Hella Latin@

Dominique Cordero 🇵🇷 is a Spanish Coach, salsa dancer, and world traveler. When she was twenty-three years old, she was working a soul-crushing “Corporate-America” job when she asked herself, “Is this it?” She felt lost, uninspired, and more than ready for a radical change. So that’s exactly what she did. In three months, she sold my car, broke her lease, packed her life into two suitcases, and boarded a plane to Barcelona, Spain. With that one-way ticket, she was off to live with a host family, work as an Au Pair, and pursue a long-time dream of living in a Spanish-speaking country. From there she was able to immerse herself in Spanish culture, learn how to speak the language fluently, and come home to show off her new skills to all her Spanish-speaking family members. 

Her love of Spanish continues to gift her with cherished moments and treasured relationships. And that's why, a decade later, Dominique has devoted her time to helping adults—like you—unlock the habits and methods they need to confidently carry on a conversation in Spanish too. She wants her clients to experience the joy of actually living in Spanish, something that goes far beyond the superficial level of communication.

In this week’s episode, Dominique shares how she transitioned into teaching Spanish full-time during the 2020 pandemic and doing it all online. As a proud Puerto Rican, Dominique shares her thoughts on the importance of preserving and celebrating the cultural legacy and communicating with our elders, including her grandfather who settled in the midwest and didn't have anyone to speak Spanish with for a long time. 

Listen to hear more about how learning a language changed the course of Dominique’s life for the better!

Keep up with Dominique on her website and on her Instagram. 

For all Hella Latin@ updates, follow @hellalatinopodcast on Instagram and connect on LinkedIn. More at odalysjasmine.com.

Podcast production for this episode was provided by CCST.

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Wendy Amara is a proud Guatamalan with Mayan roots and has spent her time as a transformational Strategy Coach, Speaker, Trainer, and Best Selling Author. She has coached thousands of people over the past twelve years and helped them achieve very powerful goals for their lives. Her results-oriented, no-holding-back approach opens up new possibilities for her clients and has them stay accountable for producing extraordinary results. She has coached many prominent individuals including numerous CEOs of large companies and high positioned appointed and elected officials. She supports all her clients in gaining more clarity, connecting to their vision, and developing a plan of action for their lives that will skyrocket them to their goals.

Wendy’s wish for every client is that they live a life they are excited about and proud of! She has worked for numerous transformational companies specializing in ontological coaching, result-oriented coaching, and leadership principles.

In this week’s episode, we find out how Wendy became a coach way before it was popular. She found out about coaching before Facebook was even a thing! And while undergoing life coaching to find solutions for her ADHD, she found herself wanting to try coaching for herself and support others in her community. She worked with businesses, consulted with others, and even earned her coaching certification to specifically support people with ADHD. Her goal is to get every one of her clients to trust in themselves and learn the tools they need to be the best version of themselves. 

Keep up with Wendy on her website and on her LinkedIn. Listen to her podcast Yes Mujer Build It here. 

For all Hella Latin@ updates, follow @hellalatinopodcast on Instagram and connect on LinkedIn. More at odalysjasmine.com.

Podcast production for this episode was provided by CCST.

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Melissa Vela-Williamson, APR is an internationally recognized and accredited award-winning public relations expert, author, and national columnist with two decades of general market and multicultural integrated marketing communications experience in agency, corporate, and nonprofit settings.

Today, she serves clients as the Chief Communication Architect of her own boutique firm, MVW Communications. Melissa is a 360° integrated marketing communicator but has expertise and accreditation in public relations. As a unique attribute, Melissa has worked in internal communications and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) for a corporation during her career. She is one of only 5,000 PR professionals around the world with the “APR” distinction and recently earned her accreditation as a Certified Diversity Professional. Her inclusive PR point of view influences any communication challenge she tackles.

In this week’s episode, we talk about Melissa‘s journey into the PR industry. Latinas make up only about 10% of the PR industry and the industry itself tends to favor white men and women more than any other race. And while these facts are discouraging, Melissa has pushed through, taking her nonlinear career journey and creating the amazing PR business that she has today. Listen to find out how she pushed through all her doubts, and became the representation that she wanted to see for herself. 

Keep up with Melissa on his website and on his LinkedIn. 

For all Hella Latin@ updates, follow @hellalatinopodcast on Instagram and connect on LinkedIn. More at odalysjasmine.com.

Podcast production for this episode was provided by CCST.

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Christian Martinez has made significant contributions to his community through his leadership skills, visionary approach, and commitment to education. He co-founded Latitude High, a charter school that focuses on community engagement, personalized learning, and project-based learning. His efforts have served as a prototype for other educational institutions nationwide, inspiring a fresh wave of enthusiastic and committed young leaders who aspire to effect positive change in their localities.

In addition to his contributions to education, Martinez's dedication to elevating the voices and narratives of marginalized groups inspired him to establish Noxhegalactia, a magazine and podcast platform that empowers individuals to share their stories and bring attention to the challenges facing their communities. By creating Noxhegalactia, Martinez has fostered an environment in which people are empowered to express themselves and effect change in their communities.

In this episode, we dive into Christian’s incredible story of resilience and strength. Christian went from crossing the border with his family as a child to owning and designing his own charter school. He grew up in a working-class neighborhood, trying to stick together with the other immigrant kids to make friends, and watching his mom go back and forth over the border to protect her family members. When his father died he knew he had to provide for his mother. And so he set a goal, made it, and set another goal, until he became the successful man that he is today. 

Keep up with Christian on his website and on his LinkedIn. 

For all Hella Latin@ updates, follow @hellalatinopodcast on Instagram and connect on LinkedIn. More at odalysjasmine.com.

Podcast production for this episode was provided by CCST.

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Natalia Gaitan is a Colombian immigrant who walked out of her wildly successful corporate design job (working with multiple, global brands like JCPenney and T.J. Maxx) and into freedom, joy, and a life of purpose. There was a lot of fear, uncertainty, planning, sleepless nights, and more than a few curse words between her corporate exit and fulfilling her purpose as a branding and design business owner. But at the end of the day, her growth had a limit. She was missing true connection and didn’t feel like she was making a difference in people’s lives. Natalia knew she was meant for more. She was ready to make a bigger impact and build a powerful legacy. Natalia and her company Power Up Brand + Design creates brand and website design for passionate creatives who are ready to stand out online and make a bigger impact. 

In this episode, you'll hear about Natalia Gaitan’s journey to pursue fashion and design in the United States, creating her company while being furloughed due to Covid, and how she raises her first-generation kids to lead a more fulfilling life. 

Keep up with Natalia on her website and on her Instagram. 

For all Hella Latin@ updates, follow @hellalatinopodcast on Instagram and connect on LinkedIn. More at odalysjasmine.com.

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Today you'll hear from Hector Terrero. In this episode, he shares his story of coming from the Dominican Republic, being first-generation, landing his dream job at Apple, and becoming a tech entrepreneur. You'll also hear about his journey in creating and scaling Moneda App which happened while on a trip home to DR. With Moneda, his goal is to create economic prosperity for users within Latin America, starting with Dominican Republic.

From shopping at Payless, to being bullied in school, to growing up in The Bronx and now traveling the world, wearing the freshest kicks, and building a business... he’s here to talk all about navigating the many firsts. Update: after 7 years of being one of the few Latino engineers working at one of the biggest companies in the world, Hector is onto another first. Connect with him on LinkedIn to follow more of his journey!

For all Hella Latin@ updates, follow @hellalatinopodcast on Instagram and connect on LinkedIn. More at odalysjasmine.com.

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Sandra Velasquez is the Mexican-American founder of Nopalera, an iconic and culture forward Bath & Body brand that celebrates and elevates Latino culture and Latinx goods. Sandra launched Nopalera in the middle of the pandemic from her Brooklyn apartment with no outside funding or savings while working as a CPG sales & distribution manager in New York City. The brand attracted dream retailers like Nordstrom, Credo, Free People, and over 350 influential boutiques nationwide in its first full year and has been featured on NBC's The Today Show, Telemundo, and over sixty national publications. She is the winner of the Valde Latinx Entrepreneur Grant, the Clean Beauty Summer School Pitch Grant, a finalist for the Black Ambition Prize, and won Latino Start-Up of the year at the L’attitude Match Up Conference. She is in this year’s Cosmopolitan x Undivided New C Suite and is currently participating in the Stanford LBAN Cohort 14 and True Beauty Ventures Bridge Mentorship Program. She raised 2.7 Million in her oversubscribed seed round in preparation for partnering with a national beauty retailer. Additionally, Velasquez hosts The Nopalera Podcast which chronicles her journey of building her brand in real time while sharing the stories of others in her community to inspire other entrepreneurs. In her spare time, she mentors other Latina founders.

In this episode, you'll hear about Sandra's journey in creating Nopalera, becoming a full-time entrepreneur, and staying true to her roots.

For all Hella Latin@ updates, follow @hellalatinopodcast on Instagram and connect on LinkedIn. More at odalysjasmine.com.

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Dr. Jeniree Flores is a Venezuelan immigrant and began her industry polymer chemistry career by performing a variety of roles in technical service, innovation, product development, and marketing.

She has experience in several different industries, including chemicals for coatings, oil and gas, and personal care; as well additive manufacturing or 3D printing. Throughout her career, she was worked at various chemical companies, including BASF, REM Surface Engineer and now, Arxada where she serves as the Global Marketing Manager for Energy. Dr. Flores is the author of a patent and of more than half a dozen peer-review publications.

Pero like, being a Latina chemist isn't easy.

In this episode, you’ll hear about Jeniree’s experience being an immigrant, navigating her career as a brown woman, and ultimately what led her in choosing herself when experiencing a toxic workplace. Check out her podcast Latinx Can to hear more amazing stories about our community, by our community.

For all Hella Latin@ updates, follow @hellalatinopodcast on Instagram and connect on LinkedIn. More at odalysjasmine.com.

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Yovy Daniels, Panamanian West Indian Afro-descendant. Professionally she's known as a former TV corporate broadcast media planner who worked in the U.S. Spanish-speaking/LATAM division for networks like FOX, SONY, RCNTV, and Univision. She continues to propel her innovative skills from broadcaster to podcaster with new ventures into public speaking and blogging.

She is now the host and creator of Chombita Chronicles podcast where she highlights the Afro-Latinx experience and sheds a light on stories within the community. In this episode, she keeps it real about being Panamanian, Afro-Latina, an immigrant, and how she’s navigated her journey being 100% true to herself and proud of being an Afro-Latina with an Accent.

Connect with Yovy D via LinkedIn, Instagram or check out her website and podcast, Chombita Chronicles.

For all Hella Latin@ updates, follow @hellalatinopodcast on Instagram and connect on LinkedIn. More at odalysjasmine.com.

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Harleny Vasquez is a First-Generation Latina/Dominicana and a Licensed Social Worker with over 10 years working in social services providing trauma-informed care. She is now the founder of her business, yourEVOLVEDmind, where she is a Social Work Career Coach.

Her bread and butter is helping Social Workers in all stages market themselves effectively to build a personal brand to get hired in any area of practice. Her area of focus includes, resume and cover letter writing, personal branding, LinkedIn marketing, salary negotiation and confidence building. She is also a content creator, speaker, workshop facilitator, and podcast host of Social Work Insider. She is on a mission to uplift and elevate the Social Work Profession.

In this episode, Harleny talks about her first gen journey in figuring ish out and navigating college, career, and now, entrepreneurship. From non-stop hustler mentality to self love and boundaries — Harleny keeps it real about her journey to becoming a full-time business owner.

Connect with Harleny via LinkedIn or check out her website and instagram page (@yourevolvedmind) for more information.

For all Hella Latin@ updates, follow @hellalatinopodcast on Instagram and connect on LinkedIn. More at odalysjasmine.com.

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