We had a great conversation with Argentinean-born author, Valeria Aloe. In her new book “Uncolonized Latinas: Transforming Our Mindsets and Rising Together”, she helps Latinas to embrace our individual and collective greatness, honor our stories and our ancestry; and become more aware of the limiting cultural narratives that have been plaguing us. As a Latina or an ally, learn to thrive in your career and life from a place of self-esteem, as you learn from the stories in her book of Latinas who figured out how to navigate the systems created by bias. To receive your free chapter of Valeria's b ..read more

With so many changes in our tax system due to covid, we decided to highlight the topic and discuss the basics of our tax system with local tax guru Vivian Barrera owner of Maya Professional Services. She shares with us tips and resources on how to file individual and business taxes, covers the difference between deductions, credits, explains which one's better, and some common tax misconceptions that she's seen over the years.  You can contact Vivian via email at info@spmaya.com, call her office at 423-899-1801 or you send a text message at 423-834-7181. __________________________________ ..read more

With the holidays over and the new year right around the corner, we want to give you tips on how you can plan successful actionable goals to win for the new year. That’s why we reached out to our friend, life and business coach, Wendy Amara. She is a highly accomplished transformational Strategy coach, speaker, trainer, and best-selling author. It’s an honor to have her on our Amiga Circle podcast again. If you loved this episode, listen to our motivational conversation with Wendy Amara, where she explains how to lay out the action steps that will help you accomplish your goals, and shares per ..read more

In this final episode of Season 2, we talk to Velvet Hernandez-Johnson, a native of Guatemala who has lived in Chattanooga for years about her journey of moving to the U.S. to complete her education and finding purpose in helping her community and advocating for girl power with her daughter. If you loved this episode, listen to our motivational Conversation with Wendy Amara, a transformation strategy coach. Thank you to our podcast sponsor, Hoopla Marketing Now. Learn more about this full-service marketing agency, www.hooplamarketingnow.com ..read more

The economic status of women in Tennessee has made considerable advances in recent years however women of color still face inequities that often prevent them from reaching their full potential. Unfortunately, Tennessee still ranks in the worst third in the nation for both women’s Employment & Earnings and Poverty & Opportunity. That’s why we had this conversation with three local Latinas from different industries, Arielle Garcia-Hayes, Nahomi Ortiz and Veronica Perro focused on awareness, advocacy, and structural change to build true equity for Latina women in Tennessee as we navigate ..read more

Claudia Caballero is President & CEO of Centro Hispano de East Tennessee, a nonprofit that works to empower the Latino community through education, workforce development, youth, and family engagement, and resource referral services. During her five-year tenure at Centro Hispano she has increased the organization’s annual income tenfold and expanded its staff from one employee to over 30 full and part-time team members. Raised between Honduras and the United States, she is both bicultural and bilingual. In 2021 Caballero was the first Latina to join KUB’s board. She is a member of Conexión ..read more

Born and raised in Texas, Sarah Marquez Berestecky is a third-generation Mexican-American/Chicana who grew up navigating the borderlands of living as a light-skinned Latina in the United States. Her engagement with Be the Bridge to Racial Unity inspired her to develop Anti-Racism and Cultural Competency Training (ARCC) after relocating to Chattanooga. Her anti-racist work is closely tied to her efforts as a nationally trained community organizer. As a self-declared introvert, you can find Sarah taking a break from people watching Netflix, reading a provocative book, or blasting Mariachi music ..read more

In this episode, we talk to husband and wife entrepreneur duo Gisela and Luis Contreras, owners of The Local Juicery and Kitchen, Local Paletas, and Squeaky Clean, on how taking a leap in their relationship set the course on taking leaps in their businesses. They share their roadmap to their success and future business goals, and the source of inspiration that they find in each other, their family, and their community in Chattanooga. If you loved this episode, listen to our motivational Conversation with Coach Jimmy Obleda. Thank you to our podcast sponsor, Hoopla Marketing Now. Learn more abo ..read more

In this episode, our conversation is more relaxed and personal as we talk to Dominique Brandt, originally from Miami, FL, and relocated to Chattanooga in 2013 to work in community engagement and development. She talks about her previous life, as she calls it, as a real estate paralegal, event planner and how she never stops looking for the next professional venture and life adventure thanks to her Dominican mom who played a huge influence in her life and taught her how to adjust to new circumstances. If you loved this episode, listen to our Conversation with Coach Jimmy Obleda. Thank you to ou ..read more

This is our first episode where we interview a Latino and not a Latina. We wanted to include the men in our lives and in our community who not only support Latinas but who were influenced by them. In this episode, we talk to the head coach of the Chattanooga Red Wolves of the USL League One Division, Jimmy Obleda, a New Yorker Uruguayan who later moved to California to pursue his soccer career and play professionally for 8 years in South America, Europe, and the United States. Jimmy’s success speaks for itself as he also holds degrees in child development, cross-cultural development, and Kines ..read more