Latest / The Lawtino™ / Building Latino Community Bridges

Transcript

Building Latino Community Bridges · The Lawtino™

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the Latino podcast where we discuss the intersection of law and our Latino communities with legal, political, and community leaders and visionaries.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_01: Let's get started.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_02: Hey everyone, welcome to this episode of the La Tino, where we discuss the intersection of law and our Latino communities.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_02: Today's podcast is brought to you as always by your sponsors at Gomez Trial Attorneys, one of our nation's largest Latino uh law firms.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_02: We provide legal services for victims of civil rights violations, personal injury, and employment uh discrimination and other cases.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_02: Uh today we have with us a really cool um guest.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_02: I'm very excited to introduce her to you.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_02: Um she really is what we were saying off camera, kind of a boots on the ground community leader.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_02: You know, she and her group are affecting the lives of an enormous uh number of families here in San Diego, Latino communities, uh, our Latino families, you know, kids, uh people needing help.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_02: So um without further ado, it's my great privilege uh to introduce to you Liz Ramirez, who is the CEO and president of the Chicano Federation.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you for being with us, Liz.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: No, gracias.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you, John, for having me.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's a real pleasure.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_02: So um what we like to do is kind of talk a little bit with our guests about where they're from, where they grew up.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_02: So um tell us tell us about your um background.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I grew up in the frontera in the border of Mexicali and in Pearl Valley.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: I lived in Mexicali until I was five years old, and then my family immigrated into the United States, and I grew up in El Centro.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: So I lived in El Centro until I was 18, and that's when I moved to beautiful San Diego.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_02: I love it.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_02: And so um, you know, I know that we have listeners from across the country.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_02: The Imperial Valley is uh or Imperial County is the county to the east of us, and that whole Calexico Mexicale um El Centro community is really as much of a transnational community um as you can really think.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_02: Everybody, I don't know, correct me if I'm wrong, but it feels like everybody's got family on both sides over there.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: Right, yes.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: I grew up going every weekend to see my abuelitas in Mexicali, crossing the border, you know, frequently.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um that's that's what life was.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, and so um, you know, you uh went to high school out there, right?
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_02: Where'd you graduate high school?
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: Central Union High School.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_02: I love it.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_02: And um, what about what about the the boxer out there, that the heavyweight boxer?
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_02: Like, do you know that guy?
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_02: I can't remember his name.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yes, yes, yes.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: You know, he's friends of some of my friends.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, uh John Ruiz, right?
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, very famous guy from out there.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_02: So um tell us about like your parents.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I know that you matriculated, came over here to San Diego to attend UCSD, which is a really um tough school to get into, very academic.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_02: And so tell us about your parents and you know, the influence they had on you to cause you to be such a success story.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, both of my parents were born in Mexicali.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and my parents have always just worked so much and so hard to give a better life for me and my two younger siblings.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: And um, they were really my pillars, uh, the ones that always taught me that education was key.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: And so from very young, I knew I was gonna go to college.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't know how I was gonna get there, uh, but I knew that I was gonna be the first in my family to go to college because they they knew that education was the key to breaking barriers.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: They were always very, very supportive and you know, always encouraged me to study hard, to work hard.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: And it was because of their unconditional support that I was able to leave and go to college, even though that was scary times, especially for my father.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I'm uh the only woman and and and girl in his eyes, right?
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: And the oldest.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: So um he had a little bit of trouble letting go, but um, at the end of the day, my family has always been very supportive.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_02: I love it.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_02: And so um, you know, did your when you moved out here to come to school at UCSD, um, did your parents like drive you out and move you in, that kind of thing?
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they did.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: And actually it was very interesting because my dad, even though he was always very supportive of me going to college, when it came down to me receiving all those big envelopes, he got really scared.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: And so he wanted to stay, uh, he wanted me to stay in Imperial Valley.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: And I remember, you know, back then I was 18 years old and just crying all the time because I wanted to go away to college.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I remember going to my local community college.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I think this is when I really started seeing the inequities, right?
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um, especially in the Latino community.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I went to my community college and I said, okay, I want to enroll, you know, as a freshman.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: And they told me, okay, what is your major going to be?
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I said, psychology.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: They said, okay, your first year, you're not gonna be eligible to take any math or English courses because they're so heavily impacted.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I knew that math and English were prerequisites to all of my psychology classes.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: So I knew that my first year I was gonna already be set up behind, right?
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and that's why I knew I needed to leave the valley.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: Now things have changed and there's more resources, but back then there was very little resources um in our communities, and still our communities continue to struggle.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: So that's where my eyes opened of the lack of equity and education, and I knew that I wanted to do something to change that.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_02: I love it.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_02: And so, you know, tell us about how were your teachers in high school?
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_02: You know, were they, you know, supportive of this idea that you were gonna go off to college, or, you know, were they were some of them kind of, hey, stay in your lane over here, don't get too crazy.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_02: Uh tell us about that.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, I was very blessed to have very, very wonderful teachers that that pushed me uh to go to college and that believed in my dreams and that believed that I could that I could do it.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: And particularly, I remember an English teacher uh that I had multiple years in high school.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: And I would go with him during passing periods or after school to talk to him about my plans.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: And as I was applying, I would tell him, I got accepted into San Diego State, I got accepted into you know UCLA, I got accepted into UCSD, and he really helped me narrow my choice, right?
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, which was which was great.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: And and I also remember a counselor, and to me, that counselor really changed my life because I was, I was navigating, going and being a first generation, you know, college student.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: I was completely lost.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't know about financial aid or scholarships.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: And my counselor, I think, that was assigned to me, I think saw that I was just such a you know great student and achieving that she said, Oh, I don't know, I don't need to care about Liz, right?
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: I don't need to worry about Liz.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: She's got it.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: But I really didn't know all of the resources that were there.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I remember, you know, growing up, I had a migrant counselor that was particularly working with migrant students.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I went to her, and at that point, I was no longer in her caseload, but I said, Miss Felix, I need your help.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: Can you please help me?
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: And she was the one that really um shared resources and support and scholarships.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: And it was because of her that I was able to go to college.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I remember saying, I want to be like Miss Felix.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: I want to help and I want to bridge those gaps and I want to bring resources to students so that they don't have to struggle as much as I did.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_02: Amazing.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_02: So I I wonder if Miss Felix is still out there.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_02: You know, maybe uh she ends up listening to this, you know, but that's really an example of how, you know, a person, you know, caring about the community, wanting to get back, you know, looking out for um the next generation of successful um leaders, you know, changed your life.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_02: And as a consequence, has changed the lives of thousands of people through your reach.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um so even back then you were thinking, hey, you know, uh, I want to make a difference here, I want to help, you know, my people.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_02: Then you go over to uh junior college out in the valley, and you're like, hey, you know, maybe my people aren't getting all the resources and and access educationally, and then you come over here to UCSD.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_02: And so what's going on?
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_02: You're here in La Jolla with all these super smart kids.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_02: Like, how was that?
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, that was such a challenge, right?
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: I think growing up in Imperial Valley, I was in my little bubble, right?
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, where the majority of us uh were Latino and the majority of us spoke Spanish.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: The majority of us grew up going on both sides of the border.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: And then coming to San Diego, I felt like a little island, right?
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um I remember my psychology classes were fairly large.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: There were about uh 400 seats um at, you know, in a lecture hall.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I remember feeling like I was the only one that looked like me.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I really struggled.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: I struggled because my, you know, because what I thought my dad, right?
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: The fear of disappointing him and and maybe even saying, Yeah, you're right, I wasn't ready for college just yet, or the university.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, the fear of letting them down.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I kept to myself and I really, really struggled.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: I lived off campus, and so that made it even more, you know, tough for me to connect.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I got an academic probation my first year.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: I almost dropped out and I thought about dropping out, right?
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: And that's when I realized that I couldn't do it alone, that I needed support and I needed help.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I reached out and I remember going to Oasis, which is a program that helps um first generation college students.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: And there, you know, my life was changed.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: And I had another mentor, this time Miss Cecilia, and and she, you know, she is the one that told me, Liz, we need more people that look like you in those seats.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_02: Oh wow.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_02: So it that was Miss Cecilia.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_02: Miss Cecilia.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_02: And she was over at Oasis.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_02: And um is that a was that a UCSD?
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, that was at UCSD.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_02: Were most of the, I mean, did you end up connecting with the community of you know, Latino students?
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, it actually was through Oasis that I was able to connect with that community.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I still have very, very strong relationships and friendships with those same friends.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um, together we built our art community or you know, support network.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: And now it's amazing to see what everybody's doing with their lives as professionals and doing great work, and we continue to help each other.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_02: Amazing.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_02: We just had a um an event here on Friday.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_02: It was the three um law schools here in town, each of the uh La Rasa groups from those schools.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and I think you know, your your experience really speaks to the importance of finding your community, right?
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_02: You know, wherever it may be, especially if you're in, you know, law school or college or even in a professional setting, you know, where maybe you know they're there's not as many, you know, people that you feel naturally connected with as you might like.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, exactly.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's so important.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: You know, to this day, I seek those mentors uh and also seek to mentor, right, those that uh have been in in my shoes, right?
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: I think, you know, as uh as Latinos, that's that's our duty, right?
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: To open up doors and and if there's not a table for us to create a table and and pull up some chairs and bring other people with you.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_02: It's funny, you know, you probably know the figures, um, but um I had all the kids out here, you know, um, and some lawyers also, and it was a packed, you know, courtroom, and I was like uh talking about my experiences growing up, and then I was like, Well, how many of you guys out here feel like you're a minority?
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and like some raise their hands.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_02: And then um the point was I was trying to show them uh that times are changing here in California, big time.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, and so I showed them a slide that in 2015 uh Latinos surpassed whites as the leading population here in California.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_02: And then I asked the kids, um, you know, what do you think that the percentage of Latinos in public school today that self-identify Latino Hispanic in California?
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_02: So what do you think that is?
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_02: You probably have some idea.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_02: Public schools in California, K through twelve.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_00: K through twelve, let's say 75%.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_02: A little not quite, you know, but like into the 60s, and then you know, uh white is like very low.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_02: And so um, you know, I think so the the work that you're doing is really for the the new sort of population base of this state.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_02: Same with Arizona, same with New Mexico, same with the Tejas.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_02: So um talk to us about the work you know that you're doing over there at the Chicano Federation.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so Chicano Federation has been serving our community for 55 years, and we really started off as an advocacy organization in the 60s when there was a lot of attacks uh on the Latino community, right?
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: And since then we have transformed, we still do a lot of advocacy, but we also have affordable housing.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_00: We have eight buildings of affordable housing, we have workforce development programs where we help anywhere from you know, women start their small business in childcare uh to really grow their business.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, we have a lot of child development programs.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_00: We have a preschool in Barrio Logan, um, and we continue to do advocacy on a daily basis.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_02: Amazing.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_02: And so, you know, you were talking about like been around since the 60s.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_02: Like, that's like Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_02: She was a guest, incidentally, on this uh podcast.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: Amazing.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_02: She came down here.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_02: Um, have have did you have heroes?
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_02: Like you're kind of like them, right?
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_02: Did you do you have heroes that you kind of look to historically for guidance?
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, actually, you just named two of them, right?
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I grew up, you know, hearing stories about Cesar Chavez.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um, my grandparents were both farm workers and baseros.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so were my tia.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, my dad also worked in the fields.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: And being in Imperial Valley, he's a big figure, right?
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_00: And so is Dolores Huerta.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um, my tia abuela actually, you know, marched with Cesar Chavez, which is amazing.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um, she's still with us today, and we'll share stories about that.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and Dolores Huerta as well, right?
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I've met with her a couple couple times.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: And um, to me, you know, it's it's they are the heroes, um, but we all have a little bit of that hero within us, right?
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_00: There's even though times have changed from the 60s, there's still a lot of work to be done.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, we still need to continue to advocate for our Latino community.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: And and yeah, I'm just so thankful for all of the work that they did in our community that now I'm able to sit down and be a guest on your podcast because of that.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, amazing.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_02: I'm I'm so glad you are here too.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and so like the the your clients, you know, that come into the Chicago Federation.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_02: Um, we talked about housing.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_02: Uh what about like food or like what what what are they what are they hoping to get help with from you guys?
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, we have a resource center that we just opened up two years ago.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_00: And our resource center is a drop-in.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: Anybody can drop in, no questions asked uh about background or income or status.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: And it's really a safe space for community to come and see us with any of their needs.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: And so we often find that folks come in, the number one thing that they come in for is affordable housing, right?
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: They come in needing housing, but after we sit down with them for a little bit, engage in conversation, they open up and they start to trust us.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: And then they disclose, well, I'm struggling with, you know, with getting food on the table, or I'm struggling with uh getting child care or, you know, having a livable wage.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_00: And what I love about our programming is that we're able to provide holistic support for our families in all areas that they're struggling with, not just the one that they came here to help, you know, to receive help from.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_00: So whether we have the service in-house or we connect with trusted partners, um, we're we're there to help them.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I will say that uh law is the number two reason that people come see us, right?
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um a lot of times it's immigration law, sometimes it's family law.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I think for us, what is so valuable is that folks can come to us and they trust us already.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_00: We have, you know, a great reputation in the community.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, they know that um whoever we connect them to, um, that they they can trust, right?
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_00: So I can say, hey, call up our friends, you know, John Gomez and and his firm.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_00: They're good people.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I think that that's what it's about.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's about making those connections with community and making our community feel safe.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's awesome work.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_02: And so are the people interacting with them, are they like called caseworkers or what are they what are they called?
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they have different variety of different names.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: So we have some that depending on their position, uh, that they're promotoras, um, their their job is to be out there in communities.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_00: So they meet people at, you know, Northgate Market or the Lavanderia, wherever the community is to give resources.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, they all have their their different, you know, um titles.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_00: Uh for me, um, they're you know, my little angels doing the work.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_02: Amazing.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_02: And so um what just I'm just curious, like what percentage of your clients are coming in and um speak Spanish as their primary language?
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_00: I would say at least half of them is is is their primary language.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_00: You know, although um we are Chicano Federation, um, we do serve everyone that enters through our our door, our affordable housing, for example.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I can share that the majority of folks that are housed through Chicano Federation um are not Latino necessarily.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: We have a large population of refugee uh and immigrants that come from different parts of the world.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but at least in the minimum, half of our clients speak Spanish, and it's their first um and for some their only language.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_02: And so uh people from different parts of the world, like like where?
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so our affordable housing hosts a lot of folks from Afghanistan, from Syria, uh, from the Republic of Congo.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we have some folks from Cuba.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_00: Uh wow.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_02: Wow, that's amazing.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_02: Uh I yeah, I guess uh I hadn't really thought about that.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_02: Um and you guys, your your physical location is uh on university, right?
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_00: We have our that's the majority of our staff, and then our affordable housing is throughout the county, mainly City Heights, um, South Park, and Barrio Logan, and our preschool is also in Barrio Logan.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_02: And who's eligible to go to the preschool?
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_00: So for the preschool, that's a great question.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's based on income and it's a free day, you know, full day um preschool.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_00: So we open up at 6 30 in the morning, we close at 5 30 p.m.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_00: And then we only close in federal holidays.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_00: So we, you know, there's no one week off for spring, you know, a couple weeks for Summer.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: We're really um open to the community and really want to make you know an impact and help working families.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I I love our preschool ages three to five.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, if you need child care, if you need a preschool, please visit us.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we right now are currently enrolling students, and we also have a therapist on site, which is really unheard of, right?
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: And our therapist is there to work not only with the little ones and any behavior issues that they might be struggling with, but also with the parents um and and working as a team.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_02: That's uh, you know, and you that long day for you know parents that have to work.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_02: And a lot of these parents they don't get off all these holidays that you know you're talking about.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_02: And so to have that coverage and care and you know, access to preschool, because a lot of you know kids don't get to go to preschool.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_00: Right, right.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so that's a remarkable thing that you're providing.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so how long have you had this job?
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_00: So I've been with Chicken Federation for the last two and a half years.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_02: Oh wow.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_02: And um, I mean, like people that are watching this on YouTube can see you, you know, on our other channels.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_02: It's just uh audio, but um, you know, you seem kind of young to be the big boss.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_02: Like, how does it feel like stepping into that job?
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_02: How do you learn about the opening and say, hey, I want to take this job?
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, that's a great question.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and I love sharing my story because I hope that it resonates, especially with some Latinas out there, right?
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so I heard of the position first by a recruiter.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_00: Uh the recruiter reached out, sent me the job description.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I read the email but didn't respond.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I was like, oh, that's that's not for me.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not there yet.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: And then uh another recruiter reached out to me for the same position.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_00: And then a community member reached out and said, Hey, I want to have um, you know, I want to have coffee with you or, you know, or margarita or something.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_00: I want to talk to you.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_00: So it ended up being a margarita.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_00: So it was over Margaritas and Chips, and we were having a conversation and she said, Hey, Liz, did you see that Chicano Federation, you know, is looking for a new CEO?
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I said, Oh, yes, I saw.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_00: And she's like, I think you should put your name in the hat.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, I I thank you so much.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_00: I know you think highly of me, but I think I'm not there yet, maybe in you know, seven to ten years.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um, not yet.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_00: I'm too young, right?
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_00: That's what I thought.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_00: And then, you know, I looked and I said, wait a minute, you know, let me let me think about this a little bit further.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I think for me, I was more scared of Chicano Federation landing in the hands of somebody that didn't connect with community and didn't treat our people with dignity and respect, than I was afraid of failing, right?
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, I grew up low-income, first generation.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_00: My parents grew up very, very low income.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I thought about them and my family and the type of leader that I would want to see giving them resources, right?
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_00: And then I said, if not me, who, right?
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_00: And so I was like, let me try it.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_00: You know, maybe it'll be good interview practice.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_00: And one interview turned into two, three, four, six rounds of interviews, six months of interviews.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and and then they offered me the job.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_00: And and coming in, you know, I knew that I was gonna work really hard.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I knew that I wasn't gonna have all the answers, but I also knew that I wasn't alone, right?
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I knew that I had great relationships with other executives that are still really close friends, that I can still call, you know, on a daily basis and say, hey, I need help with this.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_00: And and they're willing to do that.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_00: And and I think that that's what we should do as a community, right?
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, is not to be afraid um, to take maybe those risks, um, to show up and then to help each other out, right?
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_00: So I've been very, very lucky to have built an amazing community that has been so supportive.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and to me, it's a very personal job.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I do think about my parents and my tia's and my tíos every day in the job.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's what makes it easier, right?
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_00: Because I am working really hard to provide a service for my own family.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_02: It's amazing.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_02: And so, you know, by all accounts, you were you were up for the job, you know.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_02: Um I think, you know, reviews and feedback and buzz in the community is you're doing an amazing job over there.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_02: And so here we have this, you know, um, you know, a lot of maybe younger Latinas, Latinos may have some self-doubt about ability to step into a big job like that.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_02: But thankfully, you know, with the support of others, you know, you were able to overcome that and based upon um just thinking about you wanted to to protect that baby, you know, because it was it's really your baby, it's your people, it's your family.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_02: Um so is there uh is there a Chicago Federation out in the Imperial Valley?
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we have some services uh in Imperial Valley.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um there are other organizations, and and I remember when I first came on board, I actually met with a few leaders from Imperial Valley.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_00: They're like, Liz, bring more services, bring more services over here.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that in the future we might explore that, right?
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_00: I do think that there's a need.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_00: Uh for now we're really concentrating in San Diego community.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um that's our our our number one for me.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_00: It's really making sure that our services are are are deep and impactful uh before we go, you know, wide and and and and spread out.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_00: But um, but yeah, that's definitely a lot of there's plenty to do here.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you know, but I I wonder like being from there, if you're like, oh you know, I wouldn't mind.
• 28:19
  unknown: No.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_00: Oh yeah, I absolutely wouldn't mind to be determined opening an office over there in Imperial Valley.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that'd be all right.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_02: And so how many how many clients, you know, total does the uh federation serve a year?
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_00: 50,000.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_02: 50,000, that's such a large amount.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_02: And um, like can you give us an idea about how many of those are like, you know, families with kids?
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_02: You know?
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_00: The majority are uh families with kids.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um we do serve individuals as well, but it's a very, very low percentage.
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I would say less than 10% is individuals, and the majority is families with young children.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_02: Right, yeah.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_02: And um are you like, what is what does your day look like?
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_02: What is like an average week of the big boss look like?
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_00: Well, there's I don't think that there's an average day, right?
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_00: One day I can be, you know, talking to uh a client or a tenant and having cafecito with them.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_00: And one day I can be on a podcast, another day uh, you know, I can be sitting down with a donor and asking for support, right?
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um it it really varies on a day-to-day.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_00: I think uh I think that's what I love about the job, right?
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_00: Not one day is the same.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um I love being connected to community, and so often I, you know, visit or connect with the communities we serve.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I started a CEO advisory board that's made up um of all of clients that we serve in our different programs, and so I hear from them on a frequent basis.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_00: I I want to hear, you know, what are their needs?
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_00: How can we support them?
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I tell them, you, this is space, is so that you can put me to work.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_00: And they do, they put me to work, and so every day is different.
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and and I love it.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_02: I wonder, um, well, that sounds like a pretty fun job.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but you know, I know you're working a lot, I know you're a hard worker.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um, tell us a little bit, if you would, um, about we just had some elections, and um, I imagine maybe your clients might have some response to or feelings about or um worries.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_02: You know, how how are they all kind of reacting to the news?
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, John, I think we could do a whole separate podcast to talk about the election, right?
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I will say that I'm I'm really proud of my organization.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_00: You know, um, weeks before the election, we led uh get out the vote campaign really just to educate our community to get out to vote.
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um, nonpartisan, um, but we really wanted to encourage our families to get out and vote.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_00: And we were able to reach over 10,000 people through that amount of time.
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_00: We partnered with 20 other organizations, uh, nonprofit Latino-serving organizations.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and all of this happened within two weeks that we put together this coalition of partners.
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_00: And for me, it was really thinking of, you know, how do we keep our community safe, right?
• 31:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so there is the reality is that there is a lot of fear for our families.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_00: We've heard it, you know, what do I do if somebody knocks on my door?
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, am I safe to open up the door?
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_00: And so one of the things that we're gonna be working on is partnering, you know, with uh attorneys to do get, you know, know your rights, um uh materials and presentations, um, and continuing to advocate for our families.
• 32:09
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the day after the election, I met with all my staff.
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, we have over 60 members on staff.
• 32:17
  SPEAKER_00: And a lot of them are also, you know, worried.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_00: They're worried for their clients, um, they're worried for their own families, for themselves.
• 32:26
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I have staff members that are of mixed status, their families are of mixed status, or family um, you know, staff members that are DACA recipients as well.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_00: So there is a lot of fear.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and my commitment to them was that, you know, we're gonna continue to serve and do the work that we're doing.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, regardless of who is in the office, our commitment is to what, you know, serve everyone regardless of their background, right?
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_00: And our commitment is to make our communities feel safe.
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_00: So actually, tomorrow I'm gathering um another group of those 20 um nonprofit organizations, and we're gonna have these conversations.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_00: How do we keep our communities safe?
• 33:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um also this weekend on Saturday, we had our Leadership Training Institute, uh, which I relaunched um after 20 years hiatus to really develop Latino leaders.
• 33:25
  SPEAKER_00: And they come from all sectors.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're listening and you're interested, I invite you to apply for our next cohort.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but this curriculum, it's a 10-month curriculum to look at all of the Latino needs and the gaps in equity, right?
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_00: And so we just just this Saturday talked about education and the gaps in education.
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_00: We have 30 fellows that are paired with a mentor.
• 33:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and we talk about you know, leadership and advocacy and health and education, uh, policy.
• 34:06
  SPEAKER_00: And then we develop capstone projects to help, you know, our community.
• 34:11
  SPEAKER_00: And so this Saturday morning, when I addressed the 30 fellows, it was a different day, right?
• 34:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it was the first meeting since the election.
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I told the fellows, you know, this is why this program exists.
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_00: We're building the new generation of leaders.
• 34:29
  SPEAKER_00: And for us, we're not gonna wait for a candidate to save us, you know.
• 34:34
  SPEAKER_00: We save us, we show up for our communities, we keep our communities safe.
• 34:40
  SPEAKER_00: And so there's a lot of work to do, but our community is not alone.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_00: We have each other, and we need to work together to really protect our communities.
• 34:51
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I'm really impressed um with that.
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_02: What do you call Leadership Institute?
• 34:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, the leadership training institute.
• 34:57
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's a that's uh good on you for bringing that back because that's critical.
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and the curriculum sounds like fascinating.
• 35:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 35:06
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so yeah, everybody, like if you want to make a difference, get your application in for next year.
• 35:12
  SPEAKER_02: I I think they you already have your class this year, right?
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, our class this year will graduate in June.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_00: So come July, August, we will open up uh application and the next cohort will start in September.
• 35:25
  SPEAKER_02: And anyone can apply?
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_00: Anyone can apply.
• 35:28
  SPEAKER_02: Even like an old lawyer, even an old lawyer.
• 35:31
  SPEAKER_02: All right, good.
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_02: All right, John.
• 35:36
  SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna get that application in because I'm I'm like, I'm very interested in that.
• 35:40
  SPEAKER_02: You know, like I actually um before I went to law school, I worked as um uh a social worker doing um basically food stamps and and um AFDC uh down in Southeast, uh Spanish uh client base.
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, I even back then I was very interested in issues of community and poverty and access.
• 36:05
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, that's really what it's about, right?
• 36:07
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, you know, more and more, you know, that I get into my career, I'm more and more interested in institutional inequity, you know, like because that's where the rubber meets the road, right?
• 36:21
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 36:21
  SPEAKER_02: Like you were talking about like with the junior college out there being impacted.
• 36:24
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_02: Um yeah, I would love to, I would love to get my application in.
• 36:29
  SPEAKER_02: And you don't have to say you let me in or not, but uh I'm gonna apply.
• 36:33
  SPEAKER_00: I may know the CEO, so we'll see what we can do.
• 36:36
  SPEAKER_02: I love it.
• 36:38
  SPEAKER_02: So um, you know, how can people learn more?
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_02: Well, first of all, like do you uh accept like volunteers?
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_02: Like we have all these like fired up La Rasa kids, like Yes, yes, absolutely.
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we have volunteer opportunities um all the time.
• 36:55
  SPEAKER_00: Actually, with the holidays right around the corner, we have a huge holiday drive.
• 37:01
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, we're collecting toys and blankets, we're gonna give out gift cards for shoes and groceries, and so on.
• 37:10
  SPEAKER_00: You can host a bin for toys.
• 37:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um I know that you are doing it, so thank you, John.
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_00: And then um, two, you can show up to to volunteer.
• 37:20
  SPEAKER_00: So to learn more, you can visit our website, chicanofederation.org, and you can sign up to to volunteer.
• 37:28
  SPEAKER_00: But we have volunteer opportunities throughout the the year.
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's at our properties where we beautify our properties, do some painting and some gardening, and sometimes is you know, phone banking folks, encouraging them to vote.
• 37:43
  SPEAKER_00: So the volunteer opportunities really uh they vary, but we we do have a lot of volunteer opportunities and ways that you can get engaged.
• 37:52
  SPEAKER_02: I love it.
• 37:52
  SPEAKER_02: And you were talking about um meeting with um you know community uh funders or people that support the organization.
• 38:04
  SPEAKER_02: Um so I imagine that there's a need, right, for resources, i.e.
• 38:09
  SPEAKER_02: money.
• 38:09
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 38:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and so like to partner with the federation on that, yeah, how does that work?
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 38:17
  SPEAKER_00: You know, right now I think that's one of my biggest fear as a leader, um, you know, with a new administration, 80% of our funding comes from state and federal funding.
• 38:29
  SPEAKER_00: And so, and a lot of it is from the Department of Education, which, you know, um Trump has threatened to close.
• 38:37
  SPEAKER_00: And so um that is is a fear, right?
• 38:41
  SPEAKER_00: Of of, you know, if if we lose funding.
• 38:45
  SPEAKER_00: And so more than ever, we, you know, we we are urging our community to support the work that we need to do because now more than ever, our services are needed.
• 38:56
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're interested, you can feel free to connect with me.
• 39:01
  SPEAKER_00: Again, connect with us through our website, chicanofederation.org.
• 39:06
  SPEAKER_00: And it doesn't have to be, you know, the big thousand dollars, right?
• 39:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um, every little donation, you know, is can make such an impact.
• 39:16
  SPEAKER_00: We have a monthly giving uh program where, hey, if you say, hey, I'm not gonna go to Starbucks for the week and instead I'm gonna donate, you know,$25 a month, you know, you can you can do that.
• 39:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so a a little goes a long way.
• 39:32
  SPEAKER_00: We really stretch the support um because it's so much needed.
• 39:36
  SPEAKER_02: And think about that, like, you know, that missing latte or whatever, you know, could be the difference of you know, a little boy or girl having preschool or having shoes, you know, important stuff.
• 39:53
  SPEAKER_02: Um and so, you know, I I know that we here at Gomez Trial Attorneys are interested in learning more, supporting more, working with you guys more, however we can, whether it be financially, volunteer, um, helping, I guess, with legal, you know, access or questions.
• 40:10
  SPEAKER_02: I know all of our um colleagues at La Raza lawyers are, you know.
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_02: Um and so uh, you know, what in and sort of our you know, wrapping up here, you know, what advice would you give to a young um Latina, Latino, you know, that that has a heart for public service, you know?
• 40:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 40:36
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I would say that um your Latinidad is your superpower, right?
• 40:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I think showing up to spaces as your authentic self, um, a lot of times when you know you're you're young and starting as a professional, folks give you advice like, you know, you fake it till you make it, or other things like that.
• 41:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I really just say to show up as your true self.
• 41:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um and don't be afraid to to really show up as yourself and don't hide who you are.
• 41:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, our community needs to see more leaders like us, um, and not just folks that, you know, may look like us and in brown skin, but really that represent the values of our community.
• 41:27
  SPEAKER_00: So um don't ever forget where you came from and um that you have really the power.
• 41:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you are who you've been waiting for, right?
• 41:38
  SPEAKER_00: You have the power to to build community and to make a difference for our community.
• 41:44
  SPEAKER_02: Totally agree.
• 41:45
  SPEAKER_02: And thank you.
• 41:46
  SPEAKER_02: I I can't think of a better way to end our conversation here today.
• 41:50
  SPEAKER_02: Um, again, this has been uh the Latino podcast, where we talk about the intersection of law in our Latino communities.
• 41:58
  SPEAKER_02: We were so blessed today to have Liz uh Ramirez with us, who is a CEO and president of the Chicano Federation, like a really impactful organization here in San Diego.
• 42:10
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so um if you uh enjoy what you hear, please subscribe.
• 42:15
  SPEAKER_02: Um, please tell others to listen and please learn more about the Chicano Federation and support their mission and work.
• 42:22
  SPEAKER_02: I know that we here at Gomez Trial Attorneys will.
• 42:25
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you again, Liz.
• 42:26
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much for having me.
• 42:29
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for listening to the Latino podcast.
• 42:31
  SPEAKER_01: We'll see you again next time.
• 42:33
  SPEAKER_01: And be sure to click subscribe to get future episodes.