SHEro | "Spoken Into Greatness" feat. Alyson Martinez, 2025-2026 TYLA President

The newest episode of SHEro is officially here! This week, TYLA President Alyson Martinez shares a story she’s carried with her since childhood - a moment in a Laredo mall when a woman approached her mother, looked at five‑year‑old Alyson, and said, “Your daughter is going to do big things.”

In this episode, Alyson reflects on how that moment became a quiet source of confidence as she built her career in public service. She talks about what it means to be a first‑generation attorney, the support of her family, and the pride she carries in becoming the first TYLA President from Laredo.

Alyson opens up about the path that led her to leadership, the responsibility she feels to honor the communities that shaped her, and the importance of representation in the legal profession. As we celebrate Women’s History Month, her story is a powerful reminder of the women who lead with purpose, the families who lift them up, and the generations they inspire by stepping into roles no one before them has held.

This episode celebrates Alyson’s historic presidency and the legacy she’s building - one rooted in service, courage, and the belief that big things are possible when someone sees greatness in you early on.

🎧 Listen now: https://tyla.org/resource/shero-podcast/

#tyla #shero #womenshistorymonth #womeninlaw #womenwholead #leadershipjourney #firstgen #publicservice #trailblazer #representationmatters #laredotx #texaslawyers

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:09

We're listening to Shiro, a Texas Young Lawyers Association podcast celebrating the inspiring women shaping the future of law. Join us as we highlight powerful stories, share bold journeys, and honor the trailblazing women who continue to redefine what it means to be a Texas lawyer today. This is Shiro, where ambition meets inspiration.

SPEAKER_01 0:29

Welcome to the Shiro Podcast. I'm one of your hosts, Amber Holmes, and a city attorney in Laredo, Texas.

SPEAKER_03 0:35

And my name is Madison Wingle, and I'm a family law attorney at the Halden Wall First in Lewisville. Our guest today is Alison Martinez, the current Texas Young Lawyers Association president.

SPEAKER_01 0:47

Alison Martinez is a native of Laredo, Texas, is the first attorney in her family graduating from TSU's Third Good Marshall School of Law. She began her career at the Webb County Public Defender's Office advocating for indigent individuals. Currently, Allison is the director of the Webb and Sapata County Community Supervision and Corrections Department, serving as the legal advisor of the Probation Advisory Committee of Texas and contributing to the Texas Probation Association's Legislative Committee.

SPEAKER_03 1:16

In 2020, Allison became president of the Lorena Webb County Bar Association and participated in leadership as COT. She represented District 19 of TYLA for three years, earning the TYLA President Award of Merit in 2023, and later becoming the 2025 to 2026 TYLA president. Let's welcome our incredible guest to the show, Ms. Allison Martinez.

SPEAKER_04 1:43

Hi Allison. Hello, Madison. Hi Amber. Thank you all so much for having me.

SPEAKER_01 1:49

Absolutely. Before we jump into questions, I know Allison from our pretty much from our bar work, really, at the beginning. But mostly getting to know Allison was through our bar work.

SPEAKER_04 2:16

Yeah, I feel like sometimes I feel like I had to like wrangle Amber to come and join us at the Louis Road Loreto Webb County Bar Association and getting her to like even run for president at one point for her as well. And then she did a phenomenal job. And I was like, why weren't you doing this the entire time? So yeah, Amber and I go way back and we're good friends. And um it's been such a pleasure to like go through my years of experience and tenure through the practice of law with her as a friend.

SPEAKER_01 2:50

And I'm super excited because she she also pulled me into TYLA as well. Um and it's been such an incredible experience to be part of it together with her and to be representing Laredo, you know, a relatively small community in Texas, and to have so much representation on the bar, it's pretty cool. Um, so you, Allison, are the first attorney from Laredo to hold the petit position of TYLA president. Uh, when you first got your nomination and then when you were elected, what kind of was going through your mind at that time? Like, kind of tell us about your feelings and um what that experience was like for you.

SPEAKER_04 3:30

Yeah, so I kind of decided a little bit late in the game for as far as TYLA goes, um, that I was potentially seeking a nomination for president-elect. A lot of the times what you'll see through different directors while you're on the board is you see them plant the seeds really early on and they're talking to lots of people. Um, as I've been president-elect and president, I've definitely had conversations with interested candidates, you know, really early on in like our earlier meetings of the year. And it wasn't really until November of the year that the year before I got the nomination that I was like, I think I want to do this. And it started from, you know, conversations with friends, fellow directors, who were encouraging me to run. But I, you know, I just did not think I had done enough work. I had served as a director for three years. I had served as a chair of a committee, but I was not serving as an executive committee member. And so I just did not think that I had the experience to be able to then throw my hat in the ring for the highest position in TYLA, right? You know, I was just like, I still have some building blocks I need to climb before doing this. And it was a late-night conversation with one of our uh former directors, William Biggers, who is a dear friend. And um he said something like, Well, whatever Allison wants, she'll get because she's so respected on the board. And I remember thinking, since when? You know, I was so surprised that he said that. Because, you know, I've always been the kind of person that just sits down, does a work. I let my work speak for itself. And that can go your way or not, because there could be people that notice it, and there could be a lot of people that don't notice it, right? Like I'm not boastful about myself. I just am not, it's just not in my nature, which is interesting because I'm a Leo, but you know, we can get into why astrology is not always accurate. But um, so yeah, so that was the first time that I really started to take it seriously, other than, you know, having just friends encourage me. And then after that late night conversation, I start having more serious daytime conversations with people about what that looked like. And so coming fast forwarding to January at our nominations meeting, getting the nomination meeting with the committee, um, talking to them about why I wanted to do it. Before then, I really had to think with myself, right? You know, there's the way TYLA works is there is one year for small city candidates and then the other year for large city candidates. So I had to tell myself, if I don't do it this year, I'm eligible in two years. But what if something happens between now and then that will make me not be able to do this? Am I going to be sad that I didn't have this, that I didn't take advantage of this opportunity when it was there for me the first time around? Um, and this is not even me knowing that I would get the nomination, but you know, just really being having that honest conversation with myself. And I said, yes, this is something I really want to do. I think I could do a good job with it. I think I have the support. And so let me go all in this time around. And so meeting with a committee was nerve-wracking. Anyone in TYLA can tell you that. Um, but it I walked out knowing that I did what I needed to do to put myself out there and put my intentions out there. And um walked out with a nomination against a very, very, very dear friend and great friend of mine, Michael Hansen. And I knew I was I was excited. I was excited, a little bit stunned. Um, I gave a quick one-minute speech as much as I could, as best as I could, and um just walked out of that meeting, feeling a lot of support and love from everyone in the board. Um, and even from, you know, my my uh opponent, Michael, right? And I knew it was going to be a fun experience that we were gonna be able to do together. And so we campaigned, we did all the things, tears were shed, anxiety spiked, all the things. Um, and it's it was April 30th, I remember, and we we knew we were getting the results that day. And uh we got a text kind of early on in the day from Michael Ritter, who was our nomination's chair at the time, um, telling us that he was going to text us with the results. And I left work early because I couldn't be at the office. Everyone here knew what was happening, everyone knew it was the day. So I needed to not be around anyone that wasn't my mom and dad and my niece. And uh I went home. I was like waiting by the phone, holding my mom's hand, and then we get a text, you know, Michael Ritter telling us, you know, that I like giving us the results and and saying Allison took the majority, and so she won. Um, and she is the next president elective TYA. And I just remember like feeling disbelief, you know. I wish we would have recorded the moment, but you know, it was just like a lot of disbelief because it wasn't easy to to run the campaign, go all across the state of Texas. But then also feeling so much gratitude for being able to do it. It definitely was one of those things where once you finish it, you feel this sense of like, I can do hard things.

SPEAKER_01 9:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 9:20

Like running a marathon, climbing a mountain, things like that. Like that's what this campaign felt for me. Um, I definitely had a lot of pride then mixed with responsibility because I am not if anything but type A. Um, and I immediately started to think of all of the things that I wanted to do. And if I'm being fair and honest, right, I remember thinking if I don't win, the one thing I'm gonna be upset about, I'm not gonna be upset if Michael wins because he is a great human being, he will make a great TYLA president. I remember thinking the one thing I will be upset is that I don't get to do the things that I've been talking about for the last month. Right. Like I just wanted to get out and do the work and represent TYLA the best that I could. And so right away when I got the the the yes, right, my wet my mind went to work. And so I just definitely had the energy of like, I hope I do this right, right? More so than anything. So, and then of course, you know, jumping into like thinking, and I I talked about it a lot in the campaign, like I would be the first president to represent Laredo. So my mind goes to Laredo, and my mind goes to all the people that have come before me, all the directors that have come from Laredo who um have like paved the way for me to represent our city, our community. And, you know, and and really quickly thinking about like why representation matters, why it's important to have someone from the smaller community on the border of Texas, right? Why, why our voices are important in the larger statewide community. And making sure that I always remembered that, and making sure that when when making plans and projects and all the things, that was always at the forefront of my mind.

SPEAKER_01 11:13

I know that the, I mean, the way that our election system works for TYLA, um, for those who don't know, there is like an elections committee and for the executive board, um, they interview everybody that's currently part of TYLA or a director, the current board, um, and then they, you know, they pick two people for each position position. Um and I think for all of us, I mean, that do the work on the board, because you're working with these people so closely on projects and when we go do our actual meetings in person, um, most of us like each other quite a bit. And so it's kind of uh an uncomfortable, but in like a very positive way to like be pitted against somebody that you like and you admire and you respect. Um and so that's I think something that is an interesting part of the elections process for TYLA is because usually your opponent is somebody that you do know pretty well and usually you like them or respect them. So I think the positive from that is, you know, what you said is if they were to have won you you would have been happy and supportive of them. Um, but at the same time, like going through especially the president-elect where you have to campaign throughout the whole state, you do have to have a platform. And so talking about all of these different projects and these goals and things like that, I think that would have been really difficult to just let go of um for you. But luckily for us, we got to have you anyway.

SPEAKER_04 12:56

Yeah, and I think it's a testament to the culture of TYLA, right? The the the closeness that we all feel with one another. And I always I always say this, it's crazy because we really only see each other four times a year, but we work with each other so well, like through projects, through all the things that we do throughout the year, that really the the four times we get to be in community with one another, we do it to like check in on each other, right? And so it's that legacy was what I was also so proud to be representing and to be at to to to take a leadership role in, right? It was never about me, it was never about TYLA is so much bigger than me or anyone who runs for president. It was always about this organization, the good work it does, and wanting to just usher it into the future and what we can do, you know?

SPEAKER_01 13:51

Yeah. And also with your um, usually when you speak to the committee or to the public and on social media, I know you like to share um some of the different phrases and things like that that your your parents um kind of said to you a lot when you were young. Um which leads me to the question that I wanted to ask about um your leadership. Is there a moment from your early life or childhood that really shaped the kind of leader that you wanted to become or that you did become?

SPEAKER_04 14:23

Um, so I think I'm gonna share a story that I don't really share that much. I've only shared it one other time before. I think um it was, and it was recently this past year at leadership SVOT. And so uh when I was little, I don't know, I think it was like probably three or four years old. My mom says that we were, so I don't truly remember this. This is all coming from my mother's memory. Um, my mom says we were at the mall, and um my dad was, I think it was cold outside, so he was pulling the car over to the front to like pick us up at the front. So she was sitting at the bench right by the door, um, waiting for him. And this woman comes up to us, her and myself, and she asks my mom if she could touch me, which, you know, sounds kind of crazy, but in Laredo, it's kind of it's like it's very uh in Mexican-American like culture, it's kind of um customary because we we like it's an evil eye thing, right? Like you're gonna touch you so nothing bad can happen to you. We're not gonna give you like an evil eye kind of thing. So my mom was like, yeah, of course. And this is like early 90s, so she just doesn't really think about it too much. I think nowadays there is a bit more skepticism. Um, and so she says yes. And as this woman is like touching me, like I think she just like probably holds my hand or something, like it wasn't intense. She looks at my mom and she tells her, this little girl has the brightest future in the world, and she is gonna grow up to be something really big and really great. Um, she can grow up to even be governor of the state of Texas and stuff. And so, um, you know, yes, it sounds woo-woo. We don't know who this woman is. We've never seen her again in our life. Maybe we have, but I I'm obviously I don't remember this story from like how like I don't remember it. My mom is the one that remembers it. But it just kind of like planted a seed, probably in my mom, more so than anyone, in like trying to usher me into places where I could be a leader, right? Like I think it it could be a self-fulfilling prophecy of of of any kind, whatever it could be. But she was just like, okay, then I must give her all the opportunities in the world to make sure that this becomes reality. And you know, and so I think that that was probably an early instance where my life started to take shape, right? Whether, whether it's an actual like prophecy of something that's supposed to come true, or whether it's just, you know, uh something that's gonna influence the way my life pans out, whatever it was, it obviously played a role. My mom still says, I don't say it as much, but my mom says a story to anyone who's willing to listen. So um, and you know, she she says that this woman was like very serious and very moved by by just like touching me. So um, but anyways, you know, it's so I grew up wanting to be a journalist. Um, that's why like I really enjoy writing my Texas Bar journal articles because that's what I wanted to do. I wanted to be a columnist. I read a lot of um books by Anne Quinlin, who won the Pulitzer Prize for her column um many years ago. And that's what I wanted to do. I wanted to be her, you know, and and it was just about her life and her upbringing and all the things. And so being able to do that has been like one of my favorite things of this presidency. But that's what I wanted to do. And as I was um growing up and like in college and stuff, I realized, well, I felt like I was on the outside looking in with journalism. I felt like there was so much that I could talk about, so much that I could explore, but I wasn't at the helm of helping people, of influencing anything. And so I and I and not saying that journalists don't do that, I just didn't f feel like it was for me, right? And I wanted to be a bit more hands-on with whatever it was that I wanted to do. And so I've always been interested in politics, and my minor was in political science. And so I then went and interned on Capitol Hill and thought that I would do that. But you know, a lot of the staffers there go to law school because you need to know the legislative process to be able to influence it or assist with it. And so I remember telling my mom, like, okay, fine, because she was insistent on me going to law school. And so I remember telling her, like, okay, fine, I'll go to law school, but I'm not gonna take the bar because I don't like tests and I don't want that kind of pressure. I just, it's not for me. And so she was like, okay, sure, fine, whatever. So I start, I take a year off after graduating from law from undergrad, start studying for the LSAT, and then I start working at the federal public defender's office. And I just knew that that's where I wanted to be, right? Like I loved being in court, I loved talking to the people one-on-one, I loved helping them. And a lot of them had problems that like go far beyond the criminal cases that they had, and trying to figure out a way to help them the best that you could. And that's where I felt like that was the kind of work that I wanted to be doing. And I think in high school, I like took a test and it wasn't those like crazy like career tests that was like you should be a blackjack dealer or something like that. It was, it was just kind of like, where should you like what kind of profession should you do? And mine was like social, like probably something like really social, like in like the social work environment, not work essentially, but anyways, it said like work with people.

SPEAKER_01 20:30

Right.

SPEAKER_04 20:30

And I'm a natural extrovert, so that makes full sense to me. And so I just so yeah, and I mean, and and regardless like whether or not my mom is trying to influence me to go to law school or not, I think this desire to help people really comes from my parents, right? Like it comes from their desire to always help people at in any walk of life and and at any point, right? My parents were the kind of people that like opened their doors to our home to family members who needed them, right? For any reason. Um, my dad was the kind of person that opened our car door to strangers that we met at Walmart and you know, took them to the bridge because we just needed to get a ride there. Um, while we were in the back of the car, was it the safest thing? No. Was it the right thing to do in his mind? Yes, right. Um, my parents have always been the type to like offer second, third chances to people. And so I learned a lot about what it is to be a charitable person, to what it is to give back as much as you are given through them. And that's I think that's the foundation of everything, right? Because at the at my core, I am the happiest and most fulfilled when I'm helping others. Yeah, and that is why um that is why I do what I do, that's why I'm so invested in public service, that's why I I love being a part of organizations like TYLA is because we give back so much. And so whether it's the woo-woo stories or the influences on going to law school, whatever it is, at the at the end of the day, it was my parents, and they're just a big influence on me and their closeness to me that has really shaped my leadership.

SPEAKER_02 22:25

You're a first-generation attorney from a loving and supportive Mexican-American family. Were there moments in your career when you felt the weight of being the first? And how did you navigate those?

SPEAKER_04 22:38

Yeah, so I'm the first like generation lawyer in my family. I'm also an eldest daughter. So if you believe all the Instagram um theories or you know, literature on being an eldest daughter, you know that there is a lot of pressure on you to like be the example for your family. And I just have one younger, like my younger brother, right? And I'm very much his second mom, right? And so I knew that I've never felt pressure from my family to be, you know, because I was the first, right? Like they, as as supportive as they were, they also were expecting of me to do good things and to do great things and to take advantage of the opportunities that they have given me. So there wasn't really like, oh yay, you did it. We're so proud of you. You can do no wrong. Like it was still like, okay, you're gonna do what next, right? Like that, that's that's also the pressure that I think of being a first generation that no one talks about is like, oh yay, but we're not done. You're not done, right? And I've never felt like I've been done. And so um I think you know, it's it for me, I I went to undergrad, I stayed in Laredo for undergrad, um, because you know, that's just what worked out financially, right? I had a full ride here at Texas AM National University. And but I make sure to use that opportunity to like still open my eyes and open my mind to as many experiences as I possibly could. So I made study abroad a priority, I made internships, getting internships in places not just in Laredo, a priority, right? Like I made of my undergraduate experience as much of it as possible, right? And probably the first time that I really felt like I was in places where people did not sound or look like me was when I was on the hill, right? And you know, there was it's such a culture to be on the hill and to work as an intern there, and there's so many unwritten rules, and you just don't know it. And then you go to law school, and I went to Houston for law school. It's that same feeling, but just magnified by a thousand percent, right? Because there are people walking in who have family who's been lawyers and they just know how everything works, and I didn't, right? I I just did not have that background knowledge. I didn't have that on that guidebook that everyone seemed to have, right? And I didn't know what OCIs were. I didn't know that you needed to have an internship for your 1L summer. I didn't know all of the things, and I had to figure it out as I went. I had to stick by the people that I trusted, the professors that were encouraging me, and ask questions and observe and figure it out as best as I could. You know, one of uh what I get asked quite a bit, like, what's the best piece of advice that you've gotten? And um it was at Wendell orientation, it was one of my tutors, Jason Oxner. Um, he said, um, the best advice that I will give you is to not listen to anyone else's advice. And um, and he was saying it kind of, I think he was a little jaded at this point. He was a three y'all ready to leave. But he was, you know, he said it be meaning you know what's best for you. You have to trust that you're gonna know what is gonna work for you. You're not gonna know it right away. It's gonna be trial and error, but don't feel like you have to follow someone else's plan because everyone else is trying to figure it out, even if they if it feels like they have it figured out, we're all just trying to figure it out. And that kind of like got me to wake up and think like, okay, it doesn't matter if you have this whole legacy. Like, yes, fine, you have a leg up, but we're also we're taking the same tests, you know, we're studying for this, we're doing the same rating, we're writing the same essays, right? We're doing the same legal work, you know. And I can make of this experience, like I did an undergrad, as much of my own as I possibly could. And that's and from then on, like that's what I did, right? It didn't matter if I didn't have the guidebook. I was making my own guidebook for myself, and it's not appropriate for everyone else. Maybe there's a doppelganger of me somewhere that's going to be appropriate for, but it really was just for myself, you know.

SPEAKER_02 27:20

Could you talk about your presidential flagship project for the public? What inspired its development and what do you hope is its everlasting effect?

SPEAKER_04 27:31

Yeah, so um when thinking of like what I wanted the my big project for TYLA to be, I was thinking a lot about what I was passionate about. And if you would have asked me at the beginning of my career that it would have been public service, I would not have believed you because I went into my like career as a lawyer thinking I was gonna do two years at the DA's office. Now I know the public defenders, I was gonna do two years at the DA's office, and then I was gonna go off on my own, start my firm, and do what like every Laredo attorney does, right? Like and just kind of go off on my own and build my own career and figure it out as I went. But then, you know, I started at the public defender's office kind of begrudgingly. Um, and that was because the DAs didn't have positions, right? And um, it also was like a it was one of the nevers in my life that I've said before. So like I had said, like I I loved in my time at the federal public defenders, but like being a state public defender felt like oh, that was just too heavy because these were like actual like crimes against people, right? And so I was like, I don't know if I could do that. I I never want to be, so I said I never want to be a public defender for Webb County. And of course, the universe and or God or whatever laughed at me and was like, oh, you said never. This is exactly what you're gonna do now. And so um I started and I was like, I'm just gonna do this for one year and I'll move over to the prosecutors. You know, it's gonna be fine. Like we're just we just have to endure as much as we can. And of course, I went in and I fell in love with it. I got to work with the clients. Everything that I fell in love with at the Federal Public Defenders was present here, and even more so, right? Because we just had so much more interactions with our clients. We we were helping them with like these really some very complex cases, some not as complex, some that really showed the humanity of them as people, some that really showed the difficultness of their circumstances. And so it was really easy to put them as a person with them as a case, right? Like I was able to marry the two a lot quicker. And so I just I fell in love with it. And then our office grew a little bit, and we got a social worker that was helping with mental health cases. And so I loved that we were as a department trying to be innovative and be more holistic in our representation of these clients and trying to give them the resources that had they had from the very beginning, they probably wouldn't have ended up in the criminal justice system, right? And so um, you know, just really like learning about people's stories and seeing them. And so I knew from that moment that, you know, whenever we were expanding our department, right, when we were getting our social worker, we also had an immigration attorney that was advising us on the immigration aspects of criminal cases, right? Um how what we do as a department affects the health of our communities, right? Like if we invest our resources into this, we could potentially be stopping someone from entering the justice system or re-entering it time and time again. And so around COVID, I was at the public defenders for a little over five years, and I was starting to hit a wall, right? Like I was starting to feel like this is great, this is wonderful, I feel like I want to do more. And um I just wasn't ready to like leave my office. It was a great department, great bosses, great coworkers. I was so happy, but I just, you know, I knew it was time for something more. I wasn't actively looking, and then came along my my role now, which is probation. And I thought, like, I really kind of want to do this because I think I can expand my reach while doing this, right? And so that really, that whole trajectory, I know like I'm talking a lot about my my career history, but I think that trajectory informed me to create this project, right? To show how our departments help our communities, right? And I'm such a community-centered person. I love being from Laredo, I love living in Laredo. I came back to Laredo from Houston because I wanted to give back to my community, to give back to the place that raised me. And I know that so many people who are in public service roles have that same desire and that same passion for doing what they do. And quite frankly, public service roles are not the flashiest, they're not the sexiest, they're not the most enticing. People don't typically go to law school and say, I want to be a government attorney the rest of my life. That's not what you hear. It's big law that takes all the attention, it's corporate jobs that take all the attention and the benefits and the travel and all the things. And it's great. It's it's wonderful. And there's a place and a time for that. But I wanted to give my roses and my attention to the attorneys that are day in, day out feeding our communities, that are doing what we need to do to maintain the health of our communities. And um, we're creating resources, we're sharing stories of different people that we're highlighting through it, through our website, also through podcasts. Um, so you'll hear more about how they came through to become public service attorneys. We're also creating so many resources for law students who are interested in public service jobs and how they can get more informed and more involved. Um, and so it's not just a storytelling project, it's also hopefully going to be a resource that is going to help a lot of students. I'm and we're hopefully unveiling this to law schools so that they have a project that they could use to entice people to go into public service jobs in the future.

SPEAKER_01 33:56

Yeah, I think that uh also being a first-generation lawyer going to law school, I didn't know any attorneys or anyone who was an attorney before I went to law school. So I didn't really understand um the types of jobs that were out there. Um most of even while I was working in law school and doing internships, it was all for private firms, like small firms, boutique firms. Um, and so like it is definitely something that especially the different types of government jobs, just putting them down on paper and seeing them, um, all the different types of ways that you can be a government um attorney, it's kind of mind-blowing. You kind of just think of, you know, the public defender's office and the district attorney's office when kind of when you're in law school, those are the most readily available to offer internships or experiences. And so to know that there's like also a federal side, and then there's also county attorneys, and you know, there's municipal attorneys, there's uh attorneys that work for state and federal agencies, like there's so many public service jobs for attorneys that I just feel like I when I was in law school, I didn't know. I didn't know that those opportunities existed. Um, and I do think with regard to public service, um, especially the people who uh are not just there for the job that are end up being drawn to it, like like you, um it's it's a certain personality that drive to like give back to the our own communities and make sure that we're taking care of the people who need it by sharing our experience and um our knowledge and trying to help build a better community. And I feel like I see I've seen that in you since the day like day one when you started working here. Um I think I was here a few just a few years before you started, and literally you came on the scene and you were like amazing, and that leadership quality, that star quality in you has been present since since the day I met you because I didn't know you in law school. I didn't know you till we started working here, but like literally you came and I was like, Oh, that's Allison. And um we do have a relatively smaller legal community, but I can see it shining through you, and I always have um that you've wanted to build up your community and provide as much help um and resources, and it's just continued, and it's so beautiful to see from our end um the other people working in Tyla and the people here in Laredo like to have a leader like you who's pulling us forward to try to provide more and more for our communities, and so I just I think I'm service-minded as well, and so it's been really nice to have a leader in you in our community as well to look to to help um give guidance because I've come to you so many times to be like, I need to get this done, and I don't have anybody else to ask, so Allison, I'm gonna ask you. So I'm sorry I'm asking again.

SPEAKER_04 37:17

Um, but never apologize for asking.

SPEAKER_01 37:20

We like we love to help, and I don't know how to say no, so which is not good advice, but you know, like Well, I don't either because I feel like it's in return too, because I know that you've called me and been like, Amber, I'm sorry, but there's nobody else. Um because we just gravitate towards each other, all of the people who have this mindset, and it it just is it is who we are. Um and so if a young attorney or young lawyers um were looking for leadership guidance, what do you think you what kind of advice would you tell them about being in leadership roles? Because I know that a lot of the young students that we talk to or work with, um they feel like they're not enough. Uh or because they come from maybe families that don't have money, don't have access. Um, what kind of things do you think you would tell young students or or people who are wanting to become attorneys and leaders if they were feeling like they didn't belong?

SPEAKER_04 38:28

Yeah. Um I think I mean, from based on my own personal experience, it one of the major things I would tell them is like, you may think you're not enough, but if someone tells you that you are, believe them, take their word for it, right? Um I understand feeling like that imposter syndrome like weighs heavy on all of our minds, right? Um I've I felt it even when it comes to TYA. But I think I I know that I'm the kind of person that isn't gonna go off and tell you about all of the great things that I have done throughout the years. I'm just gonna let my work speak for me. And if people see it great, and if they don't, then that's fine too. You know, like I'm not, and maybe I don't know. Again, this is one of the things where I'm like, I don't know how I'm a Leo, but um I I think it's it's it just that's that's the way I've been, right? Like I think it's probably comes from my upbringing, right? Like my mom really insisted on like, you know, just do the work and and the rest will pay off. And so I think also making sure that you're in rooms that align with those sets of values is important, right? If I was gonna be in rooms of people that only of only those who are boastful, only those who are the loudest are gonna be the lead or the leaders, even though they have improved leadership skills, well, I probably wouldn't be happy, right? Like because I would be looking for people for places that you really have proven leadership. And it's from noticing little things here and there. And that's why I love so much about TYLA's process of picking leaders is because it's a very vetted process. You don't just take into consideration what this current board is thinking, you also take into consideration like past leadership, what they've seen in order to continue to protect the legacy of this organization that we all love. And so I try now that I know, right, to find places where that align to those values, I align to those things that I'm looking for. If I'm not boastful, I don't necessarily want a leader that's going to be boastful either, right? Like I just naturally know this about myself. Um I uh so finding that place is it's and I think that that's why it's so easy to create so many connections, I've created so many beautiful friendships through TYLA because of that, because I think we're all we all come from the same value system, more so than anything, or at least most of us do. And so it's easy to build friendships and relationships off of that. Um I think putting yourself out there is the number one thing, right? Like I think confidence grows from actions, right? Like from from putting from from the actions of putting yourself out there and for asking for more responsibility and knowing, right? I remember my after my first May meeting, seeing like looking around the room and seeing, okay, I want to do more in this organization, right? Like I realized that I was I didn't get any awards after my first year. And to my defense, it was um I started TYLA. I went to my first TYLA meeting, and I asked for permission to be a little bit late because I was interviewing for my current job. So, which I then got the week after. So I started TYLA at the same time that I started this job. So, as much as I wanted to be focused on TYLA, and as I much as I wanted to be engaged and grow and do as much as I could, there were two things. I was a first-year director, and you don't really know all of the ins and outs as a first-year director. There's some people that hit the ground running, and it's, you know, it's like Madison, who's done so much with this organization already, right? And Amber, you know, both of you all. Um, but I was not that person, right? I did not get rookie of the year. I did not, you know, or I don't think it's called Rookie of the Year. It's just like first year director of the year, right? You know, I did not get this award. I did not, I didn't get any awards. And I just thought to myself, like, okay, do I want to continue to sit in this room and not get awards, or do I want to increase my value in this organization? Right. Like, am I just doing this to be a placeholder for four years, or do I really want to grow? And um so then once we started to do committee assignments for the next year, they were asking who wants to be a chair. I was like, okay, it's decision time. And I decided that I wanted to increase my value with TYLA. Um, I really liked it. I wanted to continue to grow more. So then I volunteered myself for a committee chair. And then Michael Ritter was like, okay, cool, here's the big project. And so um, not by myself, my co chair. Was Courtney White, who is a one of my best friends at this point. And um, and we tackled it, and I was so lost and so confused. But and and it was scary to take on extra responsibility on top of your day-to-day and on top of everything that you do. But that's what gave me the confidence to then continue to say, okay, I feel like I've earned a place in this, in this, in this organization. I feel like I have done what, even though it's like crazy to think because I wasn't on executive committee or all the things, I think I've done enough to show how I can give back to this organization. And Courtney, you know, being the good friend that she was, you know, we were talking about nominations or all the things. She was like, Yeah, like I remember you at the beginning. You were also terrible at answering emails. Um, but then you like got better and you know, you grew. And I was like, you leave it to your best friends, to be fully honest with you, which I fully appreciate her for, but it's the truth, right? Like, I wasn't always like, I appreciate Amber saying, you know, I've always had the star quality. A lot of it has been fake until you make it, you know. Like I have been trying to prove to myself, and so you don't have to be the perfect director. You don't have to have all of the answers, not just director, wherever you are at in your life, right? You don't have to have all of the answers, but you have to decide if you want to grow wherever it is that you are. And if the answer is yes, I do want to grow, well, then put yourself out there and ask for the for the things and the places that are going to be a little uncomfortable, but that are gonna hopefully get you there. And you don't have to then decide that this is what you want to do. If at the end of the day you're like, you know what, I don't want a leadership role, that's perfectly fine too. But just, you know, open yourself up to it, right? Yeah. Um, don't wait to be invited, step forward, ask for the things, right? Um, and yeah, I think that's how you find belonging.

SPEAKER_02 46:11

If you could give your younger self one sentence of advice, what would it be?

SPEAKER_04 46:16

I feel like I've never been asked this question, which is crazy. Um I think I would say to not be afraid of the nevers, right? Like I said, like, and that's a longer, we could have a whole podcast about all of the times that I've said never and the universe has laughed at me, but to not be afraid of them and to not immediately write off things because you don't think that they're a fit. Things can fit in your life, and you don't have to know all of the answers. Um, and to also just like open your like open myself up to the possibilities of like what if, right? And so I was pretty stringent, very type A, um practical to a fault. So I don't think I closed myself off to tons of opportunities, but I think like because it didn't match with the plan that I had, I wrote a lot of things off, right? Like one of the, I don't have regrets, but one of the things I wish I would have done was in my gap year, I wish I would have gone back to Spain and like taught English for a year, you know. Like I think like it, but it didn't make any sense because I was like, well, I'm trying to go to law school, so what does that have to do with the law? Yeah, it doesn't have to make sense, but you know, I that would have been an experience of a lifetime, you know, like that one year thing. Yeah. And I just didn't do it because I was just like, it doesn't make sense. Like, I why would I do that? And you know, uh Julia Rubio, who's also a TYLA director in there, we talk about this a lot because we're not we weren't bred normal normally, right? Like we weren't we're not normal human beings, we're always thinking about the future and always planning for what comes next. And that's great to like have a plan, but also be flexible and also like you know, so like don't be afraid of the nevers, don't be afraid of the what ifs, don't be afraid of things that are outside of your plan and just kind of go with the flow a little bit more. I think, yeah, that's that's what I would tell my younger self.

SPEAKER_01 48:30

It's easy, um, as a not an older person, but like a person who's able to look back and reflect on how those things would be beautiful in the fabric of our lives. And it like you said, it's not really a regret, but how enriching that experience might have been to your life overall. Um, and so it's always, you know, hindsight is 2020. Looking back, there's so many times where I've said too, like, I wish I would have taken that opportunity. And because it's not part of that life plan, we're always where we're going.

SPEAKER_04 49:05

Yeah, and I mean, you never know, like things happen for a reason. I could have gone to Spain and never come back, right? Like so, you know, maybe this is the way it was supposed to work out, but I just it bugs me that I didn't even think of it, you know. Like I didn't think of it until I was like in my 30s. I was like, why didn't I do that? So yeah, but but I also believe things happen for a reason, so it's it's okay.

SPEAKER_01 49:29

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, somehow life brought me to Laredo 13 years ago, and now I'm just part of the community now. Yeah. I lived here longer than most places I've ever lived in my whole life, so it's definitely my home. Um but we're gonna ask you our our closing question, what we ask all of our guests, um, and how we like to close out the show. And if you would tell us who maybe the Shiro or Shiro's are in your life and the women who have inspired you.

SPEAKER_04 50:05

Um, I definitely am gonna use this opportunity to shout out two amazing women who without whom we we and I mean all female TYLA presidents, all female state bar presidents would not be here with um, and that is Barry Crawley and Harriet Myers. Barry was our first TYLA president, uh, first female TYLA president. She actually told me she received her nomination in Laredo. And so if you listen to that podcast, she shares that. Um and uh Harriet Myers, who is just an incredible human being, does so much for the Texas Access to Justice Commission, was the first female state bar of Texas president. So I think in this present moment, because we're talking about my two LA presidency and all the things, I think it is important to mention the two of them just because I'm I feel like in this present moment in time I'm standing on their shoulders, you know? And um, and they continue to make space for women today, right? You know, there's never been a conversation that I've had with either one of them that has not been supportive, that has not been encouraging. And uh I'm so grateful for for them having the courage to be the first, um, because and it led to so many afterwards, um, so many amazing um legal legends and and fierce women who've come before. Um but I think the you know, if I'm talking locally, you know, my two judges, Judge Palomo and Judge Notson, have been such great supporters of mine individually. They're also my bosses. Um I'm not just saying it because they're my bosses, yeah, but they are women who are have family at the forefront of their lives and have also dedicated themselves to life of public service and who've, you know, always given an encouraging um moment to me at times, right? Judge Notson will whisper like encouraging things to me, like at our monthly Board of Judges meetings, and of course, Judge Palomo swore me in um as president of the Texas and Lawyers Association. So she's just been someone that has been constant in my life. Um, I she her kids were at my mom's school, and um she had a conversation with my mom when I was starting, and I had to go to court with her the next day, and she was like, Um, Miss Martinus, I met your mother yesterday and she told me who you were. And I told her that I'm never gonna forget you and I'm always gonna be looking out for you, which was terrifying to hear from a judge on a bench, but she meant it in the sweetest and most supportive way, and I love to say that I'm scared of her a little bit, but just like I'm scared of my mom. So um she definitely is someone that I look up to and um that I frame. Uh and I think the most important shiros of my life are my mom. My greatest inspiration for life is her. I think her and my dad also um have are the perfect example of a life well lived. They have worked so extremely hard to give my brother and I everything that they didn't have and have made it a mission of their life to give us more than they've ever had. And um, and that comes with material things, but most importantly comes with opportunities. And um she is, you know, she she's scary, terrifying, um, but so encouraging and so grounded in who she is, so unapologetic of who she is. Whenever, you know, she gets mad at someone or she has a strong opinion or something, and I see everyone scurry away, I'm always like, man, I want to be that. You know, like people respect me the way that she does. We're very different people personality-wise, but very much someone that I always look up to. And of course, my grandmother, um, my maternal grandmother, who was the light of my life. Um, I don't care what my older cousins say, I was her favorite. Um, they she I spent day after day with her because she was my daycare, essentially, right? When my parents, my both my parents were working, she would take care of me. Um, she would take me to mass every day. Um, but as I've grown older and I've learned more about her, I knew how fervent she was about education and she did it all by herself, you know, not not because my grandpa wasn't around, but because he was working in San Antonio. So she took care of six kids. Five kids. I'm sorry. She took care of five kids, got them through school, made her like made their education a priority, was like very embodied. She didn't have an education herself, but she knew that that was the way that her kids were gonna be advancing in the world. And um I just think, you know, she is because of her that you know I'm here today. And she, it's funny because, you know, she passed away when I was in the seventh grade when I was 12. And there have been many moments in my life where I'm just like, man, she would have been so proud, but she would not let me do this. You know, like she would have been like, oh, that's great. You want to go to Spain? Absolutely not, but I'm so proud of you. Like, oh, that's great. You want to travel all over Texas, wonderful, absolutely not. You're not gonna do that. So um, you know, I I know that she's wherever she is, she's looking down on me, real proud. And so, yeah, um that's my short list for today. And it's and it's a short list because there's so many people that have continued to inspire me. You all always inspire me.

SPEAKER_01 56:15

So well, you inspire us. I mean, seeing you another female attorney that's up TYLA, and then also somebody that I get to work with personally on a regular basis, and just seeing you as a leader in our own community, like you are to us. And so thank you for for joining us today and for sharing with us. Um, and we look forward to seeing you at our next meeting. I will see you before that, I'm sure, but everybody else uh probably at our next meeting. But thank you.

SPEAKER_04 56:53

Yes, thank you, Allison. It was so fun. Thank you all. This was a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_00 56:59

Thank you for joining us on Shiro. These stories of first-generation women lawyers and women of color remind us that breaking barriers helps to build bridges for the future. You can find this episode along with all past and upcoming ones on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Until next time, keep leading, lifting, and writing the next chapter.