In this episode, Elena Contreras Barnett shares her journey of stepping away from podcasting and the life changes that led to her absence. She reflects on the unexpected shifts in her plans, the challenges faced during a family health crisis, and the importance of prioritizing presence over visibility. Elena discusses her evolving definition of success, emphasizing peace and personal growth over traditional milestones. She embraces the concept of reinvention and invites listeners to join her in exploring their own journeys of becoming.

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@elenacontrerasbarnett. Make sure to like and subscribe to catch all my new episodes. Keep chasing your passions, mis amigas!

Join me and my neighbor Janelle Reyes Chase as we talk about how life on the Westside of San Antonio bridges our Southside and South-Central El Paso roots, the problems with youths these days, and how these stray dogs end up joining our family!  Filmed at one of our neighborhood coffee and sandwich shops, Panaderia Jimenez in the heart of the Deco District, San Antonio.  Come have a cafecito with us!  

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For more pasionaria stories, follow on social media:
@elenacontrerasbarnett. Make sure to like and subscribe to catch all my new episodes. Keep chasing your passions, mis amigas!

Two Senior English teachers on Spring Break... sounds like the beginning of a good joke, right?  Join me and Nicole Garza Martinez as we relax and enjoy our Spring Break and a little cafecito and comadreando.  We talk about imperfect tortillas, the importance of respecting your elders, Southside holiday traditions, Spring Break plans gone awry and more in this first episode of "Cafecito con mi Comadre!"

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For more pasionaria stories, follow on social media:
@elenacontrerasbarnett. Make sure to like and subscribe to catch all my new episodes. Keep chasing your passions, mis amigas!

Pasionarias, sometimes you meet someone whose fire and drive can spark everyone around them to drive themself to connect, inspire, and lead those around them. It’s like a ring of fire around this person.  One by one, everyone in her reach becomes consumed with being the best versions of themselves because they know SHE believes they can be.  That someone is my bestie, my sister from another mister, Monica Del Campo.  Monica and I met when we were both selling Scentsy and our love for our hometown and drive to please our customers connected us right away.  But it was her passion to realize her dream that has drawn us closer, and her mentorship that has kept me moving towards mine.  

Monica grew up like me in El Paso, Texas and after high school, began attending night school for nursing at the local community college, while working during the day as a receptionist for State Farm.  Little did she know that State Farm would someday be her stage.  

After almost 15 years working in personal lines, small business commercial insurance, and personal lines underwriting, a door opened wide open for Monica when a close friend of hers, Yvette, was contacted by a recruiter for State Farm, and told the recruiter she knew just the right person. .  

I still remember when Monica told me seven years ago that she had been selected to start training to become a State Farm agent.  I watched her go through months and months of intensive training and testing and the tedious search for just the right place to call her own.  She and I both believe in “God things” and it was completely a God thing when a retiring agent offered to let her take the reins and serve the Westside of San Antonio.  God has also had a hand in each and every one of the people who staff her office, and it is their heart for service that has grown her business and landed Monica top awards throughout the State Farm world, most recently being appointed to the Chairman’s Circle, an honor achieved by only the top 3% of agents nationwide.  

Join us to hear about what makes Monica a champion and how her passion for serving others has helped her grow into one of the top State Farm agents in San Antonio.  She inspires me everyday by balancing heart and drive and always pushing to be the best while bringing those she loves up right alongside her.  Vamonos– juntas somos pasionarias! . 

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For more pasionaria stories, follow on social media:
@elenacontrerasbarnett. Make sure to like and subscribe to catch all my new episodes. Keep chasing your passions, mis amigas!

My guest today and I have a very special link:  Carol Contreras Loya is my baby sister.  But we have another very special and rare link:  We share a pair of kidneys!  Carol was diagnosed with lupus, a chronic illness when she was only 15.  At a time when I was worried about pep rallies and college applications, she was fighting for her life with multiple hospital stays and surgeries.  At the age of 21, her disease attacked her kidneys. Her doctors tested all of us, and we found we were a perfect match.  

After her transplant of my kidney in 1993, Carol was inspired to study nursing, and despite her health struggles, worked hard to earn a degree from UTEP, the University of Texas at El Paso, becoming the 2nd in our family to cross a university stage.  However, her illness made traditional nursing next to impossible for Carol, and she began to search for other avenues where she could use her nursing degree without the long hours and risks to her own health.  A cousin of ours reached out to her about an opportunity in the home health realm where she could set her own schedule and not be on her feet as much. Carol found that the individualized patient contact and ability to follow and celebrate progress brought her the fulfillment she was searching for.  She took the next steps to earn her Case Management certification, and built a career with a large Case Management company working with Workers’ Compensation cases.  

However, the entrepreneurial nature inspired in us by our mom continued to pull at her, and with the support of her husband, who was working in marketing while pursuing his own degree, she launched her own company, Allianze Case Management.  Starting with just a few contacts, she pounded the pavement, built relationships with doctors and networks, and was able to land lucrative contracts with the Department of Labor.  She recently celebrated her company’s third anniversary.   

Join us to hear about how her illness manifested into a passion for providing compassionate, dedicated health care and what drives her to continue to be a leader in her industry. Vamonos– juntas somos pasionarias! . 

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For more pasionaria stories, follow on social media:
@elenacontrerasbarnett. Make sure to like and subscribe to catch all my new episodes. Keep chasing your passions, mis amigas!

In this premier episode, I am joined by my daughter, Acacia Barnett to talk about the woman who inspired this podcast and blog, San Antonio labor leader, Emma Tenayuca.  Learn about how she led thousands of workers in post-Depression San Antonio, Texas to fight for higher wages and better working conditions and how she stood up to city leaders trying to quiet her voice.  Acacia first learned about Emma as an 8 year old girl, and spent her life listening to me talk about the way she lived her life with passion.  It's driven everything I do and the way I raised her and her sister, and I can't wait to share my Emma, mi pasionaria, with you.  

Support the show

For more pasionaria stories, follow on social media:
@elenacontrerasbarnett. Make sure to like and subscribe to catch all my new episodes. Keep chasing your passions, mis amigas!