If you know one Latino, youknow one Latino.
If you know one Dominican, youknow one Dominican.
Like we have, you know so manydifferent backgrounds and so
many different walks of life,but we all, just like any other
group of people, have so much tocontribute, right, and so much
(13:53):
to bring to this country tofurther its promise and its
mission.
Um, and all of the things thatyou know, we, as the United
States, take pride in, right?
So you told me some of yourfavorite parts of this role.
What are the most challengingparts of this role?
Speaker 1 (14:08):
I would tell you, rady, that some of the most
challenging parts is that youknow when something needs to get
done, it's going to get done,and it doesn't matter if you're
running on 30-minute nap to makesure it gets done in a 24-hour
cycle.
And I would also say thatthere's a lot of travel involved
(14:29):
, right, and I'm blessed to beable to travel a lot and to be
able to be in differentlocations across the country.
But it also takes a toll on you, right, like especially if you
have to take a red eye or you'reliterally running from an event
.
And, yes, I have been thatperson that has, like, changed
in the airport to go to ameeting because there was like
no time in between to check inmy maleta at the hotel.
(14:51):
I had to just bite the bulletand go straight.
And I would also say, radhi,that you know, just as I meet
really wonderful people, we'reliving in an era where we have
technology and where we havesocial media and where we often
see trolls as well on socialmedia presence.
You know, like just sayingreally disruptive, negative,
(15:13):
racist remarks and you get tosee a little bit of like the
ugly part.
I would also say, radi, that youknow, part of our work is
making sure that all of thecommunities, not only the Latino
community, have the facts right.
In an era of disinformation andmisinformation, where you don't
know anymore what's true, what'slike, our own community doesn't
(15:34):
get confused right, andcertainly what we've seen, ravi,
in the last several years is anarrative to try to divide
nuestra comunidad, a narrativethat also pits one ethnic
(15:57):
community against another, anarrative that even within our
own community, it plays toracism and colorism.
And so for us, it's reallymaking sure, radi, that we
continue to be spokespeople, butalso that we continue to
elevate our own positivenarrative of Latinos in America.
And what people forget is thatbefore America was America, the
(16:20):
Guadalupe Hidalgo Treatyhappened, which annexed a
significant portion of thiscountry that included California
and Colorado and Texas, andthat our community was already
there, so literally the bordercrossed us.
But we live in a country whereLatinos are made to feel like
we're a guest and not part ofthis country.
And that's where we have totake the narrative back, ravi,
(16:43):
and stand up and know our ownhistory and make sure that
anytime we walk into a roomalthough we're made to feel less
that we walk with our head highand understand who we come from
, whose we are and our ownhistory, right All that we
contribute to this country tomake it what it is today.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
I love that line that you know we're made to feel
like guests in this country,when that is not the case, Right
?
And no one group has moreownership than others in this,
and if anything, it would be theNative Americans, right?
Not the folks that are actuallyperpetuating some of these
thoughts.
So I appreciate that.
I think that was reallyinsightful.
So, you know, we'd love to heara little bit about how does one
(17:21):
become the president of thistype of organization, cindy,
like, how do you, what do youhave to do in your career to
actually, you know, get to apoint where you are, like,
helping to serve in this type ofposition where you support
Latinos throughout the country?
Speaker 1 (17:37):
So I would start it off with the one, two trees and
then I'll dive into my story,because this, this definitely,
definitely, was not part of whatI was thinking when it came to
my career.
But I would say, you know, ifyou're an introvert and by all
means I am an introvert, whichmeans I'm going to be super
exhausted after this interviewis that I had to learn how to do
(18:00):
public speaking, and anytimeRadi that I am giving a major
speech at a conference or doingpublic speaking, it does take a
toll on me, only because I cantell you I prefer to be on a
hammock with a book with no onearound me.
But I have had to learn to bean extrovert for my job and
(18:22):
specifically to learn how to dopublic speaking, and the biggest
advice that I can give you isthat I know it's uncomfortable
and you can get nervous, but youknow how I was able to overcome
.
It was with practice, along theway I was able to hire a speech
coach who was able to tell me,like okay, cindy, this is what
(18:42):
you're doing wrong.
This is how you need to changeyour tone, and something that I
do once in a while already,especially when it's, you know,
a long day, I don't have a lotof energy, but I have to make
sure that I come across and thatmy message comes across is one
I'll do a prayer first and askGod that he guides my words so
that I may change people'shearts, and second I'll do a
(19:04):
superwoman stance in thebathroom, right, and that's just
to kind of like just shift myenergy around and remember that
I'm a superwoman because of myancestors and the people that
have paved the way for me, andso remembering who stands with
you, remembering your ownjourney, remembering all the
people who have made it possibleto get to this specific moment,
(19:26):
actually really helps to clearmy thinking.
I would say the second thing,radi, is that we have to be able
to jump at the opportunity, anda lot of times people will ask
us whether it's like hey, cindy,could you cover this meeting?
And maybe you know you're onlygiven like a few minutes notice,
(19:47):
right, and you're like, ohshoot, I'm not prepared.
And you're like, try to figureout what to do minutes before
going into a major meeting.
But I think being able to benimble and being able to jump at
an opportunity, even if you'renot an expert in it can be a
learning lesson, and it's okayto say you know, listen, I'm not
(20:07):
an expert in this field.
I'm going to listen and I willprovide input as needed.
I think that's completely okay,because has helped me be
successful is being completelyauthentic.
And so you know, when you talkto me, I will always give it to
(20:28):
you straight.
I don't beat around the bush.
I will tell you if I have anagenda.
Typically I don't, typicallyit's, I just want to get this
done and this is why, and sopeople have come to really
appreciate that style of leading.
And I would say that, you know,read a lot of books and take a
lot of courses, and for me, whatreally helped me, ravi and I
(20:48):
never knew that I was beingprepared for this role again is
that a lot of people that werearound me saw something in me
that I could not see, and sothey said Cindy, you should, you
know, do the National HispanaLeadership Institute when I was
24 years old.
I got into it at the age of 25,which is why they had to do
(21:10):
actually a vote for me to get in, because I was too young to do
the program, but I was able toget in because the board voted
to get me in, and through thatprogram, radhi, I was able to go
to Harvard and get mycertificate in executive
nonprofit management program,although I was serving in
government.
I was able to go to the Centerfor Creative Leadership at the
(21:31):
age of 25.
This is where Fortune 500 CEOsgo to get their training.
I was able to understand how Imake decisions right, and a lot
of times for me to make adecision I have to kind of look
at everything that's goingaround, that's around me, which
for some people it may appear asbeing indecisive, but truly
(21:54):
what it means is that I'mpragmatic, right, I have to have
like the 10 different thingsthat I think could happen before
I say like, okay, this could benumber one or two, and so I've
learned to be able tocommunicate that to the people
that work with me so theyunderstand my leadership style.
But I will tell you, rady, thatI never thought again that I
would be serving in a presidentand CEO position, and part of it
(22:16):
was, you know, in my first roleleading as CEO of LULAC and
LULAC is the oldest and largestnational Latino civil rights
organization in the country.
I was actually the immigrationand civic engagement director
for several years and then I waspromoted to be the chief
operation officer.
I was asked several times, whenthe CEO stepped down, radi, if
(22:40):
I would consider being the CEO,and I said no.
I said no multiple times.
And I said no because at thattime I was a mother of a one and
a three-year-old and Iunderstood the sacrifice that it
would take.
But on the very last day toapply for that position, which
was April 30th, a Sunday, myhusband asked me at that time if
(23:05):
I would regret not applying.
And then we went to church andat church the pastor talked
about sacrifice and beinguncomfortable, and so, before
the mass ended, we got in thecar.
Before the mass ended, we gotin the car, I called Lenny
Gonzalez and Tony Tijerino, wholeads a major national
organization, and said hey,today's the last day to apply.
(23:27):
I just made up my mind, couldyou do a letter of
recommendation for me in thenext two hours?
And they did.
Going through three rounds ofinterviews, I was selected to
lead LULAC as the first Latinain 90 years to ever lead the
organization.
And not only was I the firstLatina, but the first immigrant.
(23:50):
And when you looked at all thenational legacy organizations,
whether it was the NAACP orUnidos or the National Urban
League.
I was by far the youngestleader serving at LULAC.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
Wow, that's amazing.
And it's interesting becauseyou spoke earlier about being
ready and just showing up in themoment and just taking the
chance to just show up to themeeting, right, and here you
were being asked to do somethingand you felt like the sacrifice
wasn't worth the reward untilyou actually then sat and, you
know, as you said, went tochurch and thought about it a
(24:26):
little more, reflected on it alittle more, but then ultimately
made the decision and then hadpeople that were so supportive
to turn letters ofrecommendation around.
And you know, and I know someof the folks that you mentioned,
they're like remarkable humans,right, that would just turn
around on a Sunday and say sure,we'll give you a letter of
(24:46):
recommendation because webelieve in what you're doing and
the power of what you're doing.
So, you know, I'd reallyappreciate you sharing that.
I definitely have some follow-upquestions on some of what you
mentioned there.
One, we definitely need to seeyour superwoman pose, because
that's important and we needother people to like take that
as part of their, as part oftheir journey.
Two, you know you, youmentioned being in really high
stakes meetings, right, and likebeing ready to just show up.
(25:08):
We'd love to just understand alittle bit more about that, like
, like, who these you travelingto within the United States and
why?
Right, I imagine some of it maybe to connect with candidates
(25:29):
that are thinking about runningor that are going to run, but
there may be a broader breadthof reasons there and I just want
people to understand kind ofwhat comes with this type of
role.
Speaker 1 (25:35):
Sure.
So I would tell you, on thesuperwoman pose, simply like
putting your arms at your waistand then, like I always look up
for some reason, that's how I doit, but you can have it any
other way.
And and then I would say, interms of meetings, radi, I
really have been blessed to meetwith leaders at all levels, and
that includes individuals whomay, according to our own
(25:59):
societal standards, may not havepapelito that says they have a
master's or a BA or a PhD, butthey are so professional and so
prepared and just have thatexperience of life and knowledge
and wisdom to pass on.
And you know, one of thoseexamples was during the pandemic
, if everyone remembers, youknow, walking into a grocery
(26:20):
store and you would see that thepoultry and meat section were
completely, completely goneright, like there was like no
meat or poultry no había polloni carne in that freezer.
And part of what was happening,radi, is that within the
meatpacking plant, a lot of theworkers were getting sick.
And they were getting sickbecause you know, if you can
(26:41):
imagine, there's 600 to 900workers that work in a meat
packing plant per shift,literally working shoulder to
shoulder, so there's like no sixfeet distancing.
And when the pandemic broke, wegot one of the first calls, and
the call was from a womanletting us know that she was
(27:01):
afraid, that she was walkinginto work and putting her life
on the line, and so we steppedinto action.
At that time, ravi, and startedcontacting the CEOs of all these
meat.
Were able to connect with theworkers directly was the most
(27:25):
insightful meeting that we couldhave ever had, because this is
what we learned.
We learned that the workers hadto travel 45 minutes to more
than an hour to see a doctoreach way and that they
necessarily wouldn't get adoctor's visit because the
doctor may be busy.
We learned that their childrenwere being sent away at the
(27:48):
daycare.
The daycares didn't want totake care of their children,
which meant that they had tostay home.
And we also learned that manyof them they didn't have sick
leave.
So if they got sick, you knowthey were not paid leave.
So if they got sick, you knowthey were not paid.
And so we were able to connectwith a lot of the CEOs, ravi,
and recommend to them that theyhave nurses and clinics on site
(28:13):
so that if a worker got sick,they could just go to the clinic
, get tested, see if it wasCOVID or if it was something
else, and then they wouldimmediately, you know, not
infect or get others sick.
The second thing was that theyget paid sick leave right, like
many of our community,unfortunately, work jobs that
are minimum wage and or thatthey need to work to be able to
(28:36):
pay for the very basics, likecomida la casa.
And so, you know, we were ableto also negotiate that end.
And then the last thing is thatmany of these companies were
actually able to negotiate withlocal daycares and signed MOUs
so that these daycares wouldnever turn away the children of
their workers.
And so for me, radi, thatmeeting with our workers is
(29:00):
probably one of the mostmeaningful meetings that I will
ever have in my life, because wehave to remember that nuestra
comunidad tiene experiencia.
They are impacted directly andthey are able to voice directly
what their needs and gaps are,without us, as leaders, assuming
what they are, and so that, forme, is probably one of those
(29:21):
memories that will be written ina book at some point.
But I also get the pleasure of,you know, being in meetings with
individuals who are in electedoffice, whether it be a US
Senator or whether it be amember of Congress or maybe a
mayor or a local electedofficial, and just really learn
about what may be happening onthe ground in a particular city
(29:42):
or in a particular district or aparticular state.
And then I would say I've alsobeen very blessed to be in
meetings at the White Housedirectly with the president.
We just had a meeting a fewmonths back with President Biden
, and it was Mi Familia, votaUnidos, voto Latino, latino,
victory in the room sitting withthe president talking about the
importance of policy issuesthat impact our community.
(30:05):
And so I would tell you in thesame breath, radhi, I am super
blessed to be in this position,and every time I walk into our
room I really do remember who Iam and that the power of my
voice and what I have to say isvery important, because not
everyone gets that opportunity.
Speaker 2 (30:24):
Absolutely, and you just get to represent the Latino
community in rooms that they'renot in, right, and that is such
a powerful position to be inand such an important position
to be in and you know, just tobe.
I love the, the way you framednot just helping folks with
getting to political power, butalso like helping worker
(30:44):
conditions right, like you'rehelping to support Americans and
people that are living inAmerica, throughout this country
at different stages and atdifferent phases of their lives,
right.
So it's just really importantand impactful work and I just,
you know, first of all, thankyou, you know, and, second of
all, I'm just in awe with allthe work that you're able to do.
(31:06):
So, you know, just, I continueto be fascinated by you, cindy.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:13):
So I know you mentioned this earlier and you
said you get this question or aversion of this question, but is
this what you always wanted todo for a living?
Speaker 1 (31:19):
Not really, radi.
I, you know I did not knowexactly what I wanted to do.
My mom is a nurse.
She was a nurse in Honduras andso serving comes naturally for
my family, and we weredefinitely, I feel, like many
Latino families where we havethe kitchen door open para
familiar desconocido, whoeverneeded help, they could always
(31:41):
walk through that door.
Pero, you know, when I was inhigh school, what really
impacted me, radi, was and thisis going to give you my age I
was in high school whenColumbine happened and President
Clinton actually came to TCWilliams High School in
Alexandria, virginia, which iswhere I was studying and had a
roundtable with students, and soI was one of the students in
that roundtable and I justcouldn't.
(32:03):
I really couldn't put the dotstogether, radi, in terms of the
policy implication I mean, I wascomo 17 años and what it meant
for our community, but it reallymade me think of the role that
government plays in our everydaylife, and so I think part of
that influenced me to studypolitical science.
(32:25):
And you know like studyingpolitical science for me was
because I wanted to serve insome way and, you know, perhaps
even serve in government, but Ididn't know.
I was literally going to gointo government, and so you know
that that's part of mytrajectory.
But I was very fortunate, radhi, that I was able to attend
Virginia State University, whichis a historical Black college,
(32:46):
and at VSU really is where I hada big awakening, because we're
not taught to be criticalthinkers in school, we're not
taught to challenge the booksthat we read, we're not taught
to challenge the sources and thenews that we get.
And at Virginia State I hadprofessors like Professor Baker
(33:07):
and Dr Mike Michael who wouldask me Cindy, why do you believe
that?
And goodness, ravi, like Iwould go down a spiral hole and
just think about, like, why didI believe certain things?
And I remember reading a book,believe certain things.
(33:28):
And I remember reading a bookcalled Dark Ghetto by Kenneth
Clark that I had to read for DrMichael's class, and really
understanding that what ishappening in our community
really sometimes is imposed bythe policies that we have and
that you know, what we need tostrive for is to make sure that,
no matter what zip code ourchildren and our community live
in, that everyone has thataccess to opportunity.
(33:49):
And I was able to see thatfirsthand when we moved from
South Central Los Angeles toAlexandria, virginia, radi, and
the opportunities that we had inVirginia were massive.
But the people that we leftbehind in South Central Los
Angeles didn't have thoseopportunities, and so they were
not able to have access to thepaths that we were able to take
(34:11):
and by we I mean my threebrothers and I and so that
really left a mark for me.
But then I really got involvedbecause there was a gentleman
named Kerry who was running forpresident and I got volunteered.
I was that person at an event,signing in people and licking
envelopes and writing postcards,and became such a wonderful
(34:35):
volunteer that when a gentlemannamed Tim Cain ran for governor
in Virginia, the communityleaders actually put my name
forward so I would beinterviewed.
And so I remember the day thatchanged my entire life was going
into this campaign headquartersin McLean, virginia,
interviewing with Bruce Sinclair, who was the regional director,
(34:55):
and I was in an interview and Iwas basically telling them what
they needed to do.
And hasta el dia de ahora, radi, I cannot remember what in the
world I said in more than anhour because I was only 22.
But I remember walking out, Iwas getting into my little
hooptie and they asked me if Iwould be the statewide Latino
director for the campaign and myresponse to them was if you're
(35:20):
willing to train me, I'm willingto learn Again, seizing the
opportunity.
And they trained me and Ilearned a lot.
And guess what he won?
He became governor and whenthey were working on the
transition team, they asked meto serve on the transition and
then I was actually a politicalappointee at the age of 23,
serving in a cabinet levelposition in the state of
(35:43):
Virginia for a governor, andthat's where my career started.
Speaker 2 (35:47):
Wow, I love that.
And that's again you taking theinitiative and having people
around you that believe in you,right To kind of throw your hat
in the ring for something thatyou maybe weren't necessarily
all the way convinced made sensefor you at the time.
But then, when the questions andthe conversations actually
started, you're like yeah, I cando this.
It may take some training and Imay need some to fill some gaps
(36:08):
, but I am mentally prepared todo this and I know I have the
skills to do it.
I just need to fine tune insome areas.
So I love that you were just,you know, willing to go out
there and now that has kind ofled to this remarkable career
right when like, if you said noat that time, who knows where
your career would have gonethrough right, but you've
stepped up at every challengealong the way and you're able to
(36:29):
show up and now do work thatimpacts so many people's lives
and so many families throughoutthe country.
So you know, it's justremarkable to see how you, how
you're able to position yourselfand continue to do that.
Speaker 1 (36:41):
No, thank you, Radhi.
And I would say also because Ifeel sometimes in nuestra
comunidad, radhi, so many of usget a no.
And right before that I hadapplied for a major fellowship
and you know, keep in mind forundergrad.
I graduated valedictorian, Ihad great notes, grades for my
(37:04):
master's, and I was like there'sno way that they're going to
turn me down.
Well, guess what thisfellowship turned me down?
And for me it was like thebiggest failure.
I was like what I can't believe, I don't understand.
Goodness.
If I can't make it, can youimagine other Latino students?
But I think it was becausethere were other plans that Papi
Dios had in the cart and had Igone to the fellowship, my
(37:26):
political career would have beencompletely different.
It would have taken me probablyan additional 10 to 15 years to
get to where I was when I wasable to do it within one year.
Speaker 2 (37:36):
Tell me why.
Why do you say that?
Speaker 1 (37:38):
Well, I say that because you know, if I had taken
the fellowship route, it wouldhave been, you know, like one
year serving in Congress.
You know, potentially gettingother job positions, but because
I served in the campaign andbecause, honestly, with a lot of
hard work and by a lot of hardwork what I mean is I wouldn't
even stop and get a Starbuckscoffee because I could use those
(37:59):
15 minutes to call people andor get volunteers or do X for
the campaign, you know, makingsure that that the candidate got
over the finish line.
I didn't realize at that timethe access that I had to a
governor Right, like andhonestly like it doesn't sit in
until you're like years later,like oh my God, cindy tenías 23
años, you were talking directlyto a governor, like todas las
(38:22):
semanas in some way, shape orform, and actually leading a lot
of the policy impacting Latinosin an entire state at the age
of 23.
Speaker 2 (38:32):
Wow, that's amazing.
And you mentioned fellowshipsand you also mentioned, you know
, going through the nonprofit of23.
Wow, that's amazing, and youmentioned fellowships and you
also mentioned, you know, goingthrough the nonprofit leadership
program.
What are other ways that youcontinue to sharpen your tool
belt and like?
Continue to either makeyourself better professional or
serve other organizations, likein other board capacities or
advisory roles that you may dooutside of your nine to five?
Speaker 1 (38:51):
Well, I will tell you I am an avid reader, so I read
every single day and it doesn'tmatter.
I told this to my best friend.
I was like Maria, no importa sison diez minutos, just read,
even if it's 10 minutes a day.
Read something, whether it's inan application, maybe you're
listening to something inAudible, but just make that time
to grow and expand your ownknowledge.
(39:13):
And so I keep books all over myhouse ready, and for those of
us who are parents, by the wayour kids pick up our own, I
would say, like what we reflect,so my kids also keep books near
their beds and their littledesk by the bed.
On the bed they have libros portodas las partes, igual que la
mamá, and they even take themwith them in the car.
(39:34):
And so just keep that in mind.
If you're a parent as well,just you know the reflection and
example that we have.
I would say, radi, you knowlike there were so many programs
that were impactful for me.
By far NHLI was one of the mostimpactful ones because of the
access to the Center forCreative Leadership and to
Harvard's certificate trainingprogram.
Into Harvard's certificatetraining program, but there's,
(39:58):
you know, local universitiesactually have minority political
leadership training programs ortraining on DEI or training on
public speaking or training forwomen, and you would be
surprised how accessible theycan be.
For a good part of my life, Iapplied to these programs and I
also applied to theirscholarships because I was
earning not a high income.
(40:18):
I couldn't afford paying for a$6,000 program and so many a
times I would apply for thescholarship.
And then I will tell you thatsomething happened to me when I
applied for NHLI.
It was, I think it was like a$15,000 program and I told them
I just could not pay it.
And there was, to this day Idon't know who, the $15,000
program.
And I told them I just couldnot pay it.
(40:40):
And there was, to this day Idon't know who the person was,
but an anonymous donor steppedin and paid my full tuition, and
so you know whoever thatanonymous donor is.
I still get teary-eyed, radhi,because it was such an
instrumental program for me.
But I would say you know, like,look at your local universities
or you know, if you're lookingat a Harvard, look at what
certificate programs they havethat you can do online or you
(41:00):
can do for a week.
I would definitely talk topeople around you and see you
know what type of programsthey've had.
And then if you knowspecifically, like you already
know, 100% public speaking isnot your thing, then you already
know what you need to focus onright, and I knew public
speaking is not your thing.
Then you already know what youneed to focus on right, and I
knew public speaking was not mything because I was an introvert
and that's what I focused onearlier on.
Speaker 2 (41:21):
That's great.
So first, I love all of this.
I really appreciate you sharing, you know, just tips around,
just leveraging some of thecommunity resources, some of the
anchor institutions in yourarea, and just tips of like.
Just you know, spend 10 minutesat least every day growing and
making yourself better.
You mentioned you you're anavid reader.
Would love to hear one to threeeither books or other forms of
(41:44):
media that you consume that havebeen helpful to you personally
or professionally.
Speaker 1 (41:48):
So I will tell you, the most read book is the Bible.
I'm actually currently in Bibleclasses, and so I am reading
the Bible very intentionallywith my pastor and learning a
lot from it, and so that is abook that I actually keep right
next to my bed.
I also keep one in my book bag,which travels with me wherever
(42:10):
I go, and I have it in bothEnglish and Spanish, because
sometimes I read something inSpanish and I'm like Dios mio,
que significa esto?
Let me look at the Englishversion of this, and anytime
Radi that I'm stuck or that Ineed guidance, I'll turn to the
Bible, actually to like look atthe framing and the learnings
and teachings from it.
I will also say, on thepersonal side, a book that I've
(42:31):
read it many times, and everytime I read it I find different
meanings in it is the Optimistby Paulo Coelho, and you know
one thing that I always takeaway is the word Maktoub.
It is written.
So I, you know, like I, everytime I have read the book, it
has had different meanings forme, and so I feel that you know,
if you haven't read it, I wouldstrongly recommend it, and then
(42:53):
I would say the one that Ioften give as gifts to other
friends and colleagues is calledthe First 90 Days, and that's
by Michael Watkins.
And so the First 90 Days, radi,is what you should be doing, the
first 90 days that you'reserving in a position.
Whatever the title may be rightThinking strategically,
(43:15):
thinking who the different maybe right, like thinking
strategically thinking who's.
You know who the differentplayers are.
What is your plan?
Because oftentimes you know wego into positions and we're kind
of like ready on day one butnot really we don't have a plan.
And so with the first 90 days,it kind of walks you through the
planning that you need to bethinking before you join an
organization or corporation andwhat you should be doing while
(43:36):
you're in your first 90 days.
Speaker 2 (43:38):
Absolutely.
I love that.
I definitely have read theAlchemist and the First 90 Days
because it was written.
It was recommended to me as Iwas about to start a new role.
I was starting at the New YorkCity Economic Development
Corporation and I was justtalking to different folks at
different positions.
They're like, oh, you're aboutto start.
Great, this is what you shouldbe doing.
You should read this book andplan what your milestones are.
How are you going to show thatyou've been a successful hire 90
(44:01):
days from now?
How are you going to show thatyou're making progress towards
your goals?
How are you going to show thatyou're growing?
So definitely, you know dittoand recommend all of that, and
you know it's not, of course,the Bible.
You can't go wrong.
So so that's great.
I love it.
You mentioned earlier, you know, being in positions where you
(44:22):
were applying for scholarshipsand other things because you
weren't able you didn't have thesalary at the time to be able
to cover all this.
Right Would be helpful to know,as a leader of this type of
organization, how much money canpeople expect to potentially
make in this, in this field?
Speaker 1 (44:33):
So you may not like this answer, but it truly
depends, right.
It depends if you're leading anonprofit that's local or
statewide or national.
I can tell you, for nationalnonprofit organizations it
depends on the budget of theorganization, right?
If you're like a $1 millionnonprofit versus a $30 or $50
million nonprofit and thedifferent roles that I've served
(44:55):
, they've gone between $120 to$300K plus, and so it just
really depends on the nonprofit.
The other factor that wherethere may be, I would say, a
variance, is if it's more thanone nonprofit.
In this case, I serve in a C3,a C4, and a super PAC.
In the past I led a C3 and a C4, which meant that I had
(45:18):
salaries from both entities.
And so one big consejo that Iwould give, especially if you're
thinking that serving anexecutive level position
president, ceo, executivedirector is something that's in
your path and your journey,you're considering it is to do
your research, right.
It also depends on where youlive, again, the size of the
(45:39):
nonprofit, and to really come upwith a plan of where you want
to land.
And, by the way, withnonprofits, a lot of this is
public records, so you'reactually able to see exactly,
you know, like, what folks areearning, how much money is going
into operations.
And then I would also say,especially as a Latina Radis, we
(46:00):
need to learn how to negotiateour salaries and contracts, and
in my case I had a contract inplace that really helped provide
that security that I was goingto have this job over X number
of years and there were a lot ofclauses that protected me.
But I would say, even innon-contracted positions, I
(46:20):
remember that in one institutionI was getting ready to come
into Washington DC from Richmond, virginia, and the cost of
living is a lot higher, rightLike Richmond to Virginia, it's
like twice as much.
And so I remember the salary wasokay and they told me so sorry,
it ain't gonna happen, you'renot getting more money.
But what I was able tonegotiate was free parking space
(46:45):
, which is about $3,000.
So I got my little parkingspace and then I also got an
additional two weeks of vacation.
And so you know, we also haveto kind of be creative in how we
negotiate, understanding that,okay, it may not be possible to
get those additional thousandsof dollars that we want, but we
could negotiate other things,and that could be either, you
(47:05):
know, like something as small asa parking space, to additional
time off, to additional matchingfor your 401k.
So just kind of be likestrategic, be smarter than me,
um, and really think through,like, what is it that you really
want to help you have thelifestyle that you, that you
need?
Speaker 2 (47:24):
That's great.
I you know, I really appreciatethat because I think a lot of
times when we're negotiating, wereally primarily focus on the
amount of money we could make.
But you know, I think it'simportant to think about.
I've negotiated titles, right.
I know folks that have alsonegotiated time off and I think
that's genius and that's great.
And then just thinking aboutthings like okay, parking space,
(47:44):
that is an expense and that issomething that'll save you time,
why not put that in theconversation?
And, honestly, by the time youget to a negotiating phase, they
want you to take the role.
So at that point the worst thatthey can say is no, but they
actually want you as a candidate.
So you know, I think, if you,if you can articulate what your
pain points are and what wouldmake this type of role more
(48:05):
convenient and more suitable towhat you're looking for, for the
most part employers are willingand are willing to try to meet
you somewhere.
Speaker 1 (48:20):
Absolutely.
And then what I would say also,radi, as an employer right,
oftentimes, you know, doing thehire myself, we have a range of
what we can pay and you know,like the person, the person
knowing me, almost like lahermana, to the individual
applying, I almost want to saylike no digan que si a la
primera vez?
Like come back and say you know, could we, is there a wiggle
room to get a little bit more,because typically employers
actually have a range of whatthey're able to offer for a
(48:42):
specific position, but you wouldbe surprised how many folks
take it at the first bite.
And so you know, if you takeanything away, is that insert?
You know, like in someemployment opportunities there
may be that flexibility andrange it may not exist, and then
you're going to be like, okay,pues, no tienen más, aquí se
queda.
Pero in some instances there isa little bit of wiggle room.
Speaker 2 (49:04):
Absolutely.
How big is Latino Victory now,10 years later?
Speaker 1 (49:07):
So 10 years later, we're a team of seven and we
work with a lot of consultants.
So small and mighty team forall the work that we do.
And you know, people are oftensurprised when I tell them the
size of the team.
But one thing that I wouldabsolutely note and flag is that
we have an amazing board ofdirectors.
(49:28):
Our chairman happens to be LuisMiranda and he is absolutely
phenomenal.
And we have other leaders onthat board that you know.
If I call, if I text, they arejust always ready to serve and
it is amazing.
I feel absolutely blessed towork with the board of directors
that I work with and absolutelyblessed to work with a team of
(49:50):
Latino Latina leaders whounderstand the mission that we
have and work every single dayalong my side to make sure that
we make it happen.
Speaker 2 (49:59):
That's great.
So how can our listenerssupport Latino Victory?
Speaker 1 (50:02):
So you can support Latino Victory in many ways.
First, if you've never beenasked to run for office, but
you've kind of thought like, oh,you know what, I think I could
do a better job than thispolitician that's representing
me, I'm asking you to run foroffice, right, like definitely
think about it if it's crossedyour mind.
And if it hasn't crossed yourmind, do your own research,
right, and think like, maybe youcould be that person that
(50:24):
brings in that voice for ourcommunity, at whatever level it
is that you would like to serve.
And again, we have Path toVictory to be able to train
Latino candidates, so you couldalways go to our website,
latinovictoryorg, and find outmore about the work that we do.
Sign up for our mailers, beinformed.
We are heavy and thick in themiddle of campaigning and on the
(50:46):
Super PAC side, we areabsolutely progressive, which
means we are supporting VicePresident Harris and we are
really excited about what thiselection is going to look like.
And just of thinking that in mylifetime, in my child's
lifetime, we're going to havethe first woman president of the
United States, especially ifLatinos turn out to vote, I
(51:07):
think is something that I'mlooking forward to.
Speaker 2 (51:10):
Cindy, is there anything else we have not
discussed that the world shouldknow about you?
Speaker 1 (51:14):
I would say, not necessarily about me, radi, but
just really about our thinkingand our frame of mind and
understanding that we have a lotof power, we influence a lot of
people, and oftentimes we givenosotros mismos our power away.
And something that I live by isthat with every decision that
(51:36):
we make, every single decision,whether it's to a major, major
decision that only you wouldknow of, we're either choosing
to walk towards love or we'rechoosing to walk towards fear,
and some of the decisions whenyou walk towards love are really
(51:57):
, really hard, but they areworth it in the long term, and
so I always tell everyone tochoose to walk towards love.
Speaker 2 (52:04):
Wow, that's amazing.
Well, cindy, thank you so muchfor taking the time to speak
with us today.
I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (52:09):
Gracias a ti, ravi, y gracias también a nuestra
comunidad, for all that you do.
Speaker 2 (52:14):
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
Cheat Code and tell us peopleor careers you would like to see
highlighted.
See you next week with somemore cheat codes.
Peace.
We have a lot of power, we influence a lot of
people, and oftentimes we givenosotros mismos our power away,
and something that I live by isthat, with every decision that
we make every single decision,whether it's to comerme un
helado o no comerme un helado toa major, major decision that
(00:21):
only you would know of, we'reeither choosing to walk towards
love or we're walking to.
We're choosing to walk towardsfear, and some of the decisions
when you walk towards love arereally, really hard, but they
are worth it in the long term,and so I always tell everyone to
choose to walk towards love.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Welcome to Career Tree 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, cindy, welcome tothe show.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Thank you, happy to be here.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Yeah, thanks for taking the time to connect with
us.
I know you have a pretty hecticschedule, especially around
this time of the year, so youknow excited that you were able
to take some time to talk to ustoday.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Thank you, Radi.
I will tell you, I still havethe ojeras under my eyes.
It's been that type of week andit's going to be like that
until election day.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Absolutely, absolutely.
So let's dive right in, cindy.
Let's tell the world what it isyou do for a living.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
So I will tell you, rady, I feel that at times my
title should be chieftroublemaker in charge, and it's
just, you know, like causing alot of good trouble for our
community, our beloved Latinocommunity, and making sure that
you know our civil rights areprotected and you know, and that
we are represented right Likerepresentation really does
matter.
But truly, my title ispresident and CEO and I serve at
(01:46):
Latino Victory, which missionis to increase Latino
representation and grow theLatino community's political
power.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Wow, that's great.
So what does that mean when youwalk into the office on a
Monday morning Like, what doesyour week look like, what does
your day look like?
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Let me tell you, every day feels like a Monday
because there's just so muchgoing on, and you know, when
you're serving in a president,ceo level, you're never off.
Right, like your phone is neveroff.
There's, no, not necessarily atime when the phone is on
silence, because so many thingscould be happening.
I will tell you, though, myboundary is when I go to church,
(02:22):
so everyone is aware, likeCindy's in church, de esta hora,
esta hora.
She's not going to pick up herphone, but other than that, I
could, you know, work as earlyas seven in the morning and work
as late as two, three in themorning.
It just depends on what'shappening any particular day.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
So tell me something some more about the priorities,
or like the ways that LatinoVictory does this job, Like how
do you all functionally help theLatino community?
Speaker 1 (02:49):
So with Latino Victory we are 10 years young
and we were founded by HenryMunoz and Eva Longoria, so we
have that celebrity star powerand no, Henry has a long track
record of working in democraticpolitics specifically.
But we have the foundation,which is C3.
And what that means is thatwe're completely nonpartisan.
We have the Latino VictoryProject, which is C4.
(03:12):
And that's where we do a lot ofour programmatic work and we'll
probably dive into that in alittle bit.
And then we have a super PAC andwhat that means is that we have
an independent expenditure side, which is where we have
unlimited amount of investment.
That happens in two particularcandidates.
And then we have a federal PACand we do have amount limits
(03:33):
there that we can give tofederal candidates.
We work directly with buildingthat pipeline.
Know, if there's any takeawaythat folks can take away from
listening at this moment is thatin America there's 500,000
positions and of those 500,000elected positions, Latinos
(03:54):
occupy a little bit over 7,000,or a whopping 2%, and when you
start thinking of Latinorepresentation overall, we're
20% of the total US population.
But when you look at electedofficial positions, we only
represent 2%, and so what thatmeans is that we have long ways
(04:15):
to go and that we want to seemore Latinos elected at the
local, state and federal level.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Wow, that's huge.
State and federal level, wow,that's huge.
And that's, you know, one ofthose kind of heartbreaking
stats.
But also give us hope,especially with the work that
you all are doing to kind ofhelp close that gap and to help
make sure that you know that isnot the case long term, right?
So we're at 2% now.
That means we have a lot ofroom to grow.
So tell me, tell me more aboutsome of the programmatic ways
that you're doing it.
You mentioned your C4, youmentioned the C3.
(04:44):
So how are you all attacking it?
Speaker 1 (04:46):
So well, first I will take a state back, Radi, and
say that in our community, andin most communities, it's not
like our parents say oh hijo,hija, cuando ustedes crezcan, yo
quiero que ustedes seanpolíticos.
I don't think I've ever metanyone that has told me that,
including myself, and I wouldtell you just, you know, we also
have to look at how we perceivepolitics and how we perceive
(05:09):
serving in politics.
On the programmatic side, Ravi,you know, part of my job, you
know, aside from that title ofpresident, CEO and chief
troublemaker, is really thinkingstrategically about where the
gaps are.
And so, to give you a sense, wejust launched a program called
Afro Latinas Lead, and althoughAfro Latinas is under the pack
(05:30):
because our goal is to get thefirst Afro Latina elected to
Congress we know that we alreadyhave three Afro Latinos who
serve there Congressman RichieTorres, Congressman Adriano
Espaillat and CongressmanMaxwell Frost Congressman
Adriano Espaillat andCongressman Maxwell Frost but no
Afro-Latinas have served.
And so part of that program isbuilding that pipeline and what
(05:56):
we found last year as we wereconvening roundtables with
Afro-Latinas who had ran foroffice, Afro-Latinas who are
serving in the media,Afro-Latinas who are involved in
some way or are reallyinterested in being part of the
electoral process is that thedata doesn't exist.
And so you know, for so many ofus Latinos, making sure that
there's data is so importantbecause you don't have anything
(06:16):
to measure up against, so wecan't say right now there are X
number of Afro-Latinos who areserving in elected office.
So we have to literally buildthat data.
And why that's important isbecause it tells you just the
massive gap that exists.
You know, we do thankfully knowthat there's no Afro-Latinas in
(06:36):
Congress.
We're able to look at the 535positions and know that clearly.
But when you look across the500,000 positions in America, we
don't have that firm numberRadi of who identifies as
Afro-Latina.
And I think you know, sometimeswe also forget that you may not
necessarily have a Latinosurname, right, Like your name
(06:58):
could be Cindy Williams, right,and you could very well identify
as Latina and be Afro-Latina.
And so for us there's a lot ofwork ahead, I would say.
On the programmatic side, underthe project we also have Path to
Victory, and Path to Victory iswhere we actually train our
candidates for free.
We even provide scholarships.
We want to make sure that ourLatino community doesn't feel
(07:22):
any obstacle or any barrier whenthey're thinking of running for
office.
And we already know, Ravi, thatthe biggest obstacle is raising
money right, Like reallytapping into those networks of
asking our friends, our family,people that we know and people
that may be complete strangersfor donations to support the
(07:42):
campaign.
And so this is where we do alot of that training around
fundraising, aroundcommunication, around the
compliance and legal side.
We don't want any of ourcandidates to get into trouble,
so we want to make sure theyknow the law and they know what
they have to file and when theyhave to file it, and all of this
depends on what state they'rein.
And so we're very, verystrategic in that sense, Radi,
(08:17):
in terms of really thinking ofthe long term and building that
pipeline.
And just to say that, you know,when we started Latino Victory
10 years ago, we were endorsing,on the PAC side, about 7
endorsements for Latinocandidates.
So that just tells you theopportunity exists.
And also, you know, this iswhen you totally break down that
myth that there are noqualified Latinos who can run
for these positions, right, Likethat is a complete myth that is
(08:40):
circulating, and for us it'simportant to note that we have
so many qualified Latinos thatcan run at the local, at the
state, at the federal level.
We've already seen someone likeJulian Castro, who ran for
president of the United States,and so we know that we are here
and we can absolutely win someof these seats.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
That's absolutely, you know, amazing that y'all are
doing this work, and Icompletely agree.
I think there's just a lot ofmisconception and myths, you
know, and I just think we haveso much untapped talent and
potential and just room to growand to showcase that throughout
the country and for thebetterment of this country.
Right clear on what a PAC and asuper PAC are.
(09:22):
Can you break that down alittle bit more so we understand
kind of what the power of thoseare, why those are created and
what their mandate are?
Speaker 1 (09:31):
Sure, and so about 10 years ago, latino Victory, when
it was formed, was formedbecause we saw that lack of
Latino representation andpositions.
But as the PAC was being formed, it was a way for us to
fundraise dollars from ourcommunity and be able to track
(09:51):
it right.
So we have, radi across thecountry, thousands of Latino
donors, people who give to thecampaign, any given campaign,
and in this instance, this was,you know, like back when Obama
was running right, and so whatwe wanted to do was really see
that collective power of ourcommunity.
(10:11):
And we're talking aboutindividuals who give, you know,
like hundreds of thousands ofdollars.
But those are not the onlydonors that exist, radhi.
We have donors who give $25,and we have donors that can cut
a check for $250, or can cut acheck for $5,000, or can cut a
check for $100,000, or can cut acheck for an X amount, and so
(10:34):
we classify them as donors and,through the PAC, what we do is
that we receive that funding.
We do have to abide by federalelection rules and report who
gives us that money.
But on one side of the house wehave the non-contribution side.
It's unlimited amount.
So if someone came to us andsaid, we want to write a check
(10:54):
for $500,000, we're able toaccept it.
On the federal side, it cannotbe more than $5,000.
And so we are veryconscientious of making sure
we're always following thoserules.
And I will tell you that themoney that's given to us on the
federal side goes directly tocandidates, so it goes to
support our Latino candidates.
(11:15):
So not only are we trainingthem, ravi, but we're also
making sure to contribute to thecampaigns of our Latino
candidates so that they're moresuccessful.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
Wow, that's great.
Can you tell me what's yourfavorite part of this job?
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Radi, I would say that I am blessed to serve.
It's funny because I always getasked did you ever imagine
yourself in this position?
No, I did not.
I never imagined myself servingin this position in this
organization.
In fact, radi, I am mostcomfortable behind the scenes,
I'm most comfortable propellingand pushing a principal into the
(11:53):
light and me just gettingthings done behind the scenes
sin que nadie lo sepa.
And so with you know, withserving at Latino Victory, I
really do feel blessed because,although I've had a long
political career and I knowwe're going to dive into that I
never knew, radi, that I wouldbe serving in this executive
role representing a really large, significant organization in
(12:17):
this country that's very closeto the current president, the
current vice president Biden andVice President Harris in the
White House, right Like I neverknew that this was going to be
part of my journey.
But I am so excited because theissue of representation is one
that I have worked on since thevery beginning of my career, and
(12:37):
to be able to meet Latinocandidates, whether it's in
California or Washington Stateor Texas or Arizona, or like
Michigan and Ohio or Virginia orFlorida or New York, is
absolutely amazing, radian.
I tell you, I get goosebumpsbecause in the process of
(12:58):
getting to know our candidates,we get to know their journeys
and their stories and there's somuch that connects us and
there's so much inspiration outthere in nuestra propia
comunidad.
And I feel that if we learnmore of each other and I know
this is what you do in yourpodcast, ravi I feel like we
(13:24):
would be more inspired, morefilled with a sense of pride of
who we are and who our communityis and, I think, more filled
with a sense of urgency in termsof our purpose in this life.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Absolutely, because the Latino community is so
diverse, right.
We have different backgrounds,different upbringings.
If you know one Latino, youknow one Latino.
If you know one Dominican, youknow one Dominican.
Like we have, you know so manydifferent backgrounds and so
many different walks of life,but we all, just like any other
group of people, have so much tocontribute, right, and so much
(13:53):
to bring to this country tofurther its promise and its
mission.
Um, and all of the things thatyou know, we, as the United
States, take pride in, right?
So you told me some of yourfavorite parts of this role.
What are the most challengingparts of this role?
Speaker 1 (14:08):
I would tell you, rady, that some of the most
challenging parts is that youknow when something needs to get
done, it's going to get done,and it doesn't matter if you're
running on 30-minute nap to makesure it gets done in a 24-hour
cycle.
And I would also say thatthere's a lot of travel involved
(14:29):
, right, and I'm blessed to beable to travel a lot and to be
able to be in differentlocations across the country.
But it also takes a toll on you, right, like especially if you
have to take a red eye or you'reliterally running from an event
.
And, yes, I have been thatperson that has, like, changed
in the airport to go to ameeting because there was like
no time in between to check inmy maleta at the hotel.
(14:51):
I had to just bite the bulletand go straight.
And I would also say, radhi,that you know, just as I meet
really wonderful people, we'reliving in an era where we have
technology and where we havesocial media and where we often
see trolls as well on socialmedia presence.
You know, like just sayingreally disruptive, negative,
(15:13):
racist remarks and you get tosee a little bit of like the
ugly part.
I would also say, radi, that youknow, part of our work is
making sure that all of thecommunities, not only the Latino
community, have the facts right.
In an era of disinformation andmisinformation, where you don't
know anymore what's true, what'slike, our own community doesn't
(15:34):
get confused right, andcertainly what we've seen, ravi,
in the last several years is anarrative to try to divide
nuestra comunidad, a narrativethat also pits one ethnic
(15:57):
community against another, anarrative that even within our
own community, it plays toracism and colorism.
And so for us, it's reallymaking sure, radi, that we
continue to be spokespeople, butalso that we continue to
elevate our own positivenarrative of Latinos in America.
And what people forget is thatbefore America was America, the
(16:20):
Guadalupe Hidalgo Treatyhappened, which annexed a
significant portion of thiscountry that included California
and Colorado and Texas, andthat our community was already
there, so literally the bordercrossed us.
But we live in a country whereLatinos are made to feel like
we're a guest and not part ofthis country.
And that's where we have totake the narrative back, ravi,
(16:43):
and stand up and know our ownhistory and make sure that
anytime we walk into a roomalthough we're made to feel less
that we walk with our head highand understand who we come from
, whose we are and our ownhistory, right All that we
contribute to this country tomake it what it is today.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
I love that line that you know we're made to feel
like guests in this country,when that is not the case, Right
?
And no one group has moreownership than others in this,
and if anything, it would be theNative Americans, right?
Not the folks that are actuallyperpetuating some of these
thoughts.
So I appreciate that.
I think that was reallyinsightful.
So, you know, we'd love to heara little bit about how does one
(17:21):
become the president of thistype of organization, cindy,
like, how do you, what do youhave to do in your career to
actually, you know, get to apoint where you are, like,
helping to serve in this type ofposition where you support
Latinos throughout the country?
Speaker 1 (17:37):
So I would start it off with the one, two trees and
then I'll dive into my story,because this, this definitely,
definitely, was not part of whatI was thinking when it came to
my career.
But I would say, you know, ifyou're an introvert and by all
means I am an introvert, whichmeans I'm going to be super
exhausted after this interviewis that I had to learn how to do
(18:00):
public speaking, and anytimeRadi that I am giving a major
speech at a conference or doingpublic speaking, it does take a
toll on me, only because I cantell you I prefer to be on a
hammock with a book with no onearound me.
But I have had to learn to bean extrovert for my job and
(18:22):
specifically to learn how to dopublic speaking, and the biggest
advice that I can give you isthat I know it's uncomfortable
and you can get nervous, but youknow how I was able to overcome
.
It was with practice, along theway I was able to hire a speech
coach who was able to tell me,like okay, cindy, this is what
(18:42):
you're doing wrong.
This is how you need to changeyour tone, and something that I
do once in a while already,especially when it's, you know,
a long day, I don't have a lotof energy, but I have to make
sure that I come across and thatmy message comes across is one
I'll do a prayer first and askGod that he guides my words so
that I may change people'shearts, and second I'll do a
(19:04):
superwoman stance in thebathroom, right, and that's just
to kind of like just shift myenergy around and remember that
I'm a superwoman because of myancestors and the people that
have paved the way for me, andso remembering who stands with
you, remembering your ownjourney, remembering all the
people who have made it possibleto get to this specific moment,
(19:26):
actually really helps to clearmy thinking.
I would say the second thing,radi, is that we have to be able
to jump at the opportunity, anda lot of times people will ask
us whether it's like hey, cindy,could you cover this meeting?
And maybe you know you're onlygiven like a few minutes notice,
(19:47):
right, and you're like, ohshoot, I'm not prepared.
And you're like, try to figureout what to do minutes before
going into a major meeting.
But I think being able to benimble and being able to jump at
an opportunity, even if you'renot an expert in it can be a
learning lesson, and it's okayto say you know, listen, I'm not
(20:07):
an expert in this field.
I'm going to listen and I willprovide input as needed.
I think that's completely okay,because has helped me be
successful is being completelyauthentic.
And so you know, when you talkto me, I will always give it to
(20:28):
you straight.
I don't beat around the bush.
I will tell you if I have anagenda.
Typically I don't, typicallyit's, I just want to get this
done and this is why, and sopeople have come to really
appreciate that style of leading.
And I would say that, you know,read a lot of books and take a
lot of courses, and for me, whatreally helped me, ravi and I
(20:48):
never knew that I was beingprepared for this role again is
that a lot of people that werearound me saw something in me
that I could not see, and sothey said Cindy, you should, you
know, do the National HispanaLeadership Institute when I was
24 years old.
I got into it at the age of 25,which is why they had to do
(21:10):
actually a vote for me to get in, because I was too young to do
the program, but I was able toget in because the board voted
to get me in, and through thatprogram, radhi, I was able to go
to Harvard and get mycertificate in executive
nonprofit management program,although I was serving in
government.
I was able to go to the Centerfor Creative Leadership at the
(21:31):
age of 25.
This is where Fortune 500 CEOsgo to get their training.
I was able to understand how Imake decisions right, and a lot
of times for me to make adecision I have to kind of look
at everything that's goingaround, that's around me, which
for some people it may appear asbeing indecisive, but truly
(21:54):
what it means is that I'mpragmatic, right, I have to have
like the 10 different thingsthat I think could happen before
I say like, okay, this could benumber one or two, and so I've
learned to be able tocommunicate that to the people
that work with me so theyunderstand my leadership style.
But I will tell you, rady, thatI never thought again that I
would be serving in a presidentand CEO position, and part of it
(22:16):
was, you know, in my first roleleading as CEO of LULAC and
LULAC is the oldest and largestnational Latino civil rights
organization in the country.
I was actually the immigrationand civic engagement director
for several years and then I waspromoted to be the chief
operation officer.
I was asked several times, whenthe CEO stepped down, radi, if
(22:40):
I would consider being the CEO,and I said no.
I said no multiple times.
And I said no because at thattime I was a mother of a one and
a three-year-old and Iunderstood the sacrifice that it
would take.
But on the very last day toapply for that position, which
was April 30th, a Sunday, myhusband asked me at that time if
(23:05):
I would regret not applying.
And then we went to church andat church the pastor talked
about sacrifice and beinguncomfortable, and so, before
the mass ended, we got in thecar.
Before the mass ended, we gotin the car, I called Lenny
Gonzalez and Tony Tijerino, wholeads a major national
organization, and said hey,today's the last day to apply.
(23:27):
I just made up my mind, couldyou do a letter of
recommendation for me in thenext two hours?
And they did.
Going through three rounds ofinterviews, I was selected to
lead LULAC as the first Latinain 90 years to ever lead the
organization.
And not only was I the firstLatina, but the first immigrant.
(23:50):
And when you looked at all thenational legacy organizations,
whether it was the NAACP orUnidos or the National Urban
League.
I was by far the youngestleader serving at LULAC.
Speaker 2 (24:03):
Wow, that's amazing.
And it's interesting becauseyou spoke earlier about being
ready and just showing up in themoment and just taking the
chance to just show up to themeeting, right, and here you
were being asked to do somethingand you felt like the sacrifice
wasn't worth the reward untilyou actually then sat and, you
know, as you said, went tochurch and thought about it a
(24:26):
little more, reflected on it alittle more, but then ultimately
made the decision and then hadpeople that were so supportive
to turn letters ofrecommendation around.
And you know, and I know someof the folks that you mentioned,
they're like remarkable humans,right, that would just turn
around on a Sunday and say sure,we'll give you a letter of
(24:46):
recommendation because webelieve in what you're doing and
the power of what you're doing.
So, you know, I'd reallyappreciate you sharing that.
I definitely have some follow-upquestions on some of what you
mentioned there.
One, we definitely need to seeyour superwoman pose, because
that's important and we needother people to like take that
as part of their, as part oftheir journey.
Two, you know you, youmentioned being in really high
stakes meetings, right, and likebeing ready to just show up.
(25:08):
We'd love to just understand alittle bit more about that, like
, like, who these you travelingto within the United States and
why?
Right, I imagine some of it maybe to connect with candidates
(25:29):
that are thinking about runningor that are going to run, but
there may be a broader breadthof reasons there and I just want
people to understand kind ofwhat comes with this type of
role.
Speaker 1 (25:35):
Sure.
So I would tell you, on thesuperwoman pose, simply like
putting your arms at your waistand then, like I always look up
for some reason, that's how I doit, but you can have it any
other way.
And and then I would say, interms of meetings, radi, I
really have been blessed to meetwith leaders at all levels, and
that includes individuals whomay, according to our own
(25:59):
societal standards, may not havepapelito that says they have a
master's or a BA or a PhD, butthey are so professional and so
prepared and just have thatexperience of life and knowledge
and wisdom to pass on.
And you know, one of thoseexamples was during the pandemic
, if everyone remembers, youknow, walking into a grocery
(26:20):
store and you would see that thepoultry and meat section were
completely, completely goneright, like there was like no
meat or poultry no había polloni carne in that freezer.
And part of what was happening,radi, is that within the
meatpacking plant, a lot of theworkers were getting sick.
And they were getting sickbecause you know, if you can
(26:41):
imagine, there's 600 to 900workers that work in a meat
packing plant per shift,literally working shoulder to
shoulder, so there's like no sixfeet distancing.
And when the pandemic broke, wegot one of the first calls, and
the call was from a womanletting us know that she was
(27:01):
afraid, that she was walkinginto work and putting her life
on the line, and so we steppedinto action.
At that time, ravi, and startedcontacting the CEOs of all these
meat.
Were able to connect with theworkers directly was the most
(27:25):
insightful meeting that we couldhave ever had, because this is
what we learned.
We learned that the workers hadto travel 45 minutes to more
than an hour to see a doctoreach way and that they
necessarily wouldn't get adoctor's visit because the
doctor may be busy.
We learned that their childrenwere being sent away at the
(27:48):
daycare.
The daycares didn't want totake care of their children,
which meant that they had tostay home.
And we also learned that manyof them they didn't have sick
leave.
So if they got sick, you knowthey were not paid leave.
So if they got sick, you knowthey were not paid.
And so we were able to connectwith a lot of the CEOs, ravi,
and recommend to them that theyhave nurses and clinics on site
(28:13):
so that if a worker got sick,they could just go to the clinic
, get tested, see if it wasCOVID or if it was something
else, and then they wouldimmediately, you know, not
infect or get others sick.
The second thing was that theyget paid sick leave right, like
many of our community,unfortunately, work jobs that
are minimum wage and or thatthey need to work to be able to
(28:36):
pay for the very basics, likecomida la casa.
And so, you know, we were ableto also negotiate that end.
And then the last thing is thatmany of these companies were
actually able to negotiate withlocal daycares and signed MOUs
so that these daycares wouldnever turn away the children of
their workers.
And so for me, radi, thatmeeting with our workers is
(29:00):
probably one of the mostmeaningful meetings that I will
ever have in my life, because wehave to remember that nuestra
comunidad tiene experiencia.
They are impacted directly andthey are able to voice directly
what their needs and gaps are,without us, as leaders, assuming
what they are, and so that, forme, is probably one of those
(29:21):
memories that will be written ina book at some point.
But I also get the pleasure of,you know, being in meetings with
individuals who are in electedoffice, whether it be a US
Senator or whether it be amember of Congress or maybe a
mayor or a local electedofficial, and just really learn
about what may be happening onthe ground in a particular city
(29:42):
or in a particular district or aparticular state.
And then I would say I've alsobeen very blessed to be in
meetings at the White Housedirectly with the president.
We just had a meeting a fewmonths back with President Biden
, and it was Mi Familia, votaUnidos, voto Latino, latino,
victory in the room sitting withthe president talking about the
importance of policy issuesthat impact our community.
(30:05):
And so I would tell you in thesame breath, radhi, I am super
blessed to be in this position,and every time I walk into our
room I really do remember who Iam and that the power of my
voice and what I have to say isvery important, because not
everyone gets that opportunity.
Speaker 2 (30:24):
Absolutely, and you just get to represent the Latino
community in rooms that they'renot in, right, and that is such
a powerful position to be inand such an important position
to be in and you know, just tobe.
I love the, the way you framednot just helping folks with
getting to political power, butalso like helping worker
(30:44):
conditions right, like you'rehelping to support Americans and
people that are living inAmerica, throughout this country
at different stages and atdifferent phases of their lives,
right.
So it's just really importantand impactful work and I just,
you know, first of all, thankyou, you know, and, second of
all, I'm just in awe with allthe work that you're able to do.
(31:06):
So, you know, just, I continueto be fascinated by you, cindy.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:13):
So I know you mentioned this earlier and you
said you get this question or aversion of this question, but is
this what you always wanted todo for a living?
Speaker 1 (31:19):
Not really, radi.
I, you know I did not knowexactly what I wanted to do.
My mom is a nurse.
She was a nurse in Honduras andso serving comes naturally for
my family, and we weredefinitely, I feel, like many
Latino families where we havethe kitchen door open para
familiar desconocido, whoeverneeded help, they could always
(31:41):
walk through that door.
Pero, you know, when I was inhigh school, what really
impacted me, radi, was and thisis going to give you my age I
was in high school whenColumbine happened and President
Clinton actually came to TCWilliams High School in
Alexandria, virginia, which iswhere I was studying and had a
roundtable with students, and soI was one of the students in
that roundtable and I justcouldn't.
(32:03):
I really couldn't put the dotstogether, radi, in terms of the
policy implication I mean, I wascomo 17 años and what it meant
for our community, but it reallymade me think of the role that
government plays in our everydaylife, and so I think part of
that influenced me to studypolitical science.
(32:25):
And you know like studyingpolitical science for me was
because I wanted to serve insome way and, you know, perhaps
even serve in government, but Ididn't know.
I was literally going to gointo government, and so you know
that that's part of mytrajectory.
But I was very fortunate, radhi, that I was able to attend
Virginia State University, whichis a historical Black college,
(32:46):
and at VSU really is where I hada big awakening, because we're
not taught to be criticalthinkers in school, we're not
taught to challenge the booksthat we read, we're not taught
to challenge the sources and thenews that we get.
And at Virginia State I hadprofessors like Professor Baker
(33:07):
and Dr Mike Michael who wouldask me Cindy, why do you believe
that?
And goodness, ravi, like Iwould go down a spiral hole and
just think about, like, why didI believe certain things?
And I remember reading a book,believe certain things.
(33:28):
And I remember reading a bookcalled Dark Ghetto by Kenneth
Clark that I had to read for DrMichael's class, and really
understanding that what ishappening in our community
really sometimes is imposed bythe policies that we have and
that you know, what we need tostrive for is to make sure that,
no matter what zip code ourchildren and our community live
in, that everyone has thataccess to opportunity.
(33:49):
And I was able to see thatfirsthand when we moved from
South Central Los Angeles toAlexandria, virginia, radi, and
the opportunities that we had inVirginia were massive.
But the people that we leftbehind in South Central Los
Angeles didn't have thoseopportunities, and so they were
not able to have access to thepaths that we were able to take
(34:11):
and by we I mean my threebrothers and I and so that
really left a mark for me.
But then I really got involvedbecause there was a gentleman
named Kerry who was running forpresident and I got volunteered.
I was that person at an event,signing in people and licking
envelopes and writing postcards,and became such a wonderful
(34:35):
volunteer that when a gentlemannamed Tim Cain ran for governor
in Virginia, the communityleaders actually put my name
forward so I would beinterviewed.
And so I remember the day thatchanged my entire life was going
into this campaign headquartersin McLean, virginia,
interviewing with Bruce Sinclair, who was the regional director,
(34:55):
and I was in an interview and Iwas basically telling them what
they needed to do.
And hasta el dia de ahora, radi, I cannot remember what in the
world I said in more than anhour because I was only 22.
But I remember walking out, Iwas getting into my little
hooptie and they asked me if Iwould be the statewide Latino
director for the campaign and myresponse to them was if you're
(35:20):
willing to train me, I'm willingto learn Again, seizing the
opportunity.
And they trained me and Ilearned a lot.
And guess what he won?
He became governor and whenthey were working on the
transition team, they asked meto serve on the transition and
then I was actually a politicalappointee at the age of 23,
serving in a cabinet levelposition in the state of
(35:43):
Virginia for a governor, andthat's where my career started.
Speaker 2 (35:47):
Wow, I love that.
And that's again you taking theinitiative and having people
around you that believe in you,right To kind of throw your hat
in the ring for something thatyou maybe weren't necessarily
all the way convinced made sensefor you at the time.
But then, when the questions andthe conversations actually
started, you're like yeah, I cando this.
It may take some training and Imay need some to fill some gaps
(36:08):
, but I am mentally prepared todo this and I know I have the
skills to do it.
I just need to fine tune insome areas.
So I love that you were just,you know, willing to go out
there and now that has kind ofled to this remarkable career
right when like, if you said noat that time, who knows where
your career would have gonethrough right, but you've
stepped up at every challengealong the way and you're able to
(36:29):
show up and now do work thatimpacts so many people's lives
and so many families throughoutthe country.
So you know, it's justremarkable to see how you, how
you're able to position yourselfand continue to do that.
Speaker 1 (36:41):
No, thank you, Radhi.
And I would say also because Ifeel sometimes in nuestra
comunidad, radhi, so many of usget a no.
And right before that I hadapplied for a major fellowship
and you know, keep in mind forundergrad.
I graduated valedictorian, Ihad great notes, grades for my
(37:04):
master's, and I was like there'sno way that they're going to
turn me down.
Well, guess what thisfellowship turned me down?
And for me it was like thebiggest failure.
I was like what I can't believe, I don't understand.
Goodness.
If I can't make it, can youimagine other Latino students?
But I think it was becausethere were other plans that Papi
Dios had in the cart and had Igone to the fellowship, my
(37:26):
political career would have beencompletely different.
It would have taken me probablyan additional 10 to 15 years to
get to where I was when I wasable to do it within one year.
Speaker 2 (37:36):
Tell me why.
Why do you say that?
Speaker 1 (37:38):
Well, I say that because you know, if I had taken
the fellowship route, it wouldhave been, you know, like one
year serving in Congress.
You know, potentially gettingother job positions, but because
I served in the campaign andbecause, honestly, with a lot of
hard work and by a lot of hardwork what I mean is I wouldn't
even stop and get a Starbuckscoffee because I could use those
(37:59):
15 minutes to call people andor get volunteers or do X for
the campaign, you know, makingsure that that the candidate got
over the finish line.
I didn't realize at that timethe access that I had to a
governor Right, like andhonestly like it doesn't sit in
until you're like years later,like oh my God, cindy tenías 23
años, you were talking directlyto a governor, like todas las
(38:22):
semanas in some way, shape orform, and actually leading a lot
of the policy impacting Latinosin an entire state at the age
of 23.
Speaker 2 (38:32):
Wow, that's amazing.
And you mentioned fellowshipsand you also mentioned, you know
, going through the nonprofit of23.
Wow, that's amazing, and youmentioned fellowships and you
also mentioned, you know, goingthrough the nonprofit leadership
program.
What are other ways that youcontinue to sharpen your tool
belt and like?
Continue to either makeyourself better professional or
serve other organizations, likein other board capacities or
advisory roles that you may dooutside of your nine to five?
Speaker 1 (38:51):
Well, I will tell you I am an avid reader, so I read
every single day and it doesn'tmatter.
I told this to my best friend.
I was like Maria, no importa sison diez minutos, just read,
even if it's 10 minutes a day.
Read something, whether it's inan application, maybe you're
listening to something inAudible, but just make that time
to grow and expand your ownknowledge.
(39:13):
And so I keep books all over myhouse ready, and for those of
us who are parents, by the wayour kids pick up our own, I
would say, like what we reflect,so my kids also keep books near
their beds and their littledesk by the bed.
On the bed they have libros portodas las partes, igual que la
mamá, and they even take themwith them in the car.
(39:34):
And so just keep that in mind.
If you're a parent as well,just you know the reflection and
example that we have.
I would say, radi, you knowlike there were so many programs
that were impactful for me.
By far NHLI was one of the mostimpactful ones because of the
access to the Center forCreative Leadership and to
Harvard's certificate trainingprogram.
Into Harvard's certificatetraining program, but there's,
(39:58):
you know, local universitiesactually have minority political
leadership training programs ortraining on DEI or training on
public speaking or training forwomen, and you would be
surprised how accessible theycan be.
For a good part of my life, Iapplied to these programs and I
also applied to theirscholarships because I was
earning not a high income.
(40:18):
I couldn't afford paying for a$6,000 program and so many a
times I would apply for thescholarship.
And then I will tell you thatsomething happened to me when I
applied for NHLI.
It was, I think it was like a$15,000 program and I told them
I just could not pay it.
And there was, to this day Idon't know who, the $15,000
program.
And I told them I just couldnot pay it.
(40:40):
And there was, to this day Idon't know who the person was,
but an anonymous donor steppedin and paid my full tuition, and
so you know whoever thatanonymous donor is.
I still get teary-eyed, radhi,because it was such an
instrumental program for me.
But I would say you know, like,look at your local universities
or you know, if you're lookingat a Harvard, look at what
certificate programs they havethat you can do online or you
(41:00):
can do for a week.
I would definitely talk topeople around you and see you
know what type of programsthey've had.
And then if you knowspecifically, like you already
know, 100% public speaking isnot your thing, then you already
know what you need to focus onright, and I knew public
speaking is not your thing.
Then you already know what youneed to focus on right, and I
knew public speaking was not mything because I was an introvert
and that's what I focused onearlier on.
Speaker 2 (41:21):
That's great.
So first, I love all of this.
I really appreciate you sharing, you know, just tips around,
just leveraging some of thecommunity resources, some of the
anchor institutions in yourarea, and just tips of like.
Just you know, spend 10 minutesat least every day growing and
making yourself better.
You mentioned you you're anavid reader.
Would love to hear one to threeeither books or other forms of
(41:44):
media that you consume that havebeen helpful to you personally
or professionally.
Speaker 1 (41:48):
So I will tell you, the most read book is the Bible.
I'm actually currently in Bibleclasses, and so I am reading
the Bible very intentionallywith my pastor and learning a
lot from it, and so that is abook that I actually keep right
next to my bed.
I also keep one in my book bag,which travels with me wherever
(42:10):
I go, and I have it in bothEnglish and Spanish, because
sometimes I read something inSpanish and I'm like Dios mio,
que significa esto?
Let me look at the Englishversion of this, and anytime
Radi that I'm stuck or that Ineed guidance, I'll turn to the
Bible, actually to like look atthe framing and the learnings
and teachings from it.
I will also say, on thepersonal side, a book that I've
(42:31):
read it many times, and everytime I read it I find different
meanings in it is the Optimistby Paulo Coelho, and you know
one thing that I always takeaway is the word Maktoub.
It is written.
So I, you know, like I, everytime I have read the book, it
has had different meanings forme, and so I feel that you know,
if you haven't read it, I wouldstrongly recommend it, and then
(42:53):
I would say the one that Ioften give as gifts to other
friends and colleagues is calledthe First 90 Days, and that's
by Michael Watkins.
And so the First 90 Days, radi,is what you should be doing, the
first 90 days that you'reserving in a position.
Whatever the title may be rightThinking strategically,
(43:15):
thinking who the different maybe right, like thinking
strategically thinking who's.
You know who the differentplayers are.
What is your plan?
Because oftentimes you know wego into positions and we're kind
of like ready on day one butnot really we don't have a plan.
And so with the first 90 days,it kind of walks you through the
planning that you need to bethinking before you join an
organization or corporation andwhat you should be doing while
(43:36):
you're in your first 90 days.
Speaker 2 (43:38):
Absolutely.
I love that.
I definitely have read theAlchemist and the First 90 Days
because it was written.
It was recommended to me as Iwas about to start a new role.
I was starting at the New YorkCity Economic Development
Corporation and I was justtalking to different folks at
different positions.
They're like, oh, you're aboutto start.
Great, this is what you shouldbe doing.
You should read this book andplan what your milestones are.
How are you going to show thatyou've been a successful hire 90
(44:01):
days from now?
How are you going to show thatyou're making progress towards
your goals?
How are you going to show thatyou're growing?
So definitely, you know dittoand recommend all of that, and
you know it's not, of course,the Bible.
You can't go wrong.
So so that's great.
I love it.
You mentioned earlier, you know, being in positions where you
(44:22):
were applying for scholarshipsand other things because you
weren't able you didn't have thesalary at the time to be able
to cover all this.
Right Would be helpful to know,as a leader of this type of
organization, how much money canpeople expect to potentially
make in this, in this field?
Speaker 1 (44:33):
So you may not like this answer, but it truly
depends, right.
It depends if you're leading anonprofit that's local or
statewide or national.
I can tell you, for nationalnonprofit organizations it
depends on the budget of theorganization, right?
If you're like a $1 millionnonprofit versus a $30 or $50
million nonprofit and thedifferent roles that I've served
(44:55):
, they've gone between $120 to$300K plus, and so it just
really depends on the nonprofit.
The other factor that wherethere may be, I would say, a
variance, is if it's more thanone nonprofit.
In this case, I serve in a C3,a C4, and a super PAC.
In the past I led a C3 and a C4, which meant that I had
(45:18):
salaries from both entities.
And so one big consejo that Iwould give, especially if you're
thinking that serving anexecutive level position
president, ceo, executivedirector is something that's in
your path and your journey,you're considering it is to do
your research, right.
It also depends on where youlive, again, the size of the
(45:39):
nonprofit, and to really come upwith a plan of where you want
to land.
And, by the way, withnonprofits, a lot of this is
public records, so you'reactually able to see exactly,
you know, like, what folks areearning, how much money is going
into operations.
And then I would also say,especially as a Latina Radis, we
(46:00):
need to learn how to negotiateour salaries and contracts, and
in my case I had a contract inplace that really helped provide
that security that I was goingto have this job over X number
of years and there were a lot ofclauses that protected me.
But I would say, even innon-contracted positions, I
(46:20):
remember that in one institutionI was getting ready to come
into Washington DC from Richmond, virginia, and the cost of
living is a lot higher, rightLike Richmond to Virginia, it's
like twice as much.
And so I remember the salary wasokay and they told me so sorry,
it ain't gonna happen, you'renot getting more money.
But what I was able tonegotiate was free parking space
(46:45):
, which is about $3,000.
So I got my little parkingspace and then I also got an
additional two weeks of vacation.
And so you know, we also haveto kind of be creative in how we
negotiate, understanding that,okay, it may not be possible to
get those additional thousandsof dollars that we want, but we
could negotiate other things,and that could be either, you
(47:05):
know, like something as small asa parking space, to additional
time off, to additional matchingfor your 401k.
So just kind of be likestrategic, be smarter than me,
um, and really think through,like, what is it that you really
want to help you have thelifestyle that you, that you
need?
Speaker 2 (47:24):
That's great.
I you know, I really appreciatethat because I think a lot of
times when we're negotiating, wereally primarily focus on the
amount of money we could make.
But you know, I think it'simportant to think about.
I've negotiated titles, right.
I know folks that have alsonegotiated time off and I think
that's genius and that's great.
And then just thinking aboutthings like okay, parking space,
(47:44):
that is an expense and that issomething that'll save you time,
why not put that in theconversation?
And, honestly, by the time youget to a negotiating phase, they
want you to take the role.
So at that point the worst thatthey can say is no, but they
actually want you as a candidate.
So you know, I think, if you,if you can articulate what your
pain points are and what wouldmake this type of role more
(48:05):
convenient and more suitable towhat you're looking for, for the
most part employers are willingand are willing to try to meet
you somewhere.
Speaker 1 (48:20):
Absolutely.
And then what I would say also,radi, as an employer right,
oftentimes, you know, doing thehire myself, we have a range of
what we can pay and you know,like the person, the person
knowing me, almost like lahermana, to the individual
applying, I almost want to saylike no digan que si a la
primera vez?
Like come back and say you know, could we, is there a wiggle
room to get a little bit more,because typically employers
actually have a range of whatthey're able to offer for a
(48:42):
specific position, but you wouldbe surprised how many folks
take it at the first bite.
And so you know, if you takeanything away, is that insert?
You know, like in someemployment opportunities there
may be that flexibility andrange it may not exist, and then
you're going to be like, okay,pues, no tienen más, aquí se
queda.
Pero in some instances there isa little bit of wiggle room.
Speaker 2 (49:04):
Absolutely.
How big is Latino Victory now,10 years later?
Speaker 1 (49:07):
So 10 years later, we're a team of seven and we
work with a lot of consultants.
So small and mighty team forall the work that we do.
And you know, people are oftensurprised when I tell them the
size of the team.
But one thing that I wouldabsolutely note and flag is that
we have an amazing board ofdirectors.
(49:28):
Our chairman happens to be LuisMiranda and he is absolutely
phenomenal.
And we have other leaders onthat board that you know.
If I call, if I text, they arejust always ready to serve and
it is amazing.
I feel absolutely blessed towork with the board of directors
that I work with and absolutelyblessed to work with a team of
(49:50):
Latino Latina leaders whounderstand the mission that we
have and work every single dayalong my side to make sure that
we make it happen.
Speaker 2 (49:59):
That's great.
So how can our listenerssupport Latino Victory?
Speaker 1 (50:02):
So you can support Latino Victory in many ways.
First, if you've never beenasked to run for office, but
you've kind of thought like, oh,you know what, I think I could
do a better job than thispolitician that's representing
me, I'm asking you to run foroffice, right, like definitely
think about it if it's crossedyour mind.
And if it hasn't crossed yourmind, do your own research,
right, and think like, maybe youcould be that person that
(50:24):
brings in that voice for ourcommunity, at whatever level it
is that you would like to serve.
And again, we have Path toVictory to be able to train
Latino candidates, so you couldalways go to our website,
latinovictoryorg, and find outmore about the work that we do.
Sign up for our mailers, beinformed.
We are heavy and thick in themiddle of campaigning and on the
(50:46):
Super PAC side, we areabsolutely progressive, which
means we are supporting VicePresident Harris and we are
really excited about what thiselection is going to look like.
And just of thinking that in mylifetime, in my child's
lifetime, we're going to havethe first woman president of the
United States, especially ifLatinos turn out to vote, I
(51:07):
think is something that I'mlooking forward to.
Speaker 2 (51:10):
Cindy, is there anything else we have not
discussed that the world shouldknow about you?
Speaker 1 (51:14):
I would say, not necessarily about me, radi, but
just really about our thinkingand our frame of mind and
understanding that we have a lotof power, we influence a lot of
people, and oftentimes we givenosotros mismos our power away.
And something that I live by isthat with every decision that
(51:36):
we make, every single decision,whether it's to a major, major
decision that only you wouldknow of, we're either choosing
to walk towards love or we'rechoosing to walk towards fear,
and some of the decisions whenyou walk towards love are really
(51:57):
, really hard, but they areworth it in the long term, and
so I always tell everyone tochoose to walk towards love.
Speaker 2 (52:04):
Wow, that's amazing.
Well, cindy, thank you so muchfor taking the time to speak
with us today.
I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (52:09):
Gracias a ti, ravi, y gracias también a nuestra
comunidad, for all that you do.
Speaker 2 (52:14):
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
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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