In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, we are sharing advice from some of our women business owners who strive to lead the way for other Hispanic business owners. 

Grace Hastings | Supplier Diversity Manager | Oncor

Who is a modern day Latina you admire that is making history?

Julie Chavez Rodriquez – granddaughter of Cesar Chavez

My father, his parents, his brothers and sisters were migrant farmers that came to the United States from Mexico to build a better life.  They all became legal citizens and productive members of their communities as professors, farmers and entrepreneurs.  My father served in the U.S. Army four years, served the people and City of Dallas as a Dallas police officer for 25 years and the Sherriff’s Department as bailiff of the Dallas Grand Jury for 7 years.  He was a wonderful role model and I am proud of the life of service he lived.   

Growing-up as migrant farmers his family faced difficult and dangerous labor conditions and discrimination on a daily basis.  My uncles marched alongside political activist Caesar Chavez in the 1970s to fight for desperately needed changes.  Chavez led a movement for these laborers and founded the National Farm Workers Association (now the United Farm Workers Labor Union) to raise pay in improve working conditions for farm workers in the late1960s and 1970s.  

Now Caesar’s granddaughter Julie Chavez Rodriguez has followed in his footsteps as an American political rights activist.  She grew up around activism and in a community of farm workers. This helped her understand the importance of the farm worker and the hard work, struggles and sacrifices that went into putting food on the table for people. 

Julie’s education provided an opportunity to work her way up through positions in the Obama Administration, as state director for Senator Kamala Harris in 2016, and the Biden presidential campaign. In June of 2022, Julie was promoted by President Biden to be a senior advisor to the president which is a senior staff position.  She will also continue to serve as director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.  The impact she can continue to make through her service is powerful and a tribute to her roots and other immigrants that have helped to build this country over the years.

Margie Aguilar | Company Lead | ISP Creative

What advice do you have for a Hispanic business owner trying to scale or grow their business?

Hispanic business owners understand the value of hard work. There’s no lack of effort on their part to scale or grow their business. My advice is to apply some of that effort to working smarter. You can work really hard all week on a $5 problem, or you can work really hard all week on a $5 Million problem. Your effort is the same, but the results are vastly different.  If you are leading your business, focus on the largest problems, and on the opportunities that will create the most growth—not just the most urgent. 

Do you have any favorite cultural or family traditions?

My family loves taking time off of work over the holidays to spend extra time with each other. One of our favorite traditions is making a big pot of posole on Christmas Eve and nursing it over the next few days.  The warmth of the soup on a cold winter day is nearly as comforting as the familiar taste and the love of family. 

Who is a modern day Latina you admire that is making history?

I have great admiration for Salma Hayek, the Mexican and American actress and advocate. She is the first Mexican actress to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress; one of the highest awards in film. I admire that Hayek has been able to overcome dyslexia, and run her own production company. Representation matters. It’s beautiful to see other Latina’s overcome obstacles and achieve success--It’s an encouragement to me in my own journey of overseeing production and living with dyslexia. In addition to her film career, I love what Salma Hayek has done for other women with her charitable work and advocacy campaigns.


Silvana Rosero | President & CEO | Laguna Media Group

What advice do you have for a Hispanic business owner trying to scale or grow their business? 

Hispanics and particularly Hispanic women - we - tend to be too humble about our accomplishments.  Hermanas, it is okay to showcase the amazing work you do and use it as a platform to build on it.  Share your stories of tenacity, creativity, innovation, hard work, relationship building, loyalty. They not only lift you up but inspire others to dream and accomplish more. 

Do you have any favorite cultural or family traditions? 

Gathering with family and friends to prepare and enjoy delicious food for the major holidays.  I am already thinking of the menu for Christmas 2022.  Any yummy ideas?

Who is a modern day Latina you admire that is making history? 

We just need to look around in our own community to see amazing Latinas making history, right here, right now.  The Hispanic 100 just celebrated two incredible women.  Hilda Galvan, Latina Living Legend 2022; and Amanda Arizola, Emerging Latina Leader.  I can’t think of just one. There are hundreds more making a difference, even in our own WBCS.