Dalia Colon Multimedia Journalist

YouTube Link to this interview.

https://youtu.be/vKEiYojpNIc

To learn more about Dalia Colon visit

thezestpodcast.com (@thezestpodcast)

wedu.org/artsplus (@wedupbs)

daliacolon@gmail.com (@daliacolon)

Find The Florida Vegetarian Cookbook wherever books are sold.

Show Notes

Ruby the dog playing behind Dalia was okay! Chickens and roosters in Ybor City have been grandfathered in

Resources

Key West Arts & Historical Society Q&A

DSS | Telling Florida's Food Stories with Dalia Colón
KWAHS1949

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cuhivCvJqw

FORUM: The Magazine of Florida Humanities

https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/forum_magazine/

WEDU Arts Plus Kimberli Cummings

https://www.pbs.org/video/1026-kimberli-cummings-e38cen/

WEDU Arts Plus Kitty Daniels

https://www.pbs.org/video/1103-kitty-daniels-jsj93y/

WUSF The Zest Podcast with The Splendid Table’s host Francis Lam

https://www.facebook.com/TheZestPodcast/posts/1315235727270451/

WEDU America’s Test Kitchen Live Event with Julia & Bridget

https://www.wedu.org/blogs/station-news/americans-test-kitchen-2025-live-event/ 

The Commodore

https://www.facebook.com/events/811-e-7th-ave-tampa-fl-united-states-florida-33602/salud-and-happy-days-with-guest-storyteller-dalia-colon/676052848166352/?locale=is_IS

Columbia Restaurant

https://www.columbiarestaurant.com/

Shout out to Mel Robbins and Angela Duckworth talking about “Purpose”.

Mel Robbins: How to Create a Successful Mindset: The Science of Passion and Perseverance

https://youtu.be/rmW3Afu9npY?si=SVJYUiK2d29scKuE

Transcript

SOS Dalia Colón Multimedia Journalist 010226

00:00

Louise Krikorian: Hi, I’m Louise Krikorian and this is Shaping Our Story where we talk with exemplary leaders to reveal their success. Today we're speaking with a woman who’s face covers the front of the PBS TV station in Tampa, Florida, where she is associate producer and cohost of the WEDU Arts Plus TV series. She started writing for a local newspaper, but quickly became an Emmy Award–winning multimedia journalist. She is executive producer and host of The Zest podcast from WUSF Public Media and NPR Network. She is a former James Beard Awards judge. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Los Angeles Times, and Gravy, the journal of the Southern Foodways Alliance, but I’d like to point out that while she is a success in her profession, she also has a loving husband, his name is Braulio, a twenty-six-year-old stepdaughter, thirteen-year-old daughter, a nine-year-old son, and a one-year-old puppy. I look forward to spending time with you and Dalia Colón (dah-LEE-ah co-LOAN). She has taught me a thing or two abou cooking through her first and recent book The Florida Vegetarian Cookbook, which won the Florida Book Awards Gold Medal for Cooking.

LK: Welcome Dalia Colón. Thank you so much for spending time with us today.

Dalia Colón: Thank you so much for the invitation. 

LK: Yes. Well, you are so accomplished. I am just amazed at everything that you do and how you balance your work and your home life is amazing. Um, I know that um, you have your one-year-old little Ruby with you with your dog. 

DC: Yes. My little fur baby. 

LK: Yes. So maybe we'll see Ruby. Maybe we won't. Maybe we'll hear Ruby. (Laughs) It is all organic.

DC: For sure. 

LK: Um, so recently I watched a talk that you gave in Key West. And it was about Florida's Food History: Past, Present, and Future. And this is a project that you've been doing with The Florida Humanities, um, Florida Talks Program where you've been, um, a freelance writer for the magazine. And you started that in the summer of 2024. So what, what I really picked up on in that talk, and I will include a link to that talk because it's a wonderful talk. 

DC: Thank you. 

LK: That you are working as a lead scholar with a Smithsonian. 

DC; I know it's, it's kind of insane. It's funny how like one decision leads to another, to another, to another. So sort of my journalism background led me to producing the Zest podcast. Which then led me to hosting when the host left, and that gave me a little more visibility. So I've been writing the Heritage Kitchen column, which is all about Food for Florida Humanities uh, magazine called Forum for the past couple years, and then this is such a cool opportunity that came up. It's a collaboration between the Smithsonian, like the Smithsonian, Florida Humanities and seven historical societies around the state and we're bringing food related museum exhibitions to these towns, whether it's in their library, community centers, those places that everybody in the community has access to and we're telling the story of the town through food, and I just love that so much. That's, that's right in my wheelhouse because we all eat and we have sort of the micro level of, you know, what you ate for breakfast today, and then the macro level of what we as a community have been eating for decades. Not only our food, but also our food ways, which is, you know, not just what we eat, but like how we prepare it, why we make it that way, what the significance is. So this has been so much fun. I've learned a ton, and I'm excited for everybody to see these exhibitions. They should start rolling out in early 2026. 

LK: So where can they see them? 

DC: So they're actually all across the state. Um, there's one in, uh, Hastings. There's one in Key West. There's one in, let's see, some of the places are escaping me now, like the Fort Pierce area, but if you go to the Florida Humanities website, there will be an interactive map and you'll be able to see which sites are closest to you.

LK: Okay. So it sounds like road trip.

DC: Totally. 

LK: (Laughs) We will bring Ruby with us. 

DC: Oh my gosh. Let's not, and say we did. (Laughs)

LK: So you have a background in journalism, so I wanna talk about that. But then you also have a master's degree in education. 

DC: I know it doesn't add up. You have one too. (Laughs)

LK: I do, I do. Well, the interesting thing that I found is one of the things, 'cause we have a lot in common, or one of the things that we have in common was that I got my graduate degree in Philadelphia. Which is where…

DC: Small world.

LK: I know. Which is where your mom is from, right? 

DC: Yes, it sure is. Yeah. I have a lot of family in Philadelphia. My grandfather, who's 102, still lives in Philadelphia. 

LK: Oh my gosh. 

DC: Yeah. But my mom was an elementary school teacher, so I’ve always loved learning. My dad worked at a community college. 

I love reading. I'm a word nerd. And I studied journalism and Spanish in college, and then I thought I might wanna be a Spanish teacher. So I got my master's in Spanish education. I actually taught high school Spanish in Akron, Ohio for a year.  And my mom, knowing what education is like and knowing what I'm like, said, Dalia, you're not gonna like it. This isn't for you. Of course she was right. Always listen to your mother. That's the moral, the story. But um. Yeah, so I have that degree and I use it on my own kids. 

LK: Yes. 

DC: So you know what I will say it. When you're studying education, it's so much about psychology, just getting the kids to pay attention, getting their attention. I mean, you know, this. So it does come in handy. It comes in handy when I'm interviewing people. You know, there's a concept in education called wait time, where you ask the kids a question and then you just let that awkward silence ride out while you wait for them to answer. That's very useful in interviewing people. Um, just finding out what motivates people if they're nervous, how to make them more relaxed. So it wasn't a waste of time, it just didn't, um, play out the way I thought it would. 

LK: Right. So you were in Ohio? 

DC: Yep. 

LK: And that's where you got your degree, but where did you grow up? 

DC: I grew up in Ohio. I'm from Cleveland.

LK: Okay. 

DC: I'm a Cleveland girl. “Mistake on the Lake”. I love Cleveland. Um, and then I got my undergrad degree at Ohio University in Athens. I got my master's degree at Kent State University. And then a friend of mine from college, Autumn Sanders, had moved down to Tampa Bay to work at the then St. Petersburg Times now Tampa Bay Times. And she told me about a job opening and I thought, oh, you know, when you're in Ohio, who doesn't wanna move to Florida? I'll just stay for a year and you know, kind of go back to Ohio or see what happens next. But towards the end of that year I met Braulio, who is now my husband. 

LK: Wow. 

DC: And that was in 2005. I moved here.

LK: Wow. I moved here in 2003 and I only moved here for two years. That was my idea. 

DC: Sure. 

LK: Okay. This is 2026. 

DC: I know. I've been here for 20 years. I know. Louise, what are we doing? 

LK: I don't know. Yeah, I keep trying to go back to Philadelphia, so we'll see. But um, so it's interesting that you got your degree in journalism and then master's degree in education. When did you start your interest in writing because you wanted, you wanted to be a journalist or you wanted to be a writer in some way. How did that happen? 

DC: I always wanted to be a journalist. From the time I was little. I loved writing stories. You know, in my bedroom, in my childhood home, there are, you know, books bound with like contact paper and those like brads, I always loved writing stories and I love the creativity of nonfiction. I mean, I love to read fiction. I'm reading a novel right now, but I love sort of the boundaries of nonfiction and mining it for what's interesting or what we can learn from the truth. I think everybody's interesting. I really do like. I don't know, maybe it sounds conceited, but if I go to a party or something, you know how you wanna sit at the good table with the fun people? And I tell myself, any table I'm at is the fun table because I'm interested in everyone. And I, and everybody is here to have a good time. I just sort of go in with that expectation. 

LK: Right. Well, I love the fact that you always some, from what I see, you're always smiling. 

DC: Well, (Laughs)

LK: So 

DC: I don't know. I'm getting ready to yell at this puppy. She's eating some crayons right now. 

LK: So is that who we just saw? 

DC: It is Ruby. Come. Ruby, what'd she do? No, I don't have any. You want this? She could have the peanut butter on my spoon. 

LK: OoH.

DC: Ruby, look. What's this? What's this? Let's see if we can lure her. 

LK: I don’t think Ruby wants to come…

DC … lure her over. So. 

LK: You, you decided to get first.

DC: “Umph!"This is her first podcast. 

LK: Oh my goodness. 

DC: This is my first podcast. 

LK: What kind of jo? What kind of dog is she? 

DC: She's an Aussie Doodle, so Australian Shepherd with Poodle. All right. I'm gonna put her down. 

LK: And she's one-year-old. 

DC: One-year-old. First and last podcast. Here you can look this, she's looking the peanut butter off my spoon. (Laughs)

LK: So, so talking about peanut butter, I'm just really curious about. So you went from, you were a journalist, you were working at the, the Tampa Bay Times, in St. Petersburg here in FL, then somehow you start working on the Zest podcast, which brings you to food.

DC: Yeah.

LK: But, so now you've got two jobs. You, you are, you've already met your husband, Braulio. How many children do you have at that point? Because I know you have, you have three now.

DC: Correct.

LK: Ariel is 26. She's your stepdaughter. 

DC: Mm-hmm. So she was already in the picture. She was in the picture before I was, and then Nora is 13 and Benji is nine. 

LK: So, so how did, oh, I think I just saw Benji in the background. 

DC: Oh, probably. Yeah, no school today. 

LK: Is that okay with you? If he's 

DC: Totally, it's fine. 

LK: Okay, good. 

DC: He's kicking my daughter's volleyball around. (Laughs)

LK: We need permission for a nine-year-old to be on this podcast. (Laughs)

DC: That's true. We do. 

LK: Uh, so, um, so my curiosity is, you, you already have a position at the Tampa Bay Times. You're, you're working and you're writing for them. You're writing human interest stories. And then did you leave the paper to start working at WUSF, which is our radio station, national Public Radio for the University of South Florida to work to produce the um, the Zest podcast. 

DC: Not originally. So I was working at the paper. I can tell you the exact moment when I started with audio, I was working on the paper and I was, uh, writing a story about a woman named Tiffany White, who I'm still friends with. She was a teenager at the time and she was a beatboxer. She was amazing, and I thought, man. I need people to hear this. I wish I could put some of her audio on the web, but I had no idea how to do that. So my mentor, Jeff Klinkenberg, the amazing writer, Jeff Klinkenberg, who's now retired, um, he said, well, I know somebody at the radio station. So he introduced me and I became what they call an informal intern. And so I didn't have to be at work until 10:00 AM because I was an entertainment reporter. So lots of like late nights in Ybor and that kind of thing. So from say, seven to 9:00 AM I would go to the radio station a couple days a week. Then drive to the TV station and my only goal was to be able to produce, uh, a web piece about this beatboxer because at the newspaper they had said, “Oh, we’ll send someone with you. We’ll send one of our audio guys.” And I was like, “No. I wanna be the audio guy.” Like, “I wanna learn how to do this.” So I ended up having a few stories on the air. Bobbie O'Brien was amazing. 

LK: Oh.

DC: She's now retired. I know. 

LK: I love Bobbie.

DC: Shout out to Bobbie O'Brien. Um, yeah, so she was very patient with me. She taught me, um, audio production and so I, I did that story, went back to working at the newspaper, kind of forgot about it, and then, I don't know, it was, it had to be at least a year later, I get a call, “Dalia, you don't know me, but my name is Scott Finn and I'm the news director at…

LK: Oh, my gosh.

DC: “…WUSF.”  I had never met him. He was not the news director when I was there. But he said, “Hey, we have an opening for a health reporter and people have spoken highly of you. Do you wanna interview?” And I was like, “Sure.” Because at this point it's 2010, working for a newspaper was starting to feel like being on the Titanic and like a little bit of water is seeping in like. I gotta get off this boat and I love newspapers, but you know, the writing was on the wall. So I, um, took that job as a health reporter, learned a lot, learned some video production because that was another component of the job. And then from there. Um, collaborated with WEDU and then eventually a few years later, it's always, it's always these seeds you plant that sort of start to sprout a few years later, I get a call from Robin Sussingham, who was then, uh, an anchor at WUSF, “Hey, we're, we're applying for a grant to start a podcast. The topic is gonna be food in Florida and there are two slots we can put down, like executive, producer and host, and then we can put down producer. Can I put your name down? Are you interested?” And at this point, I had no idea how to produce a podcast. I know how to produce a radio story, but podcasting is a little different animal.

LK: Mm-hmm. 

DC: And I loved to listen to podcasts. I still do. I love listening to audio books. And I didn't know if they would get the grant, so I'm like, “Sure. Put my name down.” I remember I was washing dishes when she called. I was like, “Sure, put my name down.” Um, they did not get the grant, but by that point they were in love with the idea. Ruby was not in love with the idea. And she's barking at my son now. Yeah. They didn't get the grant, but they decided to move forward with, um, the podcast and so that's when I came on board first as sort of behind-the-scenes producer, and then later as the host and executive producer. 

LK: Yeah. So in March of 2021, we started hearing your voice.

DC: Oh wow. You know better than I do. Wow. (Laughs) You're amazing. 

LK: You know, like I said, you know, you and I are both. We both have our master's degree in education, and I think being in radio and TV and, and podcasting now you, you tend to do your homework. (Laughs)

DC: You and I are like sisters from another mister, because we both are in podcasting. We've both been in education and we both work in TV. 

LK: And I think the first time that I actually saw you was around December of 2021 because you introduced my WEDU Arts Plus segment about the ceramic artist Kimberly Cummings. 

DC: Yes. Wow. 

LK: Again, in February of 2022, you introduced my WEDU Arts Plus segment about the pianist and, uh, singer-songwriter Kitty Daniels.

DC: Yes. Oh, late Great Kitty Daniels. 

LK: I know. Oh.

DC: Amazing. So many names were dropping here. 

LK: But it's …

DC: This is awesome. 

LK: Yeah. But then I started, um, I started following you, um, not stalking.

DC: (Laughs) 

LK: but Social Media. I do remember hearing you on the Zest podcast. And then, um, we, we worked briefly together at USF. 

DC: Mm-hmm. 

LK: Um, I'm still on their books as a, um, as a professor I did teach, um. I did teach film at USF as well, but I was working with the library and so I called you in to talk to, um, to uh, Andy Huse and I at the library about starting a podcast. So I …

DC: that was so much fun. 

LK: I really appreciate it.

DC: I love that conversation. God rest Andy's soul. Miss the late great Andy. I mean, we're so lucky. Look at all the people we've gotten to meet. Amazing. And you among them I'm like …

LK: Well.

DC: … in awe. 

LK: Well, and thank you. But yes, it, it was a blessing to work together with Andy. And um, and then when I was following you again on Social Media, you said to me, 'cause I was showing up everywhere you were appearing. (Laughs) You're like, “You're everywhere.” Well, I just, I thought one of the funniest things that you ever did that I ever saw was, um, when you performed at Tampa Bay's finest, well, one of our finest improv comedy stages, which is The Commodore. Unbelievable. And your talk was based on, “Because everybody eats.” (Laughs)

DC: That was so much fun. Love The Commodore. If you just need a night out in Tampa Bay, you're looking for something different. It's different every single time because it's improv.

LK: It is. 

DC: So that was a blast. 

LK: Yeah. 

DC: We love, uh, Justin and Kelly from The Commodore. 

LK: Definitely the, the, uh, I follow them as well. And then I saw you at the, uh, talk that you did with the Splendid Table’s host Francis Lam. 

DC: Oh my gosh, this is great. You're just reminding me of like how much fun I'm having. (Laughs) I mean, who doesn't love Francis? He's my buddy. I wish he lived closer. We would be buddies actually. I'm gonna be in New York. For Spring Break and uh, hopefully I'll get a chance to meet up with him. Yes, he's amazing. We did a recording for the Splendid Table’s anniversary at the new Tampa Performing Arts Center, and it was myself, 

LK: Right.

DC: Um, Andrea Gonzmart Williams from the Columbia Restaurant, Anthony Gilbert from Call Anthony [Podcast] you better be following him on social media. Oh my gosh. He's a blast. And do you know that he's running for Mayor of Tampa? People are so amazing. People have no ceiling. I love it. And Megan Sorby from, I think it's called Redfish, something like that. So that was super fun. 

LK: That was.

DC: ‘Cause you know what, Tampa gets a lot of, you know, Florida man jokes and we're the butt of a lot of jokes. But then just in the past few minutes that we've been talking, look at all the amazing names we've rattled off of people who are doing incredible things. 

LK: Yeah. And these are accessible people.

DC: Totally. 

LK: Yeah. I mean, Andrea, I say Andrea. You say Andrea. 

DC: I think it's Andrea. 

LK: I'll have to call.

DC: Jeff Houck, if you're listening, let us know if this is right or not. I think it's Andrea. 

LK: So, Andrea Gonzmart Williams …

DC: Ms. Gonzmart Williams. 

LK: Is part of the Columbia Restaurant family. 

DC: Absolutely. Yep. 

LK: That's an amazing institution here in Tampa.

DC: Yeah. Oldest restaurant in Florida. 

LK: Yeah. Definitely.

DC: So cool. But you know what, to your point, people are accessible and I learned that working on the podcast, because sometimes you think, oh, it would be nice to have this person, but would they ever talk to me or you know, and you just have to go for it. You might have to like do a little bit of like lily pad jumping to get to the person that you want or the opportunity that you want, but you will get more yeses than you think. So we've been honored to have the Columbia Restaurant, Bern’s Steakhouse, which is another Tampa institution. We've had Michelle Bernstein, who's a James Beard Award-winning chef. We've had Art Smith, who's a James Beard Award-winning chef, and was Oprah's personal chef for many years. It's, it just blows my mind. We've had Francis Lam as a guest on our podcast. We've had Carl Hyon, [Hyon Carl] the author. I mean, it's just incredible. So, you know what, I would just encourage you listening or watching to go for it. Like, don't let yourself be tucked out of something because you think it's like too big of a reach 'cause you just never know. 

LK: And so the, the seed that was planted for you to be a writer at a young age led you to writing for a newspaper. And then writing for a podcast that had to do with food, which, so we're talking about newspaper. We're talking about radio with WUSF, now we're talking about TV with WEDU, which is our, uh, local PBS affiliate here in Tampa. And, um, you are talking to, um, to Julia and Bridget from one of my favorite shows America's Test Kitchen.

DC: Yeah. 

LK: And then you're introducing them at The Palladium, which is an unbelievable, another institution in St. Petersburg. And you're introducing them at the WEDU TV station to the small group of lucky people who, we got to sit at a table and meet them. (Laughs)

DC: Yes. That was so cool. I've gotten to know them over the past few years through working with WEDU and they're so down to earth. They're so funny. Hilarious. And again, they're people, you know, you think of the people you see on TV or you hear on a podcast as like, I don't know, made out of something different. We're all made outta the same stuff. I love it when I'm at like, Aldi or you know, a garage sale and somebody comes up to me and says, “Hey, I recognize you from WEDU.” I'm like, “Yeah, I'm just like you. Our kids go to the same school. We shop at the same stores.”

LK: Yeah. Yeah, it's, it's so true. I mean, I remember just being in a, a local store and seeing someone that I saw on WEDU and I was feeling like, oh my goodness, I'm a fan of theirs. Oh, can I go up and talk to them like I was that way with you? Whether you know it or not. (Laughs)

DC: Well, that's how I feel about you and absolutely because without you, I wouldn't have a job without these people who are supporting our work, especially public media. 

LK: Mm

DC: I would not get to do the things that I do, so it's a gift, you know?

LK: It is definitely a gift, and your gift is writing, but you also have a gift of speaking with people and making people feel really comfortable. 

DC: Thank you. That means a lot to me. I absolutely love to hear that. 

LK: So you were talking a little bit about psychology and talking to people. Would you agree that purpose is having a sense of responsibility and then acting with the atten, intention of helping others (see notes)?

DC: Ooh, we're getting deep. Yes. How could I not agree with that? Purpose is, say it again? Purpose is having a sense of responsibility and acting …

LK: and acting with the intention to help others. 

DC: Others, yes, and I also believe that if you're really walking in your purpose, you're automatically helping others because I'll think of like, you know, a singer or a comedian or someone like that who would on the surface may seem like, yeah, you're not really helping anybody, but you're inspiring somebody or you're helping them through a tough time. And so helping people doesn't always have to look like, you know, serving at a soup kitchen, although that's great too, you know?

LK: So what do you, what would you say is your purpose? 

DC: (Laughs) Oh. Wow. You know, I think it's helping people tell their story because that's the through line of everything that I've done, helping people express themselves in a way that they didn't even think was possible. I love when someone that I've interviewed says you explained that better than I could. 

LK: Hmm. 

DC: I think I just, I'm getting a text. I don't know if you heard that. I thought I had to put 

LK: No. 

DC: Okay. Just making sure. 'cause I turned my phone off. Everything's on do not disturb. Okay. Um, I love it when someone says, you explained that better than I could, or you get me. I feel seen, and that's something that I do all the time, whether there's a microphone recording or not. If I am sitting next to you on an airplane, we're gonna have the same type of conversation that we would have on the podcast. No difference. A lot of times when I'm recording an interview. I feel like I'm at my parents' house in the dining room because my parents have always been like Renaissance people and had lots of interesting dinner guests. And you know, my dad's childhood friends, he'll, he'll go pick 'em up if they don't drive and invite 'em over for a barbecue. And so you never know who's gonna show up at the Wheat's house or at the, on the Wheat's dining room table. And so I just kind of pretend like, oh, I'm at my parents' house. Like, who, who's the guest star today? (Laughs)

LK: Yeah. 

DC: So you, until my last breath, I don't think that will ever change. 

LK: So do you have an example of someone that you, that you had that instance with? 

DC: Ooh. On the podcast or, or even just anywhere?

LK: Even like at, at WEDU with Julia and Bridget, you know, people who are very well known for, for their show on PBS America's Test Kitchen. I mean, they must feel comfortable with you to continue. 

DC: Yeah. Yeah, I think they do. And I'm also not afraid. What is she doing, Ruby? Oh my gosh. 

LK: (Laughs)

There's a mess back there. This is the, the, um. This is the shelf where we keep all the art supplies and there's like crayons and paper. Oh my goodness gracious. Um, yes. What I love about people like Julia and Bridget or Francis Lam is that they have such an expertise when it comes to food. And so people might think of them as like highbrow, but they also love, you know, Julia and Bridget told me they love, uh, it was pepperoni rolls. Uh, one of them I forget, is from, um, West Virginia, and she's like, I love pepperoni rolls. And one says, I love Pringles. And when Francis came to town, oh, this was, this was such a treat. So I had spoken to him on the phone and we were planning to do this event at the new Tampa Performing Art, New Tampa Performing Arts Center on a Sunday. And before we hung up, he said, “Hey, I get to town on like Friday afternoon and I have no plans. Do you wanna have dinner or get together?” And I'm like, “Oh my gosh, yes. Can I invite other people?”  Like this is too good to keep to myself. So I invited a couple of other foodie friends, including Jeff Houck of the Columbia Restaurant Group, Anthony Gilbert of Call Anthony [podcast] and um, my colleague Alexandria Ebron at the [Zest] podcast and just a couple other people. And we could have taken him to like Bern’s Steakhouse or Mise en Place and that would've been great. But we were like, what if we just bring out the, the really like down to earth human side of him? So we met up at a corner store called A & J Corner Store, um, in Anthony and Alex's neighborhood. We ate boiled peanuts. Jeff pulled up his truck and we set all the food in the bed of the truck. It was like fried chicken and red velvet cake and boiled peanuts. And we stood there among the chickens of Ybor City eating food out of the back of this pickup truck. And that's one of my favorite memories from 2025. And then we, Jeff organized a little tour for us and we made a few more stops, but like, I was proud of us. For creating an environment where that could happen. Francis is going around, you know he lives in Brooklyn, so chickens are like a treat to see. So he's going around taking pictures of the chickens and, and talking about how great the food is. And I'm driving him around in my minivan, the same minivan that I drive my daughter to her, you know, volleyball tournaments in with all her friends in the back. And so we just created a, like a, we created an environment where everybody kinda let their hair down because I think if you're interviewing somebody like Francis Lam or Julia and Bridget they're used to being on, you know, they, they know how to act, but a lot of people are nervous being on camera or even just talking to another person in line at the grocery store. But if you relax, this is something I learned from my teaching degree. People reciprocate your behavior. So if you're relaxed, they will relax. If you open up, they will open up. So a lot of times as we're setting up the equipment. I'm just talking all about myself, my husband, my kids, my dog. And then by the time we're rolling, they're like, oh, she's a human just like me now. They wanna tell me about their self, their husband, their kids, their dog. Um, so that's been really helpful. 

LK:Yeah.

DC: I don't know if that answered your question. 

LK: Yeah, no, definitely. Yeah. Um, it's interesting because, um, your, your interest in telling a story. Is also making the person you're talking to very comfortable.

DC: Thank you. I feel like if you're comfortable you can do anything. I have worked with the Pointer Institute for Media Studies in St. Petersburg's at, in St. Petersburg, and one of the, um, courses that they had me teaching was like overcoming Imposter Syndrome, which seems impossible. It just feels like the tax we pay for whatever it is we wanna achieve. You know, like if you go to the gym, you're gonna be sweaty and you don't try to not be sweaty. You're just like, that's just a byproduct of going to the gym. If I'm gonna do something I've never done before, I'm gonna feel a little bit insecure and that's okay. Um, but something that has helped me is to sort of downplay things, tell myself, this is not a big deal. Don't buy a new outfit. Don't get your nails done. And I know that seems really counter-intuitive, but sometimes when we do those things, it feels like we have on a costume and like we're performing and now we have to have our lines memorized. But I'm comfortable speaking to people. I get nervous sometimes, but I'm comfortable because I tell myself, this is just me sitting in my parents' dining room, you know? Um, and so I try to bring that energy into what we're doing. I tell people, um, you are the expert because if you weren't the  expert, why would I be talking? You know? 

LK: Right. 

DC: You're like, Louise is asking me about Dalia. Well, lucky for me, I'm Dalia. So I'm the expert on Dahlia. (Laughs)

LK: That's true. 

DC: And so if I'm interviewing say, an artist for Arts Plus, I say, you don't have to be nervous because I'm not asking you about all art. I'm asking you about your experience, and nobody knows more about that than you. 

LK: Right. So your challenge has been to make sure that you're relaxed, so other people are relaxed too.

DC: Yes, and I get nervous too. I'm human. Um, but I tell myself, oh, I'm gonna get to do something new today. I'm gonna get to go on a field trip. I'm gonna meet somebody that I am gonna like, I assume that everybody will like me and I will like everybody. (Laughs)

LK: That's a great way to… 

DC: So I go in and I'm like, man, this, this guy's really important. Like I remember years ago interviewing, um, Michael Francis when he was the new director of the Florida Orchestra and he's British and he wears a tuxedo to work and he knows all about classical music. So I'm like, whoa, I'm way outta my element. But by the end we were talking about his wife and his new baby and just, you know, the human stuff. 

LK: Yeah, he's marvelous. And he, um, at Christmas we say “Merry Christmas”, he says, “Happy Christmas”.

DC: Love it. (Laughs)

LK: Very British. So, um, have you had anyone, you've mentioned a couple of people who have been your mentors. You mentioned Bobbie O'Brien, I mean, at, at WUSF to have Bobbie O'Brien help you at the very beginning is amazing.

DC: I know. I need to call her. We need to have lunch. 

LK: Yeah. And had, do you have anyone, like your mom or your dad, anyone in your family while your husband, Braulio, who's, who's helped to, um, inspire you or coach you? 

DC: Everybody in my family is so supportive and Braulio’s a rock star in his own right. He could also be a guest on this podcast, but I think what's nice is that they sort of get out of the way and just let me be me and I try to do the same for them and just let me do things in my own way. Um, so my family is always there for me. I mean, we have the world's longest group text, but yeah, people like Bobbie O'Brien and Jeff Klickenberg, Jeff Houck is amazing and so supportive. And even, um, the Reverend Vicki Walker from my church, she was, um, actually the person who I met on a, an assignment for PBS. We weren't even there to talk about the church really. But I was just so like in awe of her. But I love how she mixes helping people with enjoying her life. I feel like she has that perfect combination and I really admire that. 

LK: Yeah, I do too. What do you hope to do next? 

DC: Ooh. I don't, I've never had a plan. I was watching this Netflix documentary about Eddie Murphy and he said in his career, he's never been in a rowboat, rowing in a certain direction. He has always been in a sailboat, just sort of going to whatever he sailed to next. And I kind of feel like that. Um. I don't know. I am getting ready to hopefully work on a project with the Sister Cities Organization. We're waiting to see if the grant will come through. So that's all I'll say about that for now. But things have worked out just staying in the sailboat. So I'm just trying to stay in the boat.(Laughs)

LK: Well, thank you so much. I really appreciate it. I appreciate your time, your enthusiasm. I think you inspire so many of us who want to just, um, you know, live in, in our purpose and, you know, make sure that we pay attention to our passion and then we persevere.

DC: Thank you so much, Louise. The feeling is mutual. This was such a treat. 

LK: Okay, thank you so much. Hope to see you soon. Bye. 

DC: Mm. Bye-Bye.

LK: Dalia Colon’s success is proof that she combines her passion with perseverance. Thank you for spending time with us today. Come back and listen to more exemplary leaders share their success story on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio or watch our videos on YouTube. Please subscribe, follow us, comment, share and like us on Facebook at Shaping Our Story.