Be inspired by this high impact LATINA executive career journey

Esther Aguilera,  President and CEO of the Latino Corporate Directors Association (LCDA)
Recognized as 50 Most Powerful Latinas, 2021 ALPFA

Esther Aguilera brings together accomplished executives at the highest levels of corporate governance to advance diversity in the boardroom. She is recognized as a social entrepreneur and turnaround specialist leading scale-up, innovative change and managing high performance teams. She brings a 25-year record of success executing strategic business plans to drive organizational effectiveness, growth and impact. Previous positions included leading the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) for 11 years as its President & CEO, principal at the Dewey Square Group, senior advisor to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, executive and legislative director of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), and a policy analyst at the National Council of La Raza. She was recently recognized as Al DÍA News Media 2021 Person of the Year and Hispanic Executive 2021 TOP TEN Lider. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy from Occidental College and completed the Harvard Corporate Governance Executive Program in 2005.

Transcript

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SUMMARY KEYWORDS 

Latinos  position  Hispanic executive  50 most powerful Latinas college  people  job topics  Esther  procurement  opportunity  leader’s role  Latino community  capitol hill  meeting  building  congressional Hispanic caucus   growing Hispanic caucus  CEO  Nspire  support. Latino community continues  efforts  advancement  Instagram inspire  caring country paths impressed  legacy passion podcasts

SPEAKERS

Leah Solorio, Founder, CEO Nspire Careers, LLC, 
 Esther Aguilera, President, CEO, Latino Corporate Directors Association, LCDA

42 Highlights 

LS

Leah Solorio, Founder & CEO...

0:00

Hi everyone, Leah, Founder & CEO Nspire Careers. Thank you for tuning into my podcast, coming to you from the heart of Silicon Valley, San Jose, California. Today I would like to welcome  Esther Aguilera, President, and CEO of the Latino Corporate Directors Association (LCDA) 

Esther Aguilera brings together accomplished executives at the highest levels of corporate governance to advance diversity in the boardroom. She is recognized as a social entrepreneur and turnaround specialist leading scale-up, innovative change and managing high performance teams. She brings a 25-year record of success executing strategic business plans to drive organizational effectiveness, growth, and impact. Previous positions included leading the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) for 11 years as its President & CEO, principal at the Dewey Square Group, senior advisor to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, executive and legislative director of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), and a policy analyst at the National Council of La Raza. She was recently recognized as Al DÍA News Media 2021 Person of the Year, ALPFA 2021 50 Most Powerful Latinas, and Hispanic Executive 2021 TOP TEN Lider. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy from Occidental College and completed the Harvard Corporate Governance Executive Program in 2005.

Welcome, Esther.

EA

Esther Aguilera, President ...

0:32

Thank you, Leah. It is a great pleasure to be with you and thank you for inviting me to this program.

LS

Leah Solorio, CEO/Founder N...

0:39

Thank you so much, Esther. I'm happy that you're here. I would love to have our audience hear from you, your background, and the influences in your life.

EA

Esther Aguilera, President ...

0:50

Certainly, what's very interesting is one of my personal and professional pursuit has been to position and elevate Latinos to positions of power and leadership but I'll tell you my route and path what I do today is very uncommon and unplanned. I'm from Mexico, my family moved to Southern California when I was four, and we were undocumented. There was me and five other siblings, and I am the daughter of a landscape laborer and a garment worker. It was 10 years that we were undocumented and at the time of us going to school, even though I grew up in a predominantly Mexican American and blue collar community, you know, I found that even many among our community discriminated against me because either I had an accent and or you know, if you admitted that you were from Mexico, you know, they would call you a wet back. That was common back then. I had two great teachers along the way, starting with elementary that, you know, it really inspired me and my older siblings, instilled in us that a focus on education and going to college was a path out of poverty. My parents encouraged it, but they didn't know the system. And so, it really was the parents and my, my two older siblings. In fact, my sister tells a story when she was in middle school. Someone came as a guest speaker, he was an engineer and he said you know, if you go to college, and if engineering is interest, it's going to be a good paying job. Because of that speaker that came into that classroom. We were Math Science majors in grade school and through high school particularly because those are areas of study that were taken more seriously. So luckily, we all went to college and a couple of things that influenced me in my trajectory. Growing up as early on in elementary school when we were studying the presidents of the US and starting to learn about a little of who the leaders in the US were, I noticed that wow, none of them looked like me or knew what my experience was, was something that stuck with me. Later. In college I was considering rather than math science, I was considering other career options and came upon public policy. I went to Occidental College on a full scholarship, and they had just started a public policy program. What really intrigued me because it wasn't just political science or economics. It was how people interact with their leaders but also it was just more of a people driven study. And there again, we were looking at who, you know, the cabinet leaders were and who was running the country and you know, it hit me again, how I didn't see anyone that looked like me or had my story or understood it and those were some of the initial drivers in my journey early on.

LS

Leah Solorio, CEO/Founder N...

4:01

Where did you take that? 

EA

Esther Aguilera, President ...

4:02

Well, I did my college thesis I had some great professors that also were mentors who, while I was in college, first I advise everyone, get an internship, ask people for ideas or connections. Getting an internship in college really helps give you another leg up for when you leave because you already have not just any kind of job experience but something in your area. So, I was connected to some internships and really my first connection to my first job was also very random and haphazard. I saved up my pennies after college, and me and a friend went to travel in Europe. And he lived in the East Coast in Washington, DC. So, I came to DC for the first time. And I called my professors I'm in Washington DC. studied public policy, who should I meet while I'm here? My plan the whole time was to take this little break, get back to California and start looking for a job. So, while I was in Washington, DC, they connected me to the National Council of La Raza which today is known as Unidos US and had just an informational conversation with one of the key leaders there always a dear friend and remember him Charles Kamasaki who's still with Unidos today. And about a week later, I get a call from him and Unidos offering me a job and it just was a bit of a shocker, one is taking that risk and calling professors or somebody saying hey, I'm Who should I be meeting with it was just that very basic question. That came to my mind the kind of really set the ball rolling and took me in a very different direction. And so, I accepted this first job. now, growing up at home, you know, we didn't read the paper every day we, you know, didn't monitor politics or the economy. And so, I learned some of that in college. I've never in my wildest dreams thought I would be moving to Washington DC in 1990 right after college. And that's what got me to my first job. 

LS

Leah Solorio, Founder & CEO...

6:38

What was your title of your position? 

EA

Esther Aguilera, President ...

6:41

So, I started as a junior policy analyst it was time when health care was a big policy issue, and there wasn't a good understanding. So, this was an opportunity. It was obviously Latino focused, and there wasn't a good understanding and research and narrative about, say, Latinos and health insurance and so I got to work on doing some studies that looking at this topic for the first time, what does the data say? What does the research say? And doing some policy analysis and recommendations based on the findings, and then from there? I had an opportunity to pivot and get a job working on Capitol Hill, working with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which is all our Latino elected officials who come together as a caucus and caucus leveraging their voice and votes to advance opportunity for the Latino community and to be the voice for the community whenever policy and decisions are made for the nation. After less than a year. I was a legislative assistant then legislative director focused on education and health care policy. Members of Congress met our caucus met every Thursday, and we put together the agenda that topics and had conversations, to come together to talk about the legislative priorities and strategize on how to move the needle on key topics. And one of the members Bill Richardson who was representative from New Mexico he had one of his staff members come to me when we're in that meeting. And he said, well, Bill wants to know if you want the job, and I'm looking and thinking What job? do you want the role of executive director?

EA

Esther Aguilera, President ...

9:00

And a lot of things went through my mind at that time, because there's a lot of changes happening on Capitol Hill, and it's going to be even more work and I'm like, oh, my God, there's so much work involved in this. And I said, yes, (of course). I took the plunge. I took the plunge and before I knew it, I was named in my late 20s. a very young age executive director of the Hispanic Caucus. Again, so many different, any national issue would come to our door, that's how that happened. As Latinos growing up bilingual bicultural, we are very adaptable. You know, for your listeners and people. You have so much to contribute. You have a voice when you're navigating between cultures and languages. I found that you know, I was a sponge and learning so much and really synthesizing a lot of really complex topics and in ways that people could understand so that a lot of the work that I did, I would work in coalition's I would work with the advocacy organizations and voices as topics were brought to the committee's and to the floor of the House of Representatives and legislation so adaptable, resilient, we are driven we have you know, when we're involved in something we're passionate about it is it is you see that resilience and that work ethic. I always tell the story as well, you know, when I saw my parents struggling and you know, would have tough jobs, growing up work meant something hard or something that was not necessarily fun. And I must tell your audience, there is so much opportunity out there so much they can find that also fulfills them and find value so that work doesn't have to be work. Work can be something you're passionate about and fun.

LS

Leah Solorio, CEO/Founder N...

11:06

Thank you for saying that. I agree. That is what I want for everyone.

EA

Esther Aguilera, President ...

11:11

I had some opportunities right after I worked on Capitol Hill. Then Bill Richardson became Secretary of the US Department of Energy and he called me and said, hey, I need some good people over here and transition to work for him as a senior advisor to the Secretary and, he put me in charge of the Small Business promoting procurement for small women, minority owned businesses. And it was an area that needed attention at the Department of Energy. And what I found in that role, we have so many strengths and for me, one of them was very strategic minded. You know, this was taking a topic that was at the time kind of on the sidelines, which is women in minority procurement. And in this big ship that is the Department of Energy with lots of different subdivisions. Meeting with each one and bringing them into own small business and that this is part of not just what the Secretary wants as a focus but where it's important for their work and steering a big ship to really move the needle and triple the amount of small business procurement was eye opening for me because I had never done that. I just came in with what I knew. I saw there was you know, a gap and was very thoughtful about how I engaged everyone in being part of the solution. So, I really found how much came with some experience, but our skill sets that we have for bringing people together was something that I homed in on and we made amazing progress.

LS

Leah Solorio, CEO/Founder N...

13:14

What I want to say to the audience is this is that everything that they do, do it well, right, and then that passion, right? You love what you do. It leads to other opportunity because he would call you and bring you over to the next opportunity that was moving you upward.

EA

Esther Aguilera, President ...

13:34

That's right. And I'm glad you said that Leah because you focus on the hard work, and it gets recognized and you also what I one of the things that that I did and I advise you know young people to do is I kept key documents of you know, press releases that I worked on or how we took on a new topic and how we grew the agenda and so that it became a little portfolio of my contributions and more there. It is a lot of hard work. The other was taking those risks, right? Yes. Whether it was to take on this role I knew is going to be it you know a lot we had begun to move our resources were stripped so it was going to be that much harder, and I think for going to the Department of Energy, also taking on a new subject. I hadn't focused on procurement before but building leadership skills that I was overseeing a team that was twice as old as I was yet. I brought these fresh ideas they knew the Secretary was this was a priority for him. And I uplifted give gave the department or the little office new life and new responsibilities. So, we had some employees that were kind of, you know, felt they weren't being fulfilled. And suddenly, I said OKAY, you're going to take charge of, you know, who started first procurement conference for small businesses, but we're going to announce procurement opportunities and I assigned someone to it. She took that project and ran with it and really shined. It was another stretch assignment that I never done it before. It was an SES position, which is one of the highest levels of leadership in the federal government, was an appointment position. You know, don't be afraid to it's those stretch assignments and stretch goals and new areas. Clearly, when you have proven yourself in one space, you know there you'll be tapped to explore new spaces as well. 

LS

Leah Solorio, CEO/Founder N...

15:55

And that is something that I do share with my clients and I love that we're talking about this portfolios of success when individuals are working and they get that complement of their work, the kudos whatever it may be, the email forward it, print it, build your portfolio, because as time goes on, you'll forget it and if you do keep that paper trail, you know, it's preparation for your advancement. Even when they apply to a position get that job description save that. You don't have to update your resume, you're in your position but you have it, being organized. You were building your personal brand and just enjoying it. It's so important that we have that ability in any position that we take.

EA

Esther Aguilera, President ...

16:42

I'm so glad you summarized it in that way. That's absolutely I completely concur. You know, to pull up this procurement office small. 

EA

Esther Aguilera, President ...

16:56

It was called  Department of Energy, I ran the Office of Women & Minority Business Utilization –  promoting small business procurement,  an office that was often ignored. I took some challenges so we were trying to you know, there was some terms where they were bundling some contracts, only big companies could compete with them. And we were saying hey, only if it's justified and we found some examples where there was a contract that was bundled or we recommended you know, no, this should. This should be separated. So that it would be great opportunities for small businesses as well. But I'll tell you, I had somebody from, you know, another office come to me and say, how dare you unbundle what we're recommending here and so I had to go to the assistant secretary and say well, you know, this is our record. I had already gotten approval for that. And I went back to him and said, someone's complaining, and they showed them the way. so, you sometimes must take some tough decisions. And maybe they're not popular, but that's what the law and department was calling for. So, it was very, very interesting. Before my current role, I was CEO of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. This is an organization it's a nonprofit that was started by members of Congress, and still the members of Congress are involved, although it also involves leaders from all sectors, and it's known as CHDI. And the purpose is to give young people opportunity to do full paid internships and fellowships on Capitol Hill, and really opening doors of opportunity to the halls of power. You can imagine that I would talk to the students and, you know, tell them look, this congress and these marbled halls in this country are as much yours as anybody else's. In fact, this country needs you to prepare yourselves as young leaders so that you can lead in the future. That's how we have you know, a country and policies that are more representative because you know, what, no one ever told me that. So, I thought it was so important that these doors be open because one it's hard to get these internships. And so, we opened doors that were very, very difficult to first arrive at the door much less open even it. So, we did that. I mentioned at the beginning of our talk my personal and professional pursuits have been about preparing and positioning and opening doors for Latinos to take on positions of leadership and power. That was kind of reinforced along this trajectory, certainly with the students I was working with and where they are today, whether they're leaders of nonprofits or any sector and field, so empowering just to know that they have what it takes, actually when I was on Capitol Hill one of the issues that I ended up working on backtracking a little bit, the representation of Latinos in political appointment positions was not strong. So, I worked with the chairman of the Hispanic Caucus at the time was Javier Becerra. The senator Congressman Javier Becerra who I worked with the chairs I worked with, when I went to the Hispanic Caucus. I worked with Congressman Jose Serrano from New York who recently retired, and it was Ed Pastor from Arizona. A dear mentor, who fortunately recently passed, and we had a couple of meetings with the president every year, Congressman Becerra was such a dynamic and visionary leader. He said, you know, we always bring up obviously very important issues that we care about and that our voice matters. around immigration, education, community development, housing, and those are always going to be issues that we care about. But on one meeting that I set up with the president, he said, you know what, we're going to focus on political appointments because, you know, advocating for these topics and legislating on the matters, but who is running the programs and who is leading in the federal government in these topics, matters just as much. So, we met with the president and chairman of a caucus said, you know, we're always going to be working with you on these top three four issues, but in this meeting, this is our focus, you want a government that looks like America, you're not there, we can help you get there. We need you to prioritize Latinos and the President said yes, I'm going to do this. You so I, I the Chairman met once a month with his chief of staff twice a month with the Deputy Chief of Staff to find out not just what positions were vacant, but what was coming up. And we help nearly double the number of Latino appointees two very important positions that were impacting so much for people you know, at the federal level every day and many of those people I know today. And so again, back to my theme around, you know, using our influence our  clout, our power to help elevate and position Latinos and for those important roles in positions of power and leadership, it's we have I have seen the spectrum of how much there is to work on in the community from pre K from  cradle to grave, right but along the way this importance on who is in the leadership roles and how are we represented is still woefully ow. And that's another reason why I got to my new role as CEO the Latino Corporate Directors Association and what I'm doing today,

LS

Leah Solorio, CEO/Founder N...

23:06

I love that you have truly made an impact in your contributions. You're still doing it. I want to say thank you. I've learned so much and I'm so appreciative. Honored to be here with you, A woman, a Latina, a leader, an influencer, a woman with vision, and I appreciate that. 

EA

Esther Aguilera, President ...

23:29

Well, I appreciate you, pulling together such important conversations that are accessible to so many more. That's always, I'm always here and available. And perhaps, you know, there's so much in the work that I'm doing today that it also involves making sure Latinos are at the decision-making table. This organization It was started by Latinos that serve on public and large private company boards. And, you know, they got tired of complaining of the very low number of Latinos in the boardroom. We kept hearing the excuse that they couldn't find qualified Latinos. And so, it was also said the Hispanic Association of Corporate Responsibility. Carlos Huerta, that was the CEO at the time and started bringing the directors together. And collectively they decided, you know, what, we need to start something new and different. And so, the Latino Corporate Directors Association was formed almost five, six years ago I was brought on to really implement and grow the organization and really make an impact. Here we are, but I look forward to maybe coming back and telling you more about what we're doing to move the needle in Latinos in the boardroom.

LS

Leah Solorio, CEO/Founder N...

24:50

Absolutely love that. Is there any book that you feel really made an impact on you that you would like to share with the audience or a favorite quote? Well, thank you

EA

Esther Aguilera, President ...

25:01

a book that I highly, highly recommend. It's probably published, you know, more than 10 years ago, but for me, I think it's going to be it is a classic and always will be, and it is by Marshall Goldsmith. In fact, I have my bookshelf in my desk all the time. And it's titled, What Got You Here Won't Get You There. And really, the premise of this book is, you know, after you reach so many milestones let’s say in a particular job, and you had certain skill sets that helped you get advanced in that, your next level of advancement often will require different skill sets or building on your current skill sets. And so, it's being mindful of the same old, same old, it's just challenge roles that will open kind of new avenues for growth. And a big secret that I tell young professionals is that you know, CEOs their boards, do evaluations and say, okay, we've gotten the company this far, either the CEO will say, what do you think I need to develop more to help us get to the next role, or the board will see that and too often, as Latinos, we are and women also. We don't like to put ourselves in a vulnerable position that we can't take it all on. That is a fallacy. The smart thing to ask is, hey, I have achieved X, Y and Z and brought this project to a new level. You know, I'm ready for the next jump. Don't wait to be asked. You can always also ask about it and say, but at the same time, what do you think are my gaps and skill set that I need to develop? Either now or in that job to help me get there? That is a question of What Got You Here Won't Get You There? Because we have blind spots? And that's where asking, okay, so what am I missing? And what can I take on? Clearly, you've proven yourself in the past, we were kind of, especially as Latinas taught a while you don't want to sound vulnerable, or that you can't handle things. But in fact, men do it all the time.

LS

Leah Solorio, CEO/Founder N...

27:20

Thank you. That is so valuable.

EA

Esther Aguilera, President ...

27:24

Thank you. I have a quote by a dear friend. He was the late chairman and CEO of Kaiser Permanente name was Bernard Tyson. He passed away a couple of years ago, it was what a big loss and you know, he came and spoke to our LCDA Latino Corporate Directors Association Conference. One thing that he said that always stuck with me was that, you know, we have an incredible opportunity. We as a nation, as companies, as leaders, we have an incredible opportunity to help corporate America when we get in the room, we people of color Latinos, others when we get in the room, our contributions are going to be even more massive than what anyone expected by giving us a chance, saying it again That. We are Latino community or people of color. We have an incredible opportunity to help corporate America or really any other industry or sector, nonprofits. When we get in the room, our contributions are going to be even more massive than what anyone expected by giving us a chance. He's he was African American. He was just such a dynamic visionary. His words stick with me today. Give us a chance. you won't regret it. You'll see bigger expectations than you expected. We are resilient, we are resourceful. We're smart, we're strategic, and more to come.

LS

Leah Solorio, CEO/Founder N...

29:18

I agree. Thank you so much, Esther. This was wonderful.

EA

Esther Aguilera, President ...

29:23

Igualmente Leah. Un Placer, Mucho Exito, much success to you and keep on moving.

LS

Leah Solorio, CEO/Founder N...

29:32

What a career. Esther is a Latina who has made impact in our country, and she continues to do it. Her passion really caring about the Latino community. I support her efforts. Keep an eye on her. This is her legacy. That continues to unfold. I am so impressed. So happy that our paths crossed. If you didn't get a chance to take notes don't worry, I have the transcripts available for you. These podcasts are to support your job search efforts to inspire you to give you great advice for your advancement. Until next time, all the best. Connect with us at leahs@nspirecareers.com, NspireCareers.com N S P I R E C A R E E R S .COM and on Instagram. Thank you. We look forward to hearing from you. Bye