Advocacy, Education & Community Power with Nestor Esparza

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Structuring Chaotic Minds, the
podcast where we turn the chaosof everyday challenges into
structured success.
I'm your host, melissa.
In each episode, we'll exploreinnovative strategies, real-life
stories and actionable insightsto help you navigate the
complexities of leadership,business and personal growth.
Whether you're an entrepreneur,a leader or someone striving

(00:21):
for personal development, thispodcast will give you the tools
to create clarity in the chaos.
Let's dive in.
Welcome back to another episodeof Structuring Chaotic Minds.
If you're new here, then youwill be learning today that we
don't just talk about ideas.
We break them down, wechallenge norms and we really

(00:42):
explore real world strategiesthat make a difference.
Today's episode is going to bea powerful one, because today
we're talking about somethingthat affects all of us, whether
we realize it or not, and that'sthe power of education, even
outside the classroom.
Now, this doesn't mean thatschool as we know it, it's
actually education, and how weeducate ourselves, our

(01:02):
communities and even ourpolicymakers to create a real,
lasting impact.
To dive into this today I havean incredible guest who's
joining me.
His name is Nestor EsparzaMagana, and he has spent over 15
years leading nonprofits,shaping policies and advocating
for human rights and educationand equity.
He's worked across the globe,from Latin America to South Asia

(01:28):
and now in Texas.
He's here to break down how wecan help be a part of the
solution when it comes toeducation, public policy and
community empowerment.
Nestor, welcome to the show.

Speaker 2 (01:40):
Hi, melissa, thank you for having me.
I am happy to be show.
Hi, melissa, thank you forhaving me.
I am happy to be here.
I'm actually at the PuroCommunity Studio, so that's what
you see in the background forthose that can see it in video
and the Puro Community Studio isbased here in San Antonio, in
our Triumph Public High School'sSan Antonio campus, and it's
one of the advocacy initiativesthat we're doing to engage the

(02:03):
community.
We're located in very close tothe historic west side of San
Antonio and that's reallyexciting for me because I'm a
proud citizen of District 5 andjust live very close by and, as
you were mentioning, for me it'sa great experience to, after
being away abroad for 15 yearsworking on human rights, working

(02:25):
on public policy, working onthese topics that are very much
my passion it's great to be ableto come back home.
I always say like it's veryrewarding when you're in a place
like India or you're in a placelike Colombia and you can
support and help and thecommunity is welcoming you to
work together with them.
But when you can do it in yourown neighborhood, in the place

(02:49):
where you grew up or the placethat you call home, it's even
more rewarding, and while I havebeen doing different or been
involved in various projects inmy nonprofit career over the
last two years, I've beenfocusing on education, as you
were mentioning Also, inparticular, on the advocacy

(03:09):
components regarding education,public school choice and just
the idea of being able to givevoices to our communities and
the communities that we serve sothat we can basically tell
their stories.
Sounds like something verysimple and it is.
It's something that I thinkthat sometimes we hear advocacy

(03:30):
and we believe that it's maybesomething complex, and the
reality is that everyone can doadvocacy and, as you said,
education is very important,right, education in the public
education setting, but alsoeducating the public as a whole,
and that's what advocacy can do, and I would say that it goes

(03:51):
beyond just education, right?
I think it creates connectionwith people.
It's the way that, as acommunity, we can pull together
and understand each other andadvocate in that way, and
understand each other andadvocate in that way.
I am based here in San Antonioand spend a lot of time here at
the studio and advocacyactivities that we do, but

(04:12):
Triumph Public High Schools has11 campuses throughout the state
of Texas and I provide supportto all of our campuses.
Just to give you maybe a littlebit of background on SAPI SAPI
is the nonprofit that is thecharter school holder of Triumph
Public High Schools.

(04:33):
So Triumph Public High Schoolsis one of our main programs, so
to speak, and what we do at SAPIis to basically try to
complement what we're doing asTriumph and to go beyond the
classroom, right so, go beyondthe graduation, go into the
communities.

(04:53):
So that's the part that thenonprofit does to support the
school.
The school focuses on serving100% at-risk youth.
By that the school focuses onserving 100% at-risk youth.
By that I mean at risk ofdropping out or that have
dropped out and they're comingback to school.
So that is something that wehave a great mission, because

(05:14):
we're supporting kids thatreally, really need that support
through the model that Triumphoffers and with that we can give
them flexible schedules, we cangive them different
opportunities for them, smallclass sizes.
We really are meeting themwhere they're at to help them
graduate.
But as SAPI, we want to be ableto go beyond that, right.

(05:35):
So it's like what?
What can we do after school?
How?
What can we do beyond theclassroom?
How can we engage the parents?
How can we engage the thecommunity and how can we go
beyond graduation?
Right, because even thoughthat's the end goal of the of
the school as a high school, thereality is that we need to also
look further than that and seewhat you know, how can we

(05:58):
support our kids beyond, beyondgraduation?
And the school already does alot of that through AP courses
and certifications and things ofthat sort.
But through SAPI, what we weretrying to do is really have
advocacy as a main strategy forour theory of impact at the
community level, and that'ssomething that we're trying hard

(06:19):
to do and not just like trying.
We're really looking atdifferent ways in which we can
approach advocacy and we see itas just not not only a tool that
one can have, but reallysomething that should be a must
Like.
We need to get those voices out.
We need to let, as you said,lawmakers inform them, let them

(06:40):
know that people are benefitingfrom this and that their
positive stories could be veryhelpful for someone that might
be looking for an option as faras education, right, and, as I
said, it's something that we'relooking at it as a way to
connect with our communitiesbeyond your typical flyer, let's

(07:01):
say.
So that is something that we're.
What we're trying to do, likethrough this type of spaces and
activities that we're doing atthe community level, is really
to try to amplify the voices ofthe communities that we serve.

Speaker 1 (07:15):
I love it.
Well, for some of our audience,they might not be thinking
about education.
They might just be thinkingokay, does this conversation
even pertain to me?
But thinking of that, you'veworked in lots of different
cultural settings, from LatinAmerica to Texas.
So before we dive in a littlebit deeper, let's just start
broad.
What does education really meanto you beyond schools and the

(07:38):
classrooms?
And I understand and I'mhearing so many great things,
like with SAPI and TRIUMPout,but what does it mean to you and
why should the average personcare about education as public
awareness?

Speaker 2 (07:50):
Well, I mean, when it comes to education, for me it's
first of all basic human rights, so that is something that's
essential for everyone and it'sa right for people to have
access to education.
But I think it's important torecognize that when we say

(08:11):
education, it's not like aone-size-fits-all type of
approach.
So to me, education is alsoabout thinking that there are
different groups, that you mightwant to consider your education
models in a different waydepending on the type of
population that you're serving,and that it's not limited
necessarily, yeah, to like aclassroom setting right, it can

(08:33):
go beyond that.
But thinking about, I think,the basic.
When you go internationally,then you're really sometimes, in
some cases, you're reallylooking at the basic right, like
what we're trying to do is justbring really basic education to
these communities.
In a setting like ours here inthe US, we can think a little

(08:53):
bit beyond that right.
So some things have alreadybeen covered kind of at the
basic level, but then I thinkthere's once, it's kind of like
once you get to that point, thenyou need to ask citizens.
We should always be asking forimprovement when it comes to
things like that, becauseeducation is a building block of
our society.
So if we don't have an educatedsociety, it's it's difficult to

(09:17):
make progress.
And again the education shouldnot always be in a kind of like,
viewed as a traditional way.
You know, so it's, sometimesit's going to be.
Your education might lead youto what most people tend to
think of.
Right, it could be like highereducation, meaning like you come
here and then you go to college, but the reality is that
education can take place inother settings, right?

(09:39):
So this could lead you into amilitary career, it could lead
you into trades.
So, for me, I view education asa it's not like a static thing.
I think it's something that weneed to consider, based on the
population that we are serving.

Speaker 1 (09:58):
I love that.
That's powerful, especially, alot of people might think it's
only one way or it's not goingto work or they're kind of
scared of it.
That really ties into the bestpiece or really what I know.
You say a lot that advocate.
Advocacy is your best marketingand I love that because if
people are able to actuallyadvocate for education, put that

(10:20):
out there, as that's theplatform I'm already hearing
just it's pouring out of you howmuch everybody has that right
to education and it's in all theprojects you're a part of and
such Thinking of that.
Can you break it down for us?
What do you mean by advocacyand why is it such a powerful
tool for nonprofits and schools?

Speaker 2 (10:42):
Well.
I mean, I always say thatadvocacy is your best marketing,
and I think that's becausemarketing traditional marketing,
as we may think of it, it tendsto be transactional right and
to me advocacy becomes more likerelational right and it's that

(11:02):
it's already like a differentapproach to how you're going to
try to convey a message, right?
Well's, a that is already likea different approach to how
you're gonna try to convey amessage, right?
Well, you know, like thebranding and promotion is an
important part, the reality isthat people are not remembering
you because of your logo or thecolors of your brands.
Right, it's.
This is not.
It helps to have a good logoand it helps to have good colors

(11:22):
, but they're going to rememberyou because of the stories.
So the real experiences, thereal impact that is taking place
, and in that sense, that's manytimes I say look, you can
design a great flyer about agreat program and that flyer
might just be seen for onesecond and then gets, you know,
thrown away, whereas if you havea really great program, that

(11:45):
means that you have good storiesand the story might stick
around with someone for longer.
Not only will it stick aroundfor longer, as many people can
start creating a direct link,there's empathy, there's
understanding, there's humanemotions and I think if we
appeal to the human emotions, Ithink then we can provide a

(12:07):
different platform almost inwhich we can really maximize
those voices and kind of makethem be like lasting longer in
people's minds, almost right.
So I think it's like a longlasting type of impact that
advocacy can have because ofthat, like raw and uncut,

(12:27):
unfiltered sometimes, and andthat's very, that's a very
powerful, powerful tool.
I think, in coming from you know, having worked for nonprofits
my, my whole life, I I'm alwaysthinking of what are going to be
the ways in which we can reducecost.
So how can we kind of reducecost but maximize the impact,

(12:51):
right?
So then to me that's the otherthing as to why I think it's
your best marketing tool becauseit can be almost for free Not
completely, because there's nosuch thing as for free but you
don't need to go and hire someexternal agency to come and do
that job.
Because if we take a step backfrom the traditional type of

(13:13):
like setting, when we thinkabout, like most organizations,
most companies, whether you knownonprofit, whether it's a
private sector, even public,right, they'll have a marketing
department or like acommunications department, right
?
Sometimes that covers a littlebit more, and I think it's
important to to think of OK,well, these are things that can

(13:36):
lead you not only to createawareness, raise awareness, to
educate the public, but theybecome additional resources.
By spending very little, you canget a lot of return in your
investments, right, because itcan lead you to like earned
media, it can lead you topartnerships, it can lead you to
collaborations, and one thingthat's you know, when we're

(13:59):
thinking about community-basedadvocacy and community work, is
that it's so important to worktogether and community work is
that it's so important to worktogether.
So it's not.
We're not just alone in thisand we cannot just solve things
like education, right, or anyother topic.
It's the idea of like comingtogether as a community and

(14:20):
realizing that the challengessometimes are really big, but
we're also a lot of people andthat together we can kind of go
into that.
But what I feel like, ifthere's no authentic
storytelling in that advocacy,it's much harder to get people
on board, right, it's easier tojust throw the flyer away.
It's much harder to hear like apowerful story and be like I
don't really care about that,right?

(14:41):
So I think that's somethingthat it's very important.
That's something that it's veryimportant and I think that it's
something that, unfortunately,we have not gotten to the point
yet in which we see this, as Iwas mentioning earlier, just
like a basic thing, a standardthing that every organization
should have, and a bit of, maybe, a change in paradigm to think

(15:02):
about approaching communicationsmarketing through more of like
an advocacy lens rather than the, you know, more kind of
traditional marketing.

Speaker 1 (15:10):
I love that.
I think the phrase that sticksout to me would be where were
you on 9-11?
And a lot of people can tellyou where they were.
A lot of people can tell youwhat they were doing, what
happened that that day.
I mean, it's not like theyremember it like it was
yesterday, but they're veryfamiliar with it.
It's ingrained in their headand it was years ago already.

(15:33):
It was over 20 years now.
Thinking about the sciencebehind it is actually, if
there's anything that made usfeel a certain way or was really
that impactful, it gets storedin our long-term memory.
So I really think that'ssomething that gets overlooked a
lot and I love that you pointthat out.
But your impact speaks louderthan any billboard and it's

(15:55):
really going to be out there.
And how do you make people feellike what did you do?
How did you release it tenfold?
And that's really cool becausethat takes us to our next piece
and we're moving into communityadvocacy in action.
So I actually met you throughpartnership and through an
actual training.
Was it future leaders or whatwas the actual name?

Speaker 2 (16:14):
future leaders academy.
I believe that was the firsttime that we and that was the
futuro.

Speaker 1 (16:19):
So it was obvious that we were all there because
we advocated in our own spacesfor something and they saw
something in each person tobring us all together.
And the resources, thetrainings, the information it's
been so insightful and excitingto be able to like have that.
But what I get excited evenmore about is the collaborations

(16:41):
and the actual advocacy inaction.
And watching some of you guysand what everybody's doing, I
I'm like, oh, my goodness, Ineed to do more.
So it's just to go over those.
I want to talk a little bitmore about the initiatives you
guys have going on.
So the plural communitycultural series.
Can you share howcommunity-based advocacy,

(17:02):
specifically through thatprogram, has impacted your
student and family engagement atyour campuses and what lessons
can other schools andorganizations take by doing the
same approach?

Speaker 2 (17:15):
Well with the Puro Community Cultural Series.
It's something that's.
It's interesting how it started.
So we have 11 campuses rightnow, but we just opened in
August the campus here and inAbilene, and we were thinking
particularly here in San Antonio, where it's a larger city.

(17:36):
When you're thinking aboutadvocacy, marketing, whatever it
is like, you're competing witha lot of information that is
around us, right, there's a lotof things going on in a larger
city and it's harder to, kind oflike, get your message through
just because of that clutterthat exists.
Right, and we wanted to focusor support a little bit more the

(17:58):
San Antonio effortsadvocacy-wise because of that
particular environment and thefact that we were just opening
the school.
So when we started thinkingabout this and again this is
also thanks to the support thatwe were just opening the school
so when we started thinkingabout this, and again this is
also thanks to the support thatwe have from local partners.
So you know City EducationPartners or Futuro San Antonio
or you know these local partnersthat also make it very specific

(18:19):
for things to work in SanAntonio.
But thanks to that support, wewere able to kind of like think
a little bit outside the box andthen just try to figure out
what will be a good way to getto the community, to inform them
and to engage them.
And when we were talking aboutthis, I knew that for me the

(18:42):
idea was we're coming into thiscommunity and we're opening a
school and we want to let themknow that we're part of the
community and we're there tosupport.
But I wanted to be able to doit in a way in which we were not
even necessarily mentioning theschool or mentioning the
nonprofit, but rather justletting them know we're here,

(19:02):
and it's not just us, it's a lotof other organizations.
We're here and it's not just us, it's a lot of other
organizations.
So basically was okay, how canwe make it so that we're really
responding to the culturalcontext?
Having worked in, you know, manyplaces that were like, very
like foreign to me, I depended alot on you know, if I'm in some
, I'm in India, right, I'mdepending a lot on my coworkers

(19:24):
to guide me on those things,because you know I'm not from
there, I'm only there from youknow X amount of time.
So so that cultural component,like you know, I'm always going
to them.
You know I was always going tolike what.
Would it be the way in which wecan, we can connect.
Coming back here, it was alittle bit different, because I
didn't have to do that.
I just had to think about whatmy neighborhood looked like, you

(19:51):
know, or what you know, when Igrew up here.
What were some of the thingsthat were, and then immediately
was like, okay, we want to makeit about community.
And then we thought of likePuro community, like only
community, right.
And we thought, well, puro issomething that is very Puro, san
Antonio, right, like it'ssomething that is very much used
here in the local context, soeven though, like you're putting
it in Spanish, it's still verymuch understood.
So we thought, like itrepresents the community in that

(20:12):
way.
It's like they know what thatmeans.
And then it was looking at okay,if we want to be part of the
community, we should representthe community, right?
So we're thinking about whatother things can we incorporate
into this?
That would be interesting.
So we thought of like let'sbring law writers and let's do a
law writer show and let's playsome specific type of music when

(20:36):
we're like having the lawwriter show, and from there was
like, ok, but what else could weincorporate into this?
So, again, through partnerships, right, because when we go to
the law writers, it's likeestablishing that partnership
with the law writer groups sothat they come by.
Then we looked at can weincorporate art?
Because we believe that, and Ialways say it, I think San

(20:56):
Antonio like for includingmyself before I left, I would
never really thought of SanAntonio as, like you know,
having all this street art andall this art San Antonio is like
you know, having all thisstreet art and all this art.
And after I've come back and Isee it from a different point of
view, I'm like, oh, there's somuch art here, right, I feel
like many people come to SanAntonio.
They'll go to the hemisphere,they'll go to the Alamo, they'll
go to the Riverwalk, fiesta,texas SeaWorld, and they will

(21:18):
never stop, you know, by thewest side, where there's all
these murals, or to the eastside, right, so it was.
To me it was like San Antoniois very artistic.
So can we incorporate arts andculture into the community
advocacy component, to engagepeople?
And that's what we did.
We reached out to SAC, which isjust down the street.

(21:38):
They lent us some art.
We reached out to some localartists.
You can see some art still fromthem somewhere here.
So we created basically agallery in which people could
come by.
If you cannot afford, maybe, togo to a museum, you can just
come by here and check out thegallery that we have.
We had the law writers.
Engage the community.
Come and vote for the best lawwriter.

(21:59):
We call it El Favorito andanyone gets to vote and it makes
it like a fun experience.
But in addition to that, wereached out to all the
nonprofits that we had some typeof relationship, so the food
bank, there was the United WayCenter for Healthcare Services,
any Baby Can Cooper Kids, so allkinds of organizations that

(22:20):
provide other kinds of services,so that when the community were
coming by we were letting themknow, hey, the school will be
opening, but there's all thisother stuff you know.
And then people it was like agreat two events during the
summer and that maybe againwe'll do it next summer or

(22:48):
something like that, and thatturned out into we did like four
sessions last year we created aphysical space because then we
thought, hey, like, if we wantto bring the community and, by
the way, you know, maybe we cantalk a little bit later about
the space itself but it's opento the community.
So if someone wants, wants tocome and do something here, it's
available.
So that's kind of how itstarted.

(23:11):
And then it is interestingbecause the second event we ran
out of space.
On the first event withLowriders, they showed up so
much support and I kept onsaying that's Puro Community,
coming by and knowing thatthat's Puro Community, that's
what Puro Community is, andpeople would ask me how much did
that cost?
And I was like it didn't costanything Like that's a reality,

(23:32):
Like we didn't really spend anymoney on this.
We just asked our partners andthey showed up and then we were
able to create this event.
So I think it's something thatobviously you know.
If you have a good mission andyou're coming in the community
to let everyone know, hey, we'rehere to support and work
together with everyone, then Ithink that has a positive impact

(23:55):
and it leads to other things,because at first, when I was
kind of like proposing theseideas, the reaction was a little
bit like what, like law writersand arts.
The reaction was a little bitlike what, like lowriders and
art.
And I think, in a way, that'sencouraging for me whenever I
get that kind of reaction,because I feel like even more so
I should do it.

(24:15):
I think it's important for usto sometimes at least test a
little bit outside of what wetend to usually do, just to see
how it goes, and then you mighthave a really good result, like
we did.
So that is a great way to startengaging the community on this,
and so, as I said, it went tofour events.
We got earned media, forexample.

(24:37):
So, talking about advocacy, wehad the local news coming by and
just saying like, hey, what'sgoing on?
And the first time that theycame by, they came by to check
out the Lawrider show, but thatopened up the conversation to
okay, they were like we justwant to do a piece on the
Lawrider show and I was likethat's fine, but we're opening
the school.
And they were like, okay, tellme more because we want to do a

(24:58):
piece about the school.
So we're getting, like you knowthings, like you know, earned
media in that sense out of thistype of events.
And again, that's more.
Maybe, if you were to thinkabout it from the beginning in
the traditional marketing way,you could just go and buy a
segment in a news channel, right, but you might be able to go in
a different way that will, as Isaid, save you money and create

(25:21):
more impact.
So that's something that it hassupported, more impact.
So that's something that it has, uh, that has supported.
We got approached by a movie,like some filmmakers, and they
were like, hey, we heard aboutthe studio, we would be
interested in doing a movie, andthey, we, we were here in this
space showing that the movie wasshowing here in the back and we
had about 80 people in this inthis room and the movie.

(25:43):
Again, they approached us justbecause they had heard about the
stuff that we're doing and theywere like we want to do it.
We did it on, we filmed it hereat the school and it was kind
of like a bit of PSA to raiseawareness on fentanyl poisoning
during the fentanyl poisoningawareness month.
So that was in October lastyear, and so we're you know,
we're open to the community.

(26:03):
When they reach out to us, it'slike yes, of course we want to
do that, of course we want toshow it here.
That's the idea of, like, havingthis community space and at
this moment, because we have allthose other campuses, this got
to, obviously, you know, topresent to our board and to you
know, and they're like well, nowwe want the Puro community in
all of our campuses.
So it's starting to make peopleexcited about doing this type

(26:26):
of things.
Every time someone is coming inhere, they're like they love
the space, they love the color,you know, and, as I said, it
just starts a conversation.
It starts a conversation and,if you're you know, the first
thing is this is so colorful andso beautiful and the next thing
is this is what we use thisspace for.
Then it starts, you know,giving voices to people and just

(26:47):
amplifying them in a way.
So that's kind of what the Purocommunity cultural series is
and kind of what it has it hasturned into and it just
continues on on evolving.
So so we're excited.
We have had also theopportunity to collaborate with
local artists on this, but thestudents also engage in the

(27:11):
murals, so that has also beennice and that's kind of where we
want to go.
What we want to do is everythingthat we're doing, we want the
students to do.
We want them to really be theones creating, we want them to
be the ones giving us the idea.
You know, the ones doing the.
So that's where, where, wherewe want to go.

(27:33):
We do not want to think of like, oh, let's create an advocacy
department, right Like.
This will not be the thing.
The idea would be to let'stransfer the knowledge to the
kids, let's get them excited,let's show them that they
actually have such a powerfulvoice and such good stories that
they can create some, some,some influence, right like.

(27:54):
It's interesting because youright now ask, like young people
in the us, like, what do theywant to do when they grow up?
And like a big number says thatthey want to be influencers,
you know, and, and the thing isthat the the perception or the
immediate reaction.

Speaker 1 (28:09):
I think especially from what it looks like is like
influencers.

Speaker 2 (28:12):
It's almost like you know.
It's like no, you have to likego and do this like and I think
it's because we think ofinfluencers in the I'm
influencing, like I don't know,maybe video games or makeup or
things that maybe we just don'tfind to have that much
importance, but when you thinkabout like there's so many, you
can be an influencer in allkinds of ways.
And I think realizing that isbasically the idea of giving

(28:39):
power to the voices of thecommunity, because then you can
influence and advocate on theimprovements of your community.
So I think that's somethingthat we want to do, so that the
kind of the Puro community goesfrom an event to a series of
events, to an actual programthat engages our youth, and they

(29:01):
can then go on and engage thecommunity, engage the lawmakers.
So that's pretty exciting, andit's exciting in particular
because the kids have beenresponding well to it.
And to me that's also kind ofno surprise, because I think
that if we also consider thatthey're teenagers, right, so

(29:22):
it's like how can we engage them?
Well, if using art, technology,media, that might make it a
little bit more interesting forthem, right, and then we can
start giving them guidance onhow they can do advocacy as well
.
But that's where I hope thatyou know that in some time we
can say, hey, we solidified thisprogram of advocacy leaders,

(29:44):
students, you know that can helpus with these topics and we're
in this semester, we're students, you know that can help us with
, uh, with this topics and, uh,we're in in this.
This semester we were, like youknow, piloting some of some of
those things so that we can likecreate it into a program where
I'm going to be going to Austin,to the Capitol, to talk to
lawmakers.
So that's also going to be, Ithink, very motivating for for
the students, and I think themore that they see that they can

(30:05):
actually open those doors,because at the beginning they
didn't really see it as like, oh, I can really see myself doing
those things.
And then it's like, well, youcan, you know, and then you see,
and that starts changing thementality of like, what can be
done, and I think that's veryimportant for youth to realize
that they have that power to dothat.

(30:25):
And then the other thing isthat they become catalyzers,
right, so it's not the same meor you going and talking to a
teenager, right, as peer-to-peertype of communication, which I
think it's also very, veryimportant.
And one thing that I can say,having worked for all this time.
Many of the programs that Iworked on were involving youth

(30:48):
and I think one of the mainthings was to make sure that
their voices were included onthe programs that get done, and
I think that it's not possibleto include them in everything
right, it's not possible toinclude them in everything
regarding education, but I thinkwhen it comes to advocacy, it's
definitely possible to includethem and to make them feel

(31:09):
valued, and you know that theycan have that impact and I'm
very happy that you know we getto do that here and that we can
get to engage them in that way.

Speaker 1 (31:19):
I've been biting my tongue because I'm so excited
about all the ways that we canpartner that I usually interrupt
and be like, oh my goodness,I've been trying to let you get
it all out.
Okay.
So I'm hearing so many greatthings because we have a program
that's actually calledStructured and Smiling.
But our foundations programfocuses on kiddos, so ages seven
to 17.
And then we have our youngadults program, which is like 17

(31:41):
to 27-ish give or take, andthey all get told like there's
different aspects of life.
There's their personal stuffwith their families, their
relationships, there's theirfinances.
They need to learn differentareas.
But not everybody is going tobe culturally the same, so they
need to think about what worksbest for them and how to like
tailor that.

(32:01):
But we work a lot with the kidson their personal branding so
that way when they're fillingout their applications, if they
do want to go to college,they're very certain what they
want to do.
If they want to go to tradeschool, they don't feel like
anybody's putting them down forit.
If they decide none of that'sfor them and they're going into
the military, they're confident,they're ready to go.
So we do a lot of businesscoaching and training and Maya's

(32:27):
Love had actually told me tocheck out your location because
we're hosting a children'sbusiness fair this summer.
So I'm super excited.
I want to talk more.
And then Alyssa had totallywanted to talk to you about it
because she's doing all thatadvocacy with young adults here
in San Antonio.
So yes, we will totally talkmore about adjusting this.
It's exciting to give kiddoseducation that piece.
That's actually where westarted Structure Innovations,

(32:47):
because for us SI educationempowers the kids.
But if you can't empower eachof the adults, that mindset to
empower those kiddos and like,accept that part, it's kind of
whole.
So it takes people like youscaling that in a way.
And it's not to bring in money,it's not to benefit, it's to
help grow the community.

(33:08):
What benefits them, it's reallyempowering and it's giving
people ownership over theireducation and advocacy.
So which connects that biggerto a bigger question, I guess
for me, when it comes toinvesting in outside marketing
firms like you talked about andtelling stories for other
schools, why do you believe thatthe best storytelling comes

(33:30):
from within the community itselfand what practical steps can
organizations take to harnessthat power for themselves?

Speaker 2 (33:39):
I think I mean, it's just the fact that they have
compelling narratives, so tospeak, right, like just the
stories are like, without evenprepping or anything, the
stories are there and there's alot of power to that.
I think then the challengesometimes becomes for maybe the
school staff or the nonprofitstaff is like okay, so how do I
actually like capture that?
The nonprofit staff is likeokay, so how do I actually like

(34:02):
capture that?
Because that becomes likesometimes it's like, oh, I know
that there's so many stories,but and and I can say the same
thing for me when I started,because I was like, oh, when I
went to visit all the campus andI was asking why are you here,
what is it that you liked?
And I'm like there's so manygood ones, like you know, and
very powerful ones.
I think what I would say isthat's the main reason, because

(34:23):
it's a real voice.
Now, how do you translate thatinto like a practical thing?
I think the best thing is tojust start identifying the voice
, right, so the person that canbe that representative, because
I think the first thing is, forexample, for our school, whether
our parents or our students,like there's so many, so many of
them.
But you need to narrow it downto the one, that's who's

(34:46):
comfortable with sharing thatstory Right?
Who?
Who?
Who feels that their story isgoing to have that impact,
because we don't want to commentand say, hey, your story is
great, you should share it Right.
Like we want for them torecognize the fact that if
someone had told them that thatwould have been you know much
better.
For them to recognize the factthat if someone had told them
that that would have been youknow much better.

(35:07):
For them, like you know, it'slike sometimes they come here
and many times it tells I wish Iknew, like I had known before,
and it's like well, it's not toolate because you're here, you
know.
But I think once they realizethat it's, they're on their own,
like with the kids, we see it,you know it's uh.
And if it comes naturally tothe point that they say like,

(35:28):
hey, if, if my friends had knownabout this, or I know so many
kids are not much older than methat would have benefited from
this, right, um, so I thinkthat's once you identify the
voice is then kind of uh, yeah,making sure that the, that the,
the person is comfortable withthat and they see that value on
their own.
And then it's taking use of thesocial media platforms and the

(35:50):
technology that there is, youknow, ai, editing videos, like
all this stuff.
That it's like our lives,whether you're an adult, and
especially if you're a teenager.
It's like social media is likeso embedded.
We're like almost cyborgs, withlike a little machine next to
us all the time.
Right, like it's very close tothat.

(36:16):
But but so if that is how we'relike getting information and
this is the new way to go aboutit, it's like we need to
maximize the use of those freeplatforms.
I think the more that one canuse those platforms, the better,
right, because there's ways inwhich the algorithm works and so
on.
But I think don't be shy toshare stuff.
I think you know you can alwaysimprove along the way and the

(36:40):
improvement will be the qualityof the content, right, so that
content creation becomes betterthe more that you do it.
But the story is powerful fromday one.
You know the story is justpowerful.
Like you can always improve thelight, you can improve the
quality, you can improve thesetting, but the story is
powerful.
So I think if you want to startdoing advocacy or engaging your

(37:02):
community and you take thatapproach of like let me not not
be so afraid of trying thingsand let me go and try to capture
some stories.
I think many people also feellike it has to be the perfect
story, you know, like, oh, youcannot make a mistake.
Or you know it's, oh, it's goingto take too long to film it,
and and sometimes it's kind oflike the more raw it is, the

(37:22):
better it will be.
And I think then one needs topair it with like, you know, how
do you then start doing like afurther analysis into what might
be the best ways with socialplatforms are the best, but I
think if someone just wants togive it a try, they will realize
that it's something simple todo.
And then I think, going back tothe partnerships, because this

(37:44):
is like such an important thingand I think I cannot, like you
know, understate this because orI cannot overstate it rather is
that partnerships are soimportant, partnerships are so,
so important.
So if you feel like perhapsthere is not technology,
technologically you're not there, but you can get the, get the,
get the stories you know, or youneed some type of support, is

(38:07):
there's always organizationsaround that will be that you can
collaborate with and and inthat sense, you're also part of
the digital leadership cohortwith with good beats and you
know, there's theseopportunities that are also
available, and we'll be hostingsome of those here.
at least one of them, I believe,is april 19th that we're going
to be hosting this.
We'll be hosting some of thosehere At least one of them, I
believe.
It's April 19th that we'regoing to be hosting this.
We'll be going to be sharing onour social media, but that is a

(38:30):
great opportunity.
That's like the perfectopportunity for you to come by
and realize of like, first ofall, that you're not alone.
There's more people that areinterested in doing this and
that that creates also acommunity, but that it's simple,
like.
It's something simple to do andwe should not be kind of making
it look hard.
I think the more tools that wecan share with the community so

(38:52):
they can see how simple thesethings are, I think the better
off that we are.
I mean, the same thing goes forthe Puro community, like.
I think the more that we canshare these ideas, because this
idea might not translate exactlyto another school, right, but
it's the thought of like I couldthink of something different to
make, you know, bring attentionto this topic, so, but I think

(39:15):
that's a good way for them toengage.

Speaker 1 (39:18):
So, yeah, it's bringing that awareness or that
common ground.
That's actually how thispodcast started that awareness
or that common ground.
That's actually how thispodcast started.
So structuring chaotic mindswas meant to bring awareness to
mental health and to leadership.
As an individual who's bipolarI'm also ADHD, my son's high
functioning autistic and hasstruggled with his own mental

(39:39):
health journeys we joke aroundand say my daughter's the only
sane one out of us for the cases, but I've always managed to
accomplish my goals and I stillgot stuff done.
So that's actually quiteuncommon for people.
Let's see one of the oppositewhen it's bipolar and it comes
in waves and different things.

(39:59):
But for me, the most empoweringthing was hearing other
individuals who had struggledwith their mental health
journeys and then seeing them onthe other side.
So I was like you know what,we'll keep doing it, I'm gonna
start doing it.
And it's really impactful forme when I get an email from a
listener saying hey, just so youknow, I'm bipolar as well and I
never even knew that, or aformer client or something like

(40:20):
that.
I or client or something likethat.
I'm like you never shared that.
No, I was kind of embarrassedbut I figured with you going
through the journey and thestruggle.
Thank you so much.
That empowered me.
I wanted to do it and that'swhy I keep showing up and then,
as an educator, as a leader,showing people like this stuff
is possible for anybody.
You just have to learn thesteps and break it down.
But there's consistency,there's a structure, there's an

(40:41):
approach to it.
So I love that because itreally does empower people to
know it's possible.
I may not look like you, butit's still possible for me too.
So that that's really I don'tknow.
I love that.
A lot of organizationsunderestimate that power and
it's really about amplifyingthose voices that are already
there.

(41:01):
So amplify them in a way.
But you're not wrong, you kindof got to pull it out of those
people that are already there.
So amplify them in a way.
But you're not wrong, you kindof got to pull it out of those
people that are actuallycomfortable.
So, thinking of that, I knowyou've started mentioning some
of the stuff that we're involvedin as well as, like good beats
and the events that we're goingto be having.
But what can listeners do now?
What can they actually startdoing?
We covered a lot today frompublic education, what it means

(41:25):
beyond school advocacy works andthe real impact of daily lives.
So for our listeners this mightbe eye-opening.
What do they need to actuallydo in the meantime?
What action can they take thisweek to start making a
difference?
Something small, but stillimpactful?

Speaker 2 (41:38):
I mean, I would say that if you're an educator or if
you work in a school, I wouldsay that if you're an educator
or if you work in a school,identify a parent or a student
or a teacher, like someonewithin your school, which is

(41:58):
your community, who has a storyto tell or, you know, would like
to share a story.
I think that would be like thenumber one step that one can say
, ah, maybe they just listenedto this and they're like, hey, I
already know of Hook.
Can say, ah, maybe they justlistened to this and they're
like, hey, I already know ofHook.
For the nonprofit, I would saythat it's important to maybe
stop, before you go and hireanother external agency, to take

(42:19):
a step back and think aboutwhat you have already within
your organization.
Right, and that might be a wayin which you you know you can
end up saving money, and I thinkall nonprofits can benefit from
that.
I think, like you know, or comeand join us on April 19th,
realize, like you know howsimple some of these things, you
know how much money you can besaving.
So I think, for a parent or astudent, I would say that

(42:42):
engaging with your, any parentgroups that there might be at
the school, any student groupsas well, or student clubs that
there might be, I think this isa great way for them to start
having a voice and that willhelp the educator, the teacher,
to realize who's there that iswilling to share, or the teacher

(43:03):
to realize who's there that iswilling to share it.
Because, as I say, there's manygood stories, but I think it's
important that they are reallywilling to share and they feel
comfortable with doing so, likeyou just mentioned about like
hey, you know, it's like ifyou're bipolar, I might not feel
so comfortable sharing it witheveryone, but I can feel
comfortable sharing it with you,and I think that's the idea we
want that to be like naturalright, like you should not be
forced to do this, because thenit kind of goes against the

(43:26):
principle.
And I think there's all kindsof people.
Some of them are like very likeintroverted, very shy, they
don't want to, and some of themare like let me go and share.
So we want to like be able tomake it like a pleasant
experience as well.
And I think, if you're just acommunity, just look out any
community-based activities,events that there might connect
with organizations that are inyour area, and I would say not

(43:49):
even to receive or to supportwhat they're doing, but maybe
it's even just to receive theservices, and maybe once you go
and see that there's thoseservices out there, then the
next step will be for you totell that story about how great
it was.
So I think that will be likepractical ways in which they can
get engaged.
And, as I said, on the 19thwe're going to have the training

(44:11):
here.
So if you're in San Antonio andthere's also going to be some
other dates, so a very practicalway to get engaged or to maybe
do a few of these things inpreparation to that, to that and
um and uh, come by and and andget that support as well I love
that you pointed that out beforewe go into the last piece and I

(44:32):
actually hold peopleaccountable and do the call to
action.

Speaker 1 (44:35):
I just wanted to point out that some people are
introverts, some people areextrovert and some people
believe that other people areextrovert because of the skills
they've developed over the timeyeah, I'm one of those, yeah
yeah, I always spoke up when Isaw something wrong and that's
what my my family will alwaysjoke about it.
If I see if nothing's broken,I'm chill, I'm in the back like

(44:58):
I want to play.
I'm a big kid and I want to playaround all day long.
But if something's brokenbroken well, then I go into like
I need to fix it mode.
Then you hear me talking thewhole time, but sometimes the
way I talk can come out brash orit's just not working for other
people and it's had to beskills that I've had to acquire
over time, not for me to bedigestible for other people, but

(45:21):
for other people to actuallyprocess what I was saying and
not just tune me out because oftheir own beliefs, and I found
ways to be more impactful forthat.
So I love what you're doingwith the kiddos.
Can you share a little bit morejust a little bit more detail
about what your school is goingto be doing to teach kids how
advocacy part for themselves?
Because that part was reallyexciting for me hearing that
you're teaching kids thoseskills now and then later they

(45:45):
can actually start putting thatinto focus.
That's not something thateverybody is naturally good at.

Speaker 2 (45:51):
We learn it over time yeah, what we are starting to
do this semester is with a smallgroup of where we're calling
our advocacy leads, our advocacystudents.
We're students, we're doing it,we're approaching it in a very
kind of casual way.
We did not want it to be oh,this is the program and this is
but rather kind of be veryinclusive so that we can

(46:14):
incorporate their voices.
So what we did was, exactly, goto our principal and have them
identify those voices, thosestudents, and then we started
working with them slowly.
Now the first thing that we'redoing is, as I said, going to
Austin so they're going to beable to talk to lawmakers and

(46:36):
tell them about how they'rebenefiting from coming to
Triumph, how public chartershelps them achieving their goals
.
That is the way in which we'rekind of like building up to that
and what we said to them.
We started with like three andwhat we said to them is we want
you to be that kind ofrepresentative and then start

(46:59):
developing a program thatactually engages things like
social media, content creation,podcasting, kind of all these
technologies available so thatthey can use it as a way to
express themselves.
So we're trying to give them avoice, in the sense of like

(47:21):
we're recording a message right,that they're like speaking out,
so there's like that, there's avoice in that sense.
But really what we want to dois give them a voice in the
creation process of the program,right.
So that's kind of what we'reaiming at, so that with this
initial set of students we candevelop that, because we cannot

(47:43):
bring all the students, wecannot incorporate everyone, but
we want to make sure that, likeit's a peer led kind of thing,
right, so that it's not just usdeveloping it.
The first thing is going to begiving them skills on how to do
like video editing, like basicvideo editing, thinking about
how they could just basic thingson storytelling, for example.
Right, like some of theactually on the during the, the,

(48:07):
the academy that we share, wetalked about a lot of those
things, right, like kind ofhaving, like your elevator pitch
your.
So we're giving them skills thatare practical for them to
communicate the message, butwe're getting giving them also
freedom so that they canparticipate in how that message
looks.
So it's not about just likethis is the message, but they

(48:28):
might want to showcase thatmessage in a particular way.
They might want to use specificcolors they might want to use.
So we want to allow creativity.
So that's one of the things.
That is like giving them avoice, make it participatory and
make it a creative, a creativeprocess.
So we'll see how that is goingto end up like looking like a
structure.
But the first thing is to, as Isaid, give them those spaces

(48:52):
for them to communicate and thento start get content so that we
can distribute it on socialmedia.
Regarding those stories, thosethose stories and I and I love,
I would love to connect with youand with alisa further on on
that, because that would be agreat way for them to also, uh,
realize what you know it's beingdone, what, what it's possible.

Speaker 1 (49:13):
So yeah, it's.
It's funny how much her stuffhas moved in just the last year,
with her starting her piecesand really grasping.
That Funny thing is she had alot to say.
She just I would always saylike she would just thought she
needed to stay in the shadow,didn't really trust her voice
quite yet, but as she showed upto more and more spaces she's

(49:36):
definitely evolved through that.
So it's exciting to watch thatand I love how you're tailoring
it to your families and yourkiddos and your students.
One of the business owners thatI coach mentioned on our webinar
yesterday that she tailors herentire staff to ask what do they
want to be three, five yearsfrom now?

(49:57):
So that way she can actuallytailor their jobs to include
some of those responsibilities.
That's kind of what you'redoing for the kids.
You're letting them test andtrial what actually feels good,
so that way they're not fixatedon one particular path and
they're familiar with a lot ofthem.
So you open more doors, you'regiving them more options.
All right, guys, audience, I'mgoing to challenge you guys.

(50:18):
Do that one thing Learn thatstory, learn that family, that
kiddo, learn, connect with them,know where they're going and if
you're a leader or a boss.
Learn your staff, learn theirstory, learn why they're there.
What is it about your companythat makes them want to keep
showing up?
What is it about the mission?
Learn that story, make thattime, make that connection and
then let us know.

(50:38):
But it actually for me.
Dm on the Instagram.
I want you to comment on theepisode post, I want you to tag
me in LinkedIn and I want you totell me what did you learn from
those conversations?
And keep it real outside thispodcast.
I want to actually apply that.
Nestor, before we wrap up,where can people connect with
you, like learn more and supportyour advocacy work?

Speaker 2 (51:00):
They can check out at SAPICBS.
So SAPICBS, those are handleson social media.
We're super active.
So if you want to know whatwe're up to, you'll get a daily
update there on what we're doing, whether it's LinkedIn,
instagram, facebook.

(51:20):
You can look us up, you can goto our website, it's sappycbsorg
.
You can also look me up onLinkedIn to connect and you can
look me up as Nestor EsparzaMagaña and send me an invite and
we can also connect andcollaborate that way.

Speaker 1 (51:39):
I'll be sure to put all that information in the show
notes.
So, guys, be sure to check theshow notes if you didn't catch
how he was spelling out thewebsites and the domains.
I know sometimes those can geta little cluttered in the
podcast and such.
So, all righty folks, well,that wraps up today's episode of
Structuring Chaotic Minds.
If this episode made you thinkor you realize how much power

(52:00):
you actually have, please don'tkeep it to yourself.
Share it.
I want you to share this episodewith a friend, post about it
and let's keep this conversationgoing.
Follow us on social media, atStructuring Chaotic Minds on
Instagram, and then you can stayup to date with new episodes.
You can also go to our websiteand sign up for our subscription
so we can go ahead and let youknow when the next episode comes

(52:21):
out and, if you haven't already, go ahead and subscribe and
leave a review.
That's how we get theseimportant ideas and what you
guys want to hear more about.
We get it to you guys based onwhat we're hearing you say.
Thank you again, nestor, forjoining us.
It has been a very insightfulconversation.
I'm excited to talk even moreafter this.

Speaker 2 (52:39):
We should do another one.

Speaker 1 (52:42):
Yes, thank you for tuning in all of you.
Until next time, keepquestioning, keep learning and
keep making an impact.
Thank you for tuning in toStructuring Chaotic Minds.
If today's episode resonatedwith you, don't forget to
subscribe, share and leave areview.
Remember the key to success isnot avoiding chaos, but learning

(53:04):
how to structure it.
Stay inspired, keep growing andjoin me next time as we
continue to transform challengesinto opportunities.
Until then, take care and keepstructuring your chaotic mind.

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