Latinos Who Tech

In this episode, I spoke with Yuri W. Ramirez, Puerto Rican, with a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Universidad de Puerto Rico, and an M.B.A. in Operations and Technology Management from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Once Yuri graduated, he came to the US in search of a Ph.D., and with the enthusiasm of knowing what the implications of the business were, he started taking business classes. He ended up with an M.B.A. in Operations and Technology Management.

Yuri is working as a Technical Program Manager at Intel and has been there for more than thirteen years. Yuri wants to bridge the gap between engineering and business, mediating and negotiating conflicts between people and organizations. He does managing through influence and cross-functional matrices organizations, with a focus on strategic development and execution. He is very active in the Intel LatinX Network and other professional organizations.

We spoke about engineering seen as depth versus M.B.A. seen as breadth, his Technical Program Manager role, and his approach to a conversation when trying to optimize somebody else’s product that isn’t good enough. We discussed if he manages any people, his leverage, and how he approaches it. We cover his purpose and jobs in the company, the reason why he has built a long career at Intel, and the difference between program management and project management.

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Sign up to our monthly newsletter where we share networking strategies and other personal development tools: Here or at LatinosWhoTech.com

Connect with Yuri via

Linkedin:

* Yuri W. Ramirez

Want to help us grow?

You can:

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thoughts to [email protected]* Share it with a friend

Mentioned Resources:

* Universidad de Puerto Rico* University of Wisconsin-Madison* Intel

corporation* SHPE* Intel Latino Network

In this episode, we

talked about:

* 01:42 – Welcoming Yuri* 01:54 – About Yuri* 04:15 – Engineering seen

as depth versus M.B.A. seen as breadth* 06:57 – About a Technical

Program Manager role* 12:33 – Optimizing

somebody else’s product that isn’t good enough; how Yuri approaches the

conversation * 14:30 – Do you manage any

people right now?* 15:24 – Yuri’s leverage

and how he approaches it* 17:35 – Thirteen years at

Intel. Purpose and jobs in the company* 26:01 – Reasons why Yuri has

built a long career at Intel* 32:07 – Difference between

program management and project management, and last words to audience

Who is Hugo Castellanos?

Learn more about him on Linkedin

Thanks so much for

listening to the show! If you want to know more about this and comment on the

show, please join us on LatinosWhoTech or go to Conexiones

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In this episode, I spoke with Mariana Briones, Incoming Hardware Program Manager at Microsoft and Alejandro Davila, FDSE at Palantir Technologies, both born in Mexico and raised in the north of the country. They share their experience as international students studying in the US and crossing the border every day to go to UCLE in El Paso, Texas. Having gone through so many struggles to get their first internship and trying to make it easier for others, Mariana and Alejandro founded InternMakers, a YouTube channel with resources in one place to help students get prepared for their intern opportunities and full-time opportunities. They are Latino content creators in STEM that want to bring more people like us to conferences and careers.

We spoke about how they got into tech, Mariana as a Latina in Microsoft, her experience when crossing the border, and the time she met Satya Nadella, InternMakers, and finally, about what students can start doing right now to get an internship.

Sign up to our monthly newsletter where we share networking strategies and other personal development tools: Here or at LatinosWhoTech.com

Latinos Who Tech is brought to you by Audible. Go to www.audibletrial.com/latinos to claim your free audiobook!

Connect with Mariana

and Alejandro via Linkedin:

* Mariana Briones* Alejandro Davila

Want to help us grow?

You can:

* Leave us

an iTunes review:* Send us a note with your thoughts to [email protected]* Share it with a friend

Mentioned resources:

* UTEP* Palantir* Cummins Inc.* Satya Nadella* GitHub* Cracking the Coding Interview* Cplusplus* InternMakers* NACE* SHPE

In this episode, we talked about:

* 01:42 – Welcoming Mariana and Alejandro to LWT* 04:12 – Getting into tech * 15:38 – The time Mariana met Satya Nadella * 20:40 – About crossing the border* 25:32 – A Latina in Microsoft* 27:30 – Both at university together; Mariana in Seattle and Alejandro in New York; what about InternMakers?* 37:48 – Main things students can start doing right now to get an internship* 44:41 – Last words of advice

Who is Hugo Castellanos?

Learn more about him on Linkedin

Thanks so much for

listening to the show! If you want to know more about this and comment on the

show, please join us on LatinosWhoTech or go to Conexiones

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In this episode, we catch up with my favorite Cuban American engineer, Emily Anne Vargas. Emily is an Industrial Engineer and a 2nd year PhD student in materials sciences and engineering at the M.C. Gill Composites Center at the University of Southern California.

We previously talked with Emily about mental health for high achievers in episode 11 of my other podcast: Conexiones. Click here and take a listen.On this new episode we talk about her road to grad school, what her experience pursuing her PhD has been like so far plus EVERYTHING you wanted to know about ceramics and composites 🙂 ResourcesGE on Ceramic Matrix Composites (2:40)Follow Emily’s Lab

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First-ever live episode! Over 150 people attended a panel we hosted at the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers Convention in Phoenix, Arizona. The SHPE National Convention happens every year and over 9k students and professionals converge during 4 days to network, attend workshops and find career opportunities.

In this panel we explored the question: “What Drives Us?” with a panel of SHPE Lifetime Members:Javier Cortavitarte, Customer Success Manager, Broadcom Natalia Ariza, Account Management Lead, Uber Eats Juan Lopez Marcano, Machine Learning Engineer, Uber Hugo Castellanos, Product Marketing Manager, IntelI’d like to thank SHPE National for making this possible. Namely, Dr. Dora Renaud, Jimmy Galvez, and Rosa Delgado.

Follow us on IG: @LatinosWho Tech

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I recently got back from my 11th SHPE Conference. This particular one was held in Phoenix, Arizona where 9000+ professionals, students, and STEM advocates gathered for 4 days of workshops and networking. A big highlight of the conference is the 200+ companies that attend to recruit talent. Attending as a professional is different. Granted, you have less stress since you already have a job. Still, making time to connect with everyone can feel overwhelming.

This particular conference was very special for me since I had the opportunity to host a live podcast and panel (stay tuned! You’ll listen to it in episode 17), as well as to do my workshop on “Taking the Work out of Networking”. I was extremely humbled to connect with so many professionals and students. In this particular episode I want to welcome the new podcast listeners that just signed up for LWT by bringing them one of my favorite epiosdes from #SHPE2018 : The SHPEtina Origin Story. I got to chat with Ximena Aristizabal, Andrea Sanchez Sours, PhD and Stephanie Serrano about their role starting a dedicated track of the SHPE Conference focused on Latina professionals, their issues and how to empower them to become the best version of themselves.

Please enjoy! and as always, you can follow the show on IG: @LatinosWhoTech or drop me a note with your feedback at [email protected]

Latinos Who Tech is brought to you by Audible. Go to www.audibletrial.com/latinos to claim your free audiobook!

Sign up to our monthly newsletter where we share networking strategies and other personal development tools: Here or at LatinosWhoTech.com

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In this episode, I spoke with Aaron Ramirez, Mexican American, Technical Solutions Engineer at Google. We spoke about how he got to Google and how being a SHPE member helped him with the interview process, his role at Google and his definition for Googliness, advice on how to get prepared for an interview and other words of advice.

Latinos Who Tech is brought to you by Audible. Go to www.audibletrial.com/latinos to claim your free audiobook!

Sign up to our monthly newsletter where we share networking strategies and other personal development tools: Here or at LatinosWhoTech.com

Connect with Aaron vía linkedin:

* Aaron Ramirez: 

Want to help us grow? You can:

* Leave us an iTunes review* Send us a note with your thoughts at [email protected]* Share it with a friend

Mentioned resources:

* University of California, Santa Cruz* The National Conference SHPE* Google Travel Grant* SHPE* MESA Engineering Program – MEP program (engineering program)* Drupal

Timestamps:

* 01:45 – About Aaron Ramirez* 02:47 – How Aaron got to Google* 05:32 – SHPE according to Aaron* 08:59 – How being a SHPE member helped Aaron with the interview process* 10:54 – Aaron’s role at Google* 12:03 – Interacting with external customers – A possible career roadmap  * 16:28 – Aaron’s definition for ”Googliness”* 20:52 – How Aaron would get prepared for an interview at Google* 25:27 – Aaron’s parting piece of advice

Key Takeaways:

* Apply for Google Travel and Conference grants! (Google Conference and Travel Scholarships for selected conferences in the tech industry and related fields).* SHPE is a big “familia” support network. Get involved and make SHPE be your internship!* For interviews, focus on remembering the basics!

Who is Hugo Castellanos? Find out about him on linkedin

Thanks so much for listening to the show! If you want to know more about this or comment on the show, please join us on LatinosWhoTech or go to Conexiones 

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In this episode I share with you a conversation I had with Adriana Flores Ragade, Social Entrepreneur and host of the podcast LatinxAmerica. She asked me about my story and my journey from Electronics Engineering to Technical Marketing. We also spoke about how I got to Silicon Valley, my involvement with SHPE (Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers) and podcasting.

Latinos Who Tech is brought to you by Audible. Go to www.audibletrial.com/latinos to claim your free audiobook!

Sign up to our monthly newsletter where we share networking strategies and other personal development tools: Here or at LatinosWhoTech.com

Connect with Hugo vía :

* Linkedin: Hugo Castellanos* Twitter: Hugo Castellanos / Hugo Castellanos@conexionescast / Hugo Castellanos@LatinosWhoTech* Podcast: LatinosWhoTech* Podcast: Conexiones * Gmail: [email protected]

Connect with Adriana vía:

* Linkedin: Adriana Flores Ragade* Podcast: LatinxAmerica

Want to help us grow? You can:

* Leave us an iTunes review* Send us a note with your thoughts at [email protected]* Share it with a friend

Mentioned resources:

* Intel Corporation* Valencia College* UCF University of Central Florida* SHPE* Conexiones – Carlos Montesinos* Linkedin Learning* Galvanize* Product School* General Assembly* Getting Things Done by David Allen* MacSparky by David Sparks* Melvin Rivera Velázquez

Timestamps:

* 01:41 – Introducing Adriana Flores Ragade who will be interviewing Hugo Castellanos – All about the reason why he does podcasting, his day to day job and how he got to Silicon Valley* 04:12 – Welcoming Hugo at LatinxAmerica and his journey into Tech* 09:30 – Full time tech person with a podcasting passion in spare time.

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In this episode I spoke with Jimmy Galvez, a Project Manager @ Sherwood Design Engineers. We spoke about his journey coming from Guatemala to the US, his experience managing civil engineering projects in California, Texas and overseas and his involvement with the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineer (SHPE).

Latinos Who Tech is brought to you by Audible. Go to www.audibletrial.com/latinos to claim your free audiobook!

Sign up to our monthly newsletter where we share networking strategies and other personal development tools: Here or at LatinosWhoTech.com

Connect with Jimmy vía :

* Linkedin: Jimmy Galvez* Instagram: @instalexglvz

Want to help us grow? You can:

* Leave us an iTunes review* Send us a note with your thoughts at [email protected]* Share it with a friend

Timestamps:

* 01:44 – Introducing Jimmy Galvez* 02:29 – The first Civil Engineer and Guatemalan in the Podcast* 03:22 – Who’s Jimmy and where does he come from* 04:05 – Immigrating to the US* 07:21 – From Community College to Cal Polly* 08:41 – Studying at Cal Polly; Civil Engineering* 10:12 – The difference between Civil and Structural Engineering* 11:08 – Jimmy’s first job out of College* 12:24 – A Master in that particular Craft* 13:16 – Land development and community planning* 17:04 – Jimmy’s current title and role* 18:08 – Construction administration support services* 19:07 – The handoff from design to construction* 21:17 – Pre-construction meetings; The relationship between designers and contractors* 24:01 – Jimmy’s favorite project* 27:17 – International Experience; Projects in the Baja Dessert; Desalination* 29:33 – Love for structural engineering; Always paying attention to constructions* 30:51 – The Challenges that a project manager faces* 33:53 – What are the skills that a Star Project Manager needs?* 37:43 – Communication; email vs phone call* 38:18 – Running meetings as a project manager* 42:13 – The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineer (SHPE)* 44:04 – Learning at SHPE; Soft skills, communication, networking* 47:16 – Being a SHPE Chapter President* 51:01 – Hugo’s SHPE inspiring story* 54:55 – Last words for audience

Who is Hugo Castellanos? Find out about him on linkedin

Thanks so much for listening to the show! If you want to know more about this or comment on the show, please join us on LatinosWhoTech or go to Conexiones 

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In this episode, I spoke with Dushka Zapata, Executive Communications at Zendesk, writer, and author of seven books. We spoke about writing as a part of her life and how she captures ideas to do so, her work at Zendesk, Quora and her seven books, the process she goes through to write a book, and her encouraging words to audience.

Latinos Who Tech is brought to you by Audible. Go to www.audibletrial.com/latinos to claim your free audiobook!

Sign up to our monthly newsletter where we share networking strategies and other personal development tools: Here or at LatinosWhoTech.com

Connect with Dushka vía :

* Linkedin: Dushka Zapata * Quora: Dushka Zapata

Want to help us grow? You can:

* Leave us an iTunes review* Send us a note with your thoughts at [email protected]* Share it with a friend

Mentioned resources:

* Edelman* Zendesk* Dushka’s seven books: How to be ferociously happy – Amateur – A Spectacular Catastrophe – Your Seat Cushion is a Flotation Device – Someone Destroyed My Rocket Ship – How to Build a Pillow Fort – You belong everywhere * Quora

Timestamps:

* 01:45 – Welcoming Dushka Zapata* 01:56 – How Duska got to San Francisco* 02:57 – The way in which Duska brings her whole self to work* 03:54 – Writing as a part of Dushka’s life* 05:04 – How Dushka captures the ideas she writes about and her seven books* 07:38 – About Dushka’s work at Zendesk* 08:43 – How Dushka would coach an executive who wants to give a speech* 10:55 – How Dushka personally gets prepared to give a speech  * 16:00 – The meaning of Quora according to Dushka* 16:23 – Dushka’s process when sitting down to write a book* 19:16 – To connect with Dushka* 19:41 – Last words to audience

Key Takeaways:

BRINGING WHOLE SELF TO WORK

To be able to take your whole self to work,

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