This episode is a special one. Elias shares a conversation with his mother, Consuelo Rios. The two stand in the kitchen of the brand new house Elias just bought his mother — his largest purchase since selling Drift. The two discuss their journey to the United States, the early years, and life today. It’s a can’t miss episode. (1:45) The home Elias grew up in (3:34) Elias’ mom makes the decision to move to the United States (6:30) Elias’ family enters the United States (13:20) Elias buys his mom a house ..read more

We're continuing Women's History Month with La Jefa herself, Enna Jimenez. Emma immigrated from Puerto Rico to Massachusetts with her family as a young girl, became a first-generation college graduate, and paved her way into Vice President positions in quality assurance. Within the first few minutes of the episode, you'll understand why Emma is La Jefa, but make sure to listen to the end to find out how she fought for her position in corporate America, and learn how you can, too! (0:41) Enna’s background (4:15) Enna and her family come to Boston (11:07) Enna’s journey through corporate Americ ..read more

Today, Harvard University juniors Hannah Zhou and Rhea Acharya join Elias on the show to discuss the upcoming Harvard WeCode Conference happening on February 17 and 18. Register for the conference or learn about sponsorship opportunities here: https://www.harvardwecode.com/ (2:26) Hannah’s backstory (4:24) There are so many more technology careers than software engineering (5:43) Rhea’s backstory (7:51) We need to break out of the male paradigm of computer science (8:57) The details of Harvard WeCode (17:34) Elias’ advice on mentorship ..read more

Growing up in Colorado, Guillermo Diaz Jr. always dreamed of having palm trees in his backyard. Now, after many years of hard work and diligence, he has more palm trees than he knows what to do with, which is why he created Conectado. Conectado aims to leverage technology to bring individuals and institutions together to increase equality from the classroom to the boardroom. In this episode of The American Dream podcast, Guillermo explains how he worked to achieve his palm tree dream, why he believes so strongly in "ships," and why he shifted his focus from Cisco to Conectado. (0:49) The Amer ..read more

Do you need to go to college? How do you find the career path right for you? These are the types of questions Elias and his guest, Erik Cardenas, discuss on today's episode. Growing up in Texas, Erik was the first in his family to go to college. He was also the first to get kicked out. Nevertheless, Erik entered the corporate world, got a degree, and then pivoted towards entrepreneurship. This episode covers how to figure out what path is right for you, and why our backgrounds shape so much of who become. (0:24) Who is Erik Cardenas? (4:17) Erik’s college journey (9:13) Latino dads (11:59) Er ..read more

(0:31) The origin story of Katty Coulson’s name (01:21) Katty’s life in Mexico (5:49) Katty crosses the border (12:44) Katty finds her way into tech (17:43) The secret to Katty’s happiness (23:06) Why Katty has, and will always, give back to the community (and why you should, too) (31:02) Katty's work with the Ronald McDonald House ..read more

Elias Torres is back for another season of the American Dream podcast. This season, you can expect more conversations with underrepresented leaders who have pushed themselves to get to the top, raw truths from those who are no stranger to being the "other" in the room, and advice for how to achieve your own version of the American Dream. We're working our way to a more equitable corporate America, and we hope you'll join us. First, a reintroduction to your host ..read more

(1:18) All about Eneida (4:36) The origins of AmplifyLatinx (7:29) How Eneida became CEO of AmplifyLatinx (12:10) Why Eneida committed to work in the United States (14:18) The official kick off of AmplifyLatinx (17:49) Elias’ introduction to AmplifyLatinx Learn more about AmplifyLatinx ..read more

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