Hella Latin@8 Nov 2023

I'm No Sellout with Maria Medrano

How many of y'all are first gen corporate? This episode is for you!

Today I'm talking to Maria Medrano, co-founder and CEO of Inspirame, a mission-driven organization dedicated to ending generational poverty through educational attainment. As a first-generation Mexican American and the first in her family to earn a high school or college degree, Maria has held strategic leadership roles spanning two decades at Google, Visa, and Cisco, to name a few, and has used her first gen superpowers to make big career moves

Maria Medrano is a global bilingual Latina leader who has made a name for herself with an exceptional track record in managing multi-million to billion-dollar businesses with a focus on bottom-line growth, large-scale project plans, data-driven decision-making, and strategic partnerships. Her leadership style emphasizes supporting long-term growth, business continuity, process improvements, and transformations while ensuring business strategies are aligned with corporate objectives.

Throughout her career, Maria has prioritized building a sense of community within corporate settings and bridging the gap between business strategies and community values. She firmly believes that sustainable success comes from aligning business objectives with community needs and has a proven track record of achieving this balance.

Despite humble beginnings, Maria's accomplishments have been widely recognized. She has received numerous awards, including the YWCA Tribute to Women Emerging Leader Award, Top 100 Under 40 Diversity MBA, Silicon Valley 40 Under 40, and Top 50 Under 50.

In this week’s episode, Maria shares her experience as a Latina making a difference in Corporate America. Corporate America can still present challenges for Latinos, but Maria's journey shows us that it's possible to navigate this space without losing ourselves. She is creating a community that is a beacon of hope for all Latinx in corporate spaces and is a living reminder that we can create our own paths and create our own success stories.

Keep up with Maria on her LinkedIn and on Instagram @techoguide_.

For all Hella Latin@ updates, follow @hellalatinopodcast on Instagram and connect on LinkedIn. More at odalysjasmine.com.

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Podcast production for this episode was provided by CCST.

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