Career Cheat Code
Welcome to Career Cheat Code, a podcast that explores the stories of everyday people making an impact in the world through their careers and loving every minute of it. Whether you're already on your path or searching for your purpose, this podcast is for you.
Join us every Monday as we uncover the secrets behind successful careers and inspire you to make your own mark. Formerly known as Thank God It's Monday | TGIM, don't forget to subscribe for updates and share with your friends!
Career Cheat Code
058 | Community Affairs in Various Industries feat. Veronica Smith
Discover the heartbeat of public health with Veronica, whose compassionate leadership in Health Policy and Community Affairs is redefining the landscape of care for New Yorkers. As Senior Director at Public Health Solutions, she brings a unique blend of personal history and professional acumen to the fight for health equity, advocating for fair wages and essential services in the big city. Her story isn't just a narrative of triumphs; it's a testament to the resilience required to navigate the gritty, often unseen challenges that define the public health sector.
This episode takes you through the streets of Sunset Park, Brooklyn, where Veronica's roots stretch back to a family history rich in service, and leads you to the corridors of NYU. It's here where her ambitions crystallized amidst adversity—a life-altering car accident that sharpened her focus, leading to a shift from politics and journalism to politics and history. Embark on a journey into her formative years and the critical decisions that set her on a path to impacting global policy, from a study abroad campus in Buenos Aires to grad school choices that eschewed the expected for the purposeful.
Step into the complex world of urban development and government relations as Veronica shares tales from her tenure at the Port Authority and beyond. Her efforts to expand bike lanes on the George Washington Bridge exemplify the power of community advocacy. As the conversation winds down, Veronica offers an intimate glimpse into her life, from the media that shaped her to the sustaining support of family. Her reflections affirm that the road to fulfillment is often winding, but it's the dedication to service and empowerment that makes the journey worthwhile.
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Host - Radhy Miranda
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Producer - Gary Batista
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That's how I was raised. You know my parents. We always had, you know, random people from Ecuador living in our house. You know, I'm like who is this? I would always be like this is the clown house. I'm like there's so many people here but my grandpa, my mom and my grandma, like, if we can help, we got to help. You know, and to me, like that's kind of ingrained in me and I genuinely it genuinely makes me feel good to know that, like I'm working for an organization that is helping people and I love being able to say, like you know the girl that does my nails, you know, I was just like, do you have insurance? And she's like, no, I need help. Because I was like, okay, you gotta call this person, you gotta call this person, and I'm like that's a good thing, like people need need to know that this is available. You know, and just like, because somebody helped me, somebody helped my grandma, somebody is available. You know, and just like, because somebody helped me, somebody helped my grandma.
Speaker 1:Somebody helped my grandpa. You know, you don't, you can't get, you can't go through life without somebody.
Speaker 2:Welcome to Career Cheat Code. In this podcast, you'll hear how everyday people impact the world through their careers. Learn about their journey, career hacks and obstacles along the way. Whether you're already having the impact you want or are searching for it, this is the podcast for you. All right, veronica, welcome to the show.
Speaker 1:Hi, happy Friday.
Speaker 2:Happy Friday. I appreciate you taking the time to join us. Let's dive right in. Let's tell the world what it is you do for a living.
Speaker 1:Oh boy, I am the Senior Director of Health Policy and Community Affairs for Public Health Solutions. It is the largest public health nonprofit in New York City and they do a little bit of everything, quite frankly, anything from direct services that focus on food and nutrition, maternal and child's health, sexual and reproductive health, health insurance access. We also run a program called New York City Smoke Free, which is a tobacco control program, and that's our direct services kind of prong. The second prong is our administrative management partnerships where we partner with the city. We're a bona fide fiscal agent and we manage a number of their Department of Mental Health and Hygiene contracts on their behalf. And then we also are a pass-through entity for the discretionary funding that goes to CBOs from the city council. So we help CBOs cross the T's, dot the I's and make sure that they can focus on the direct services work.
Speaker 1:And then, the third thing is that we also we work to build pathways between health systems and the resources that are available in our community, so that's like a three-prong approach. Our mission is to advance health equity for all New Yorkers, and my job is to amplify the work that this organization has been doing for the last 60 years and making sure that everybody knows that they are a thought leader in it.
Speaker 2:Awesome. So what does that mean as a senior director of health policy and community affairs? What does that mean for you on a Monday when you walk in? What are you tasked with thinking about, with leading, with executing?
Speaker 1:It varies from day to day. I don't think there's like a you know, a set schedule. My job is to advise the executive team regarding policy regarding government and community relations. I lead the government community relations strategy for the organization, so we have a state lobbyist, a city lobbyist, so I am the point person to just kind of talk with them and get their guidance and develop the best strategy so that we can position ourselves in the best way in front of key decision makers at the state and city and federal level. So it's dynamic, it changes.
Speaker 1:Right now we're in the thick of the budget New York State budget and city budget as well so we've been advocating for two big priorities for our sector. One is more so for the sector just improving the wages of the community based public health workforce, because these are folks that are the frontline workers but they are paid poverty wages. You have a nutritionist that goes to college, wants to work in his or her community, works with us for six months and they qualify for the same benefits that we are advising our clients to apply for, and that's unacceptable. So there's a lot of education that has to be done, because I think people assume that they're part of a bucket that was given bonuses and cost of living adjustments, but they're not. So that's been our charge since I joined to really advocate for that and making sure that you know these people that look like your mom, look like my mom, who've been, you know, serving the community and making sure Abuela gets her health insurance, be able to pay their bills, you know. So that's one.
Speaker 1:And then for another priority that we've been that my focus has been on for the last year and a half, but definitely during this budget season, is to make sure that we get funding for our two sectional reproductive health clinics that we have in Brooklyn. You know we have a little bit of an operational deficit, but we've been really, really, really good about getting grants and we have an incredible, you know, almost $4 million grant that the state gave us last year. But that just handles the capital. So you know it's me kind of shaking my little we need money. We need money because this is a, this is a clinic that has been around.
Speaker 1:These, these two clinics, have been around for a long time and they're they're a key part of the fabric of the neighborhoods Brownsville and Fort Greene. So we want to make sure that we can, you know, keep the doors open and make sure that we can kind of kind of fulfill the, like the long-term dream of making it a big, you know know, campus that's holistic and provides you know so many more services that we think people should have access to seeing that you do so much um, is this what you always wanted to do for a living, though?
Speaker 2:yes really tell me more. When you were 16, what did you think you wanted to do and how was that?
Speaker 1:actually yes and no. Uh, I wanted to sing when I was 16 and I wanted to sing on broadway when I was 16, but uh, you know, when you're a daughter of immigrants, it's not really feasible to do that. My father, my grandfather, was a professional singer and pretty well known back home in ecuador, and so we always grew up with our own musicians and with music and a very important part of my upbringing. But doesn't pay the bills.
Speaker 2:So, when you say yes to that answer or to that question, what did you mean by that? How are you doing?
Speaker 1:that. Well, I always liked government. I always wanted to. I always thought politics was really interesting. Again, my family after Sunday, after church. It was always talking about religion, politics, ethics, money. It was that kind of conversation with all my tios and tias and I would be the 10-year-old in the mess and be like, well I think I don't know. They never shooed me away because I just liked listening to them argue hard, but it was always really interesting just to hear their perspective and they were very, very knowledgeable about politics and about things that were important and so I kind of grew up with that kind of mindset.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:So I always wanted to work in politics, not not necessarily like running for office I would go back and forth about it but I wanted to be the person in the room.
Speaker 2:Tell me more. You said you mentioned your family's from Ecuador. Where were your parents born? Where were you born and where were you raised?
Speaker 1:Yeah, my mom is from Guayaquil, ecuador. My father is from Santo Domingo, dr. And I was born in Brooklyn and my mom lives in Sunset Park.
Speaker 2:Got it Awesome. Yeah, I know much about Sunset Park. I spent a lot of my time at EDC working in Sunset Park and doing a bunch of things there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, my parents actually met at the World Trade Centers. They both worked there. Wow, obviously. My dad was apparently trying to rap to my mom for a while and she was like whatever.
Speaker 2:What were they doing there? What kind of work?
Speaker 1:So my dad, if I remember correctly, he worked for like an import export company, like an insurance company like logistics, and then my mom was an executive assistant for some company.
Speaker 2:Your parents meet at the World Trade Center. Eventually they get together. You start growing up in Sunset Park. Tell me what happens. You're a senior, you're in high school. What did you think you were going to do and what did you actually end up doing?
Speaker 1:I thought I was going to go to NYU and I did.
Speaker 2:I love that for you. What did you go to NYU for?
Speaker 1:Initially I didn't want to apply because I didn't think I would get in. But my AP English teacher was like you'd be a fool not to apply and my aunt, katie was like you have to apply. But ever since I was little I always saw NYU and I always thought it was like the dream school. So I didn't think I could get in, but I got in.
Speaker 2:Great. What'd you get in for? Did you go deciding what your major was going to be, or did you figure that out along the way?
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was going to be politics and journalism, but it ended up being politics and history.
Speaker 2:Got it Okay, well, one, why that switch? Okay, well one, why that switch.
Speaker 1:And two, what kind of student were you? Were you like a super involved, all the clubs, all the extracurricular stuff, or you just, you know, head down into books? I had a car accident the weekend before the second semester of my freshman year, so that kind of changed things. Got my teeth knocked out, lip was hanging off my face, kind of disfigured for a whole year pretty much. I was out of school for about three months so that kind of interrupted a lot of things, but I was able to finish and do what I need to do.
Speaker 2:So tell me about that time. So you get into this car accident, Did you so? Did you basically take a semester off at that point?
Speaker 1:No. So I was out of school for three months, no, two months, well, not from January. I didn't go back to school until like end of March, beginning of April, and they wanted to kick me out because I remember the dean was like there's no way you can catch up. Of course they have no problem kicking out a Latina who's on a scholarship Right. So I was like the hell, you are going to kick me out? There's no way. And thank God, my, my teachers and my professors, they were all really cool and they were like no, we got here, we'll, we'll, we'll make it work. And I went to school. I went back to school with a thing on my mouth. I was like a weirdo, but I made the Dean's List that year.
Speaker 2:That's awesome. That's how you got them back.
Speaker 1:That's how you showed them, I don't like somebody telling me I can't do something, Especially when it comes from an old white man. Don't tell me I can't do this. I went to his office.
Speaker 2:I was like here Were you involved in in a bunch of clubs and uh internships or anything like that, where you were there or um.
Speaker 1:So I worked for anthony wiener during college as an internship, yeah yeah.
Speaker 1:And then, as far as clubs, not so much, I joined a sorority. End of sophomore year, yeah, spring of sophomore year, I joined a sorority, a mostly white sorority. Shout them out yeah, yeah, alpha Phi Zeta, and they were local and they'd been around for like 30 years and they were just really fun and I loved them. Best decision I made in college Because I found my folks. But like even before then, like when you first started NYU, because we got into like the scholarship program, like they kind of thought that you weren't smart enough to hack it, so they made you go to summer school before. So that's where I met my five Latina girlfriends that I'm still really, really close with most of them at this point. So, yeah, I had that crew right and then I was able to to dorm on campus. I think I got my way to getting getting housing and I lived for the sorority and it was. I loved it. It felt like real college at that point you know that makes sense.
Speaker 2:It's a whole different experience when you're there immersed and you have your group of friends at that point.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah. And like it was great because I still went home on sunday. You know what I mean I was. You know I was so beat that and you know get my laundry done and whatever. But it was, I think, living on campus, you know, having your folks like nyu had like a cute little like um, you know like the little trolleys and stuff that would take you from dorm to dorm. So it was great, I loved it forward.
Speaker 2:you're now in a sorority, you have your major in politics and history. You have internships with elected officials at that time, senior year. Similarly, did you have a good sense of what was going to happen after college, and then how did that actually play out?
Speaker 1:Like a week before I was supposed to register for like to graduate, the study abroad, buenos Aires campus opened and my scholarship was for five years. So I called my mom. I'm like I'm not graduating in Maine. She's like, yeah, I was like I'm gonna go to Buenos Aires for free and I did my last semester. So I graduated in four and a half semesters or four and a half years.
Speaker 1:So my last semester I was in Buenos Aires, kind of not really doing work. I had like one real class that I had to take. Everything else was like an elective. But it was just how could I not? You know, I had studied abroad in the summer in when I was a junior in Italy, in Southern Italy. But this to me Buenos Aires, south America I was just like hell, yeah, I'm going to do it. And the South America I was just like hell, yeah, I'm gonna do it. And the pain for it. I was just like I'd be crazy not to do it. So when I came back in June I'm sorry, in December of 2008, I was like, right when the recession hit.
Speaker 1:so I was kind of I was nervous but I was just like I'll be fine, I'll figure it out. I was working with a friend who managed a like a radiology facility on the Upper East Side. So she's like, well, you know, you can work here until you find something and I was like, all right, I had a job when I got home. I didn't really have to struggle, which is a blessing.
Speaker 2:What were you doing there?
Speaker 1:So I was a patient coordinator for the offices, for the offices, so basically like front desk receptionist-ish, but then like managing slots and managing, you know, all of the radiologists and the techs and stuff and the patients, because we saw a very, very wide variety of patients. Like we had patients that you know had very limited means, and then we had Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon coming in so you have to treat them with the same level of respect. So it wasn't a job that I would ever be at long term, but it definitely taught me how to deal with people with a smile on my face, even when I didn't want to have a smile on my face, even if they were really, really out of pocket and rude and all that stuff.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I mean, and it plays into what you do now, right, so it's just an yeah, you got a starting point you have to do one of these.
Speaker 1:You know, I've, I've. I remember there was, it was the upper east side, so it was one of those where they're like do you speak english? And I'm like, I speak three languages, which one would you prefer? I remember charlie rose came in one time. He was the meanest guy in the whole world so when he went down after for the me too thing, I was like I was like good for you, buddy, I was just like you suck, um, but oh, he was nasty, nasty, nasty. And then, uh, most of the people were lovely, like you know, most of the celebrities were like athletes, were really sweet, really kind, and I can't really complain. But like I was there for four years and I still remember charlie rose and how rude he was, he was just like such a grumpy, mean old man that had never been told.
Speaker 2:No, Absolutely so.
Speaker 1:I really enjoyed it when he went down.
Speaker 2:That's funny. Why did you stop working there? What came after that?
Speaker 1:Well, I never intended to be there forever. I was going to be there until I figured out am I going to go to law school, Am I going to get a master's? So I was studying to take my LSATs after two years there, and then I had taken the classes and stuff and the morning of the exam I walked out of my house and I walked right back in.
Speaker 2:I was like I don't want to do this.
Speaker 1:I was like I don't want to do this and I upset everyone in my family and my friends and everybody that thought that of course Veronica is going to be the lawyer.
Speaker 1:She never likes to shut up family and my friends and everybody that thought that of course Veronica is going to be the lawyer she never likes to shut up, you know, um, but I was like I really don't want to do this. So then I took another two years to figure out my next steps I think a year longer than I should have, honestly because you start making money, you start hanging out, you start kind of thing. You're just like I don't know what to do. But I I think my family and my friends definitely were like Veronica, like you are destined for a lot more than what you're doing right now. And so get it together, you know, and I felt a little stuck. So I definitely needed that, that push from people and a little bit of that shaming like gentle, right, they're like we love you, we're like we don't know what's going on with you, but you need to figure it out. You know, right, they're like we love you.
Speaker 2:We're like we don't know what's going on with you but you need to figure it out. And I was like you're right, I do All right. So tell me, where did you apply to grad school and why?
Speaker 1:So I applied to the new school, the Milano School for Public Engagement, in 2012. And I applied honestly, because it was one of the few programs that didn't require GRE. I was like I studied for the LSAT, I didn't take the LSAT, I am not doing this again. I'm like that's it. So I just what. What filtered out my options was do.
Speaker 1:I have to provide it you know, take the GRE or not. So and it was in, it was in the city, it was by 14th Street, and then I had gone to an information session and I had no idea that the school had been around as long. It had been started by Jewish intellectuals after World War I or II and MLK gave courses or taught there or lectured there. It was really interesting. I was like, oh, I had no idea. I got in and they gave me a little bit of a scholarship, which is awesome. I was living on my own at that point and I had to move back in with my grandparents and my mom and give them my independence, my apartment, because I couldn't afford to do both. But it was an investment, it was worth it.
Speaker 2:What did you get your master's in and why did you feel like that was an investment that you needed at that time?
Speaker 1:I got my master's in international affairs, management and urban policy and I think that gave me I didn't want to be limited to just one thing with my master's degree, you know, and I I also wanted to work for the UN at one point and so like I wanted that international kind of lens too. And then the urban policy piece is just you know how cities run and I've always been interested in that, and the management piece is, I think, also really important and kind of overlooked. Um, so that was the the major that I really kind of focused on. I really liked it.
Speaker 2:Did you know what you wanted to do with that? Like, offer it Like. Was it? Like I want to do? I want to go to the UN at some point. Like, what did you?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I did. I interpreted for a world conference my last year of college. Yeah, the women's like the 50s. It was like the 52nd or 53rd annual like women's conference and I interpreted as a Spanish speaking interpreter for for one of their sessions. And it was awesome. It was so cool. I'd never been there. But then I realized that it was really really hard to get into the UN. It's kind of impossible. It's like Google, like you got to know somebody to get in, that kind of thing. But I remember being like you know, maybe I want to be a foreign service diplomat, Maybe I want to you know work for the CIA or that kind of thing. So I wanted to make sure to keep my options open.
Speaker 2:Now, in retrospect, do you feel like that was an investment that was worth it?
Speaker 1:Yes, I loved it. If I could go back, it was a better experience in NYU, 100% NYU. My teachers were great, the friends and the networks that I made were great, but it was not the kumbaya liberal experience that you thought it was, and a lot of the people students that went there made it very made you realize very quickly that you're not one of them, because there's a lot of wealth, you know. So, as a Brooklyn person, who, person, who was, you know, more or less like lower middle class, but I always went to a good school. I lived in a house, you know, we had cars. I was like, oh, I'm poor. When and because they made they were very clear about that.
Speaker 1:The people, like some of the students, and they were awful and I hated them, but I found my people so it was fine. I still remember the college republicans had a sale based off of, you know, they. They had baked goods and cookies and stuff and each, each cookie was 25 cents If you were Native American female, uh, 50 cents if you were a white man, cause they were protesting affirmative action. And I would have to always, you know, say like I didn't get here through affirmative action, I got here through the HEOP program. But even if I did, I'm like you can't even spell. So you know me. Taking the one seat in a 200 person lecture class because your buddy Chad couldn't get in is not my problem. It was those kinds of people and that sucked. But the teachers are awesome and the people that I, you know, my sorority, my, my, my, my HEOP friends, like they were all awesome. But the new school, the teachers, the professors, they were real world practitioners, they weren't just academics, which is why I loved it. These are folks that had started NGOs, had worked at the World Bank, you know, or like on MSNBC, giving like the finance tips, that kind of stuff, so everything that we learned. They were very clear if it was something that was practical or not. So they would say you know X theory, you have to learn this, but this shit doesn't really work in practice, you know. But you should know it. But this is not real.
Speaker 1:And then everybody that I went to school with all the students. I had never felt so small initially, my first month, because they they were like 22, 23. And I was already 26 or 27. Cause I went to grad school after four years after college and they were like oh, when I was was 10, I started my own ngo and I was like you know, they're like and you know I sued this person and I was able to change this law and I was just like, god damn, I was like jesus, I'm like. I thought I was smart but I was like clearly I am, I have no ambition.
Speaker 1:So it was intimidating to be around those people, but they were for the most part. Everybody was always really sweet and cool and I usually got along with the older students that were like adults because they were serious about doing their work and going home. But I made some really good friends there too. So I just loved it. I loved it so much. Okay, I tell everyone I'm like go to the new school, get your master's there, it's great. And the teachers, the professors. I still talk to some of them. There was one, robert buckley, older guy, and he was just just the cutest, like grandpa, but the smart, really smart, you know. And this other guy, michael cohen, he was incredible, but I just loved them.
Speaker 2:They were just good people yeah, the new school has a great reputation for attracting really good faculty and talent and students. Yeah, so that makes sense. You get this master's in international affairs and you graduate. What do you do next?
Speaker 1:I had gotten an internship with the Port Authority in New York, new Jersey, while I was in graduate school, because the first year of grad school I didn't, I went there full time, right, but then the second year I was like I don't have money. I was like, so I was looking for internships and all of these internships were unpaid and I was just like, clearly, these are for folks that have money, these are for like and I'm like this is not. I'm like, this doesn't work for me. So I had gone to an information session for the leadership fellowship program for the Port Authority and that was for graduating grad students and it basically was like a sped up track to middle management, because the Port Authority had a lot of folks that were retiring so there was a big gap between folks that had just started and, like senior people and a lot of the middle management was leaving. So this program had been created, you know, years, years in advance, to kind of create like a pipeline. You know, and you did like a two year program was rotational, you did six months at each department and then basically, like departments will fight for for you and then you end up at the department you wanted.
Speaker 1:However, I was in my first year of grad school. So they're like well, it's for the second year. I'm like, okay, well, do you have anything else? And like, yeah, we have the college, you know, in the grad school internship program. They're like and it's paid. I was like, say no more and that's it. So I applied and I got in and I was an intern for the government community relations department for New York in 2014,. May 2014 is when I started and then I was made a full-time employee in December of 2014, in seven months.
Speaker 2:Tell me about what you were tasked with doing when you were hired full-time Um, and how long did you stay there?
Speaker 1:When I was hired full time. I was hired as a senior legislative representative, so my task was to monitor, track and or respond to legislation that impacted the Port Authority, whether it was positively or negatively. So I had to track bills, you know, at the state level and to a certain extent city level, even though the Port Authority is a bi-state entity. So it's not really bound by single state legislation, right, or city council, but the agencies that we work with are right. So you still have to be aware of what was happening, right. And you know EDC, port Authority. We have a lot of crossover so it was my job to track that. And then I also had some of the assets from the tunnel, bridges and terminals department under my portfolio, where I was like the dedicated government relations liaison for that, and I had the George Washington Bridge bus station and the George Washington Bridge redevelopment project where we modernized the hub, the transportation hub up there.
Speaker 2:Wow, do you have a standout project that kind of stuck with you that you were a part of?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so the Restoring the George is a $2 billion 10-year capital program made up of 11 projects. So that was under my purview and it was. The bridge is like an old lady, right she's, you know, in her, I think she was 89 at that point. Um, so, like all the approaches, all of like it was a massive, massive project. So it was really important to make sure that we, um that we were keeping the community in mind and looped in and, um, it was important to me because I'm half dominican so I always felt that the same amount of attention that the midtown bus terminal got, I also believe that the uptown terminal should get right.
Speaker 1:In addition to the restoringoring the George. The there, headed up by State Senator Espaillat and Councilman Rodriguez at the time, had kind of a contentious relationship with the Port Authority because they wanted a community space there for free. But we were able to negotiate a community space for 10 years, rent free. I was the key lead in that process. It took five years, but now there is a dedicated community space that's run by the fabulous Laura Acosta from the Juan Pablo Duarte Foundation and it's a cultural hub for folks you know, and it's a place where you can have workshops and educational seminars and it's a gathering place, but it's a place that's for the community, not just electives, absolutely.
Speaker 1:You know, and I loved her. I still love her. She's fantastic. I'm going to plug that. She's having her 25th anniversary festival annual festival this year, I think in June, and it's an organization that does really, really good work. It's been around for a long time and I think she's the best steward for managing that space and me and her got along very well and I think it was critical to make sure that there was somebody to be the liaison between her, the engineers, the operations folks to make sure that we got this project over the finish line. To make sure that we got this project over the finish line and we did. We got it designed, planned, constructed and opened in a year. $2 million investment for a community space. It's about 1,600 square feet, it's beautiful and it's rent-free for 10 years.
Speaker 2:That's awesome, so that's something that if I pass by there I'm like that's cool. As someone that grew up in Washington Heights, I definitely remember that redevelopment and you know, even years later, like my mom still shops at that supermarket right. So like that's in a way that she never really used the terminal before, right, Like we would walk past it when I was really young to go a block further for blockbuster.
Speaker 1:but that was, you know, I remember I was told because I didn't I never went up there when I was younger, because I'm from brooklyn, right, um, and they're like oh, this is where the pigeons all gather, and it was like a sports betting place, like it was really really kind of not shady and not good. Now Now it's a commerce, an area of commerce, right, and like there's dedicated seating for people to wait for the jitney buses and it's you know, it's you don't have to wait outside and in the elements, like it's an important thing, you know, and I'm really proud of that.
Speaker 2:Fast forward. You stayed at the Port Authority like five years or so, right, six, six years. So tell me, what title did you leave with at the end of it and what kind of made you determine that it was time to make a move after that, after six years?
Speaker 1:so the title that I left with I was a band four, which is nice band for external relations executive yeah, okay, sounds fancy, it sounds fancy, yeah, yeah, I know it was.
Speaker 2:I know I well.
Speaker 1:I started as an intern, junior analyst, senior legislative representative and then ended up as an external affairs, external relations executive yeah, uh, what?
Speaker 2:what does that mean for someone that wants to get into, like, external relations? Right, or government, government affairs, which is how our paths cross together between edc and port authority? Right, like, is this a lucrative type of career? Like doing external affairs? Like can people make money enough to, like feed their families while doing some work that is representative of what they feel like it's really good impact? Right, like working with communities, as you said. Right, like you may not be from the heights, but you know the people of the heights. Right, so for you is like I am speaking on behalf of this community or working for this community and trying to bridge projects with this community because they are people they benefit from.
Speaker 1:You know absolutely because this is, this is their neighborhood. You know, we are influencing them. You know, granted, they're also benefiting from living across one of the most beautiful bridges in the world. And they're like well, why are we doing this construction? I'm like do you want it to fall on you? I was like how do you think we're going to keep it up? They're like, well, we don't Start charging us toll. I was like listen, the Port Authority does not get any tax revenue from you. If, if you go into a store and take something, you got to pay for it, don't you? And they're like, well, yeah, and I'm like same concept. They're like, hi, but are you on the MTA? I was just like no, no, no, no, no, no. I was like go complain to the state for the MTA. I'm like that's not us.
Speaker 1:The Port Authority ran like a business, you know, and I think they do a really that get a bad rap.
Speaker 1:And I'm like you don't get to do that to these folks because they could be making double or triple their salary and they chose to work in public service because they believe in it.
Speaker 1:So, to answer your question, yes, I think you can make money, but you can make a lot more money in the private sector, but it's a trade-off, Like I, you know, I have a pension and having a pension, I think, and a level of stability is really important to me. I'm not one of these folks that like to hop and skip around, Like I really really one of the things that attracted me to the agency was that there are people that have been there for 30 years, 40 years, and they had had so many different careers because they started out in this department and then they moved to this department. And I'm just like I, I like that, I, I believe in that kind of longevity and loyalty, and to me that's that's important. You know, Cause I, I think, even if you're at a place for a year, it takes a full year to finally kind of get your bearings and then, like you, live in two and just like you.
Speaker 1:Just you didn't even, you didn't even like give it enough time, you know. But I understand why people do that, because that's the only way to, to, to, to, like you know, increase your salary Right. But to me, like I, I genuinely think that I cut my public policy teeth at the government, that the government community relations department of the Port Authority. I had wonderful mentors, I had wonderful colleagues, you know, and I'm still very, very close with a lot of them.
Speaker 2:So you leave the Port Authority, you go to this other organization called E-Corps, i-corps, i-corps.
Speaker 1:I-Corps Strategies yeah.
Speaker 2:Why did you go there and what were you doing there?
Speaker 1:So, funnily enough, I used to manage the internship program for the Port Authority, for the Government Relations Department. So we would get two interns every summer. So for four years I managed the process. I would screen them, I would interview them, I would manage them, I would review them, I would give you know they were my responsibility. So one of the interns, a girl named Phoebe, a four-lens-a, ended up working at I-Corps Strategies a couple of years after she had left, you know, finished her internship and she had reached out to me and said hey, veronica, how are you like? I hope you're doing well. I'm like, oh man, phoebe, and she's like well, I'm working here and it's in Brooklyn and it's. You know, I'm a black owned um, a community engagement firm, and I think you know we're looking for for a director for like to manage the east uh region for clients and I think you'd be a good fit. So I was like all right, let me check it out.
Speaker 1:I met with the um, the ceo, eric eve, who is kind of new york royal political royalty. His father is eric eve is arthur eve, who was the deputy speaker of the new york state assembly for a long time. His sister sister is Lisa Eve, who ran for attorney general and is one of the poor authority board of commissioners. So I knew he was a serious guy and he had worked in government and then worked in the private sector and then decided to start his own thing. So, you know, we talked for a few months. The first job that he offered, I declined Cause I didn't think it was worth leaving a pension for, you know, um. So then he came back and he gave me something that I think that I couldn't say no to, you know. But I thought about it for a long time and then, like I, I, I got guidance from my mentor, brian Simon.
Speaker 1:Um was my first Port Authority boss director and was an incredible person and you should absolutely talk to him. He kind of guided me through the process. He's like ask for this, ask for this, ask for this. And I was just like, okay, they gave it to me. He's like, well, now you got to do it. He's like, if you don't like it, you leave. And I'm like, okay. He's like okay. He's like you're going to be fine. So I did, so I left March of 2020.
Speaker 2:Okay, what were you tasked with doing there?
Speaker 1:So it gave me the opportunity to manage a team, which is what I really wanted, right, because at the Port Authority I was an individual contributor and I had a portfolio and I had like projects right, but like I had never managed people aside from interns, right, so I wanted that management experience. So I had a team of two direct reports and then by the time I left, it was five direct reports four direct reports and consultants that I managed. So like to me. What attracted me to that job was that I was I started off as a vice president of client and community engagement for the East region, so the East Coast. I really learned how to manage a team during that time, yeah, and.
Speaker 1:I'm very grateful for that, because that's something that I had lacked and I wanted.
Speaker 2:In external affairs right, had conversations with people where they view they can sometimes view our roles right as basically the mouthpiece of an organization Like your job is to go and tell me what the organization is going to do and nothing's going to change regardless of what I say. So why should I even engage with you? Why should I even like work with you? Can you tell me about your experience working with people and kind of shifting some of that mindset right? Because for me I had to deal with that going into, actually, sunset Park where you know, at the time, edc did not have the best relationship this is, you know, talking about like a decade ago right With that neighborhood, considering that you know the organization managed so much square footage of the waterfront. However, you know, I think we in these external relations roles are tasked with going in there and like talking to people and like listening and then coming back and delivering some results.
Speaker 1:They do make a strategic thing to, like you know, put the black and brown people in front of folks and that's strategic and I get it. But for me, I would say there were tangible things Like my job wasn't just to kind of be a mouthpiece for the agency, my job was also to be a mouthpiece for the community and be like hey, are you guys thinking about X, y and Z? Because the community is not going to be down with X, y and Z if you do X, so at least for the Port Authority. When I first started it, at least for the Port Authority when I first started, it was very, very reactive. They didn't talk to anybody. It was only when things were afire and by the time I left it was just night and day in terms of being proactive and building relationships.
Speaker 1:And there were times where I was told explicitly not to talk to people and I'd still call Carmen de la Rosa. I'd be like, hey, I can't talk to you, but because I I'm like we can't just go to these people when we need something. I'm like that it doesn't work. Like that it's a relationship. You have to talk to people. You got to show up and you got to be there, even if they don't want you there, you still got to go because someone will respect the fact that you went in there knowing that you were going to get heat. And to me, I'm just like, I'm not scared of anybody because I wasn't raised that way and I'm coming in good faith. So even if you're already coming to me with a guard up, it's my job to convince you otherwise. And if I don't do a good job at that, then that's okay. But I'm going to come back next time. And eventually you're going to be like you know what? She's still here and I'm like okay, now can we talk?
Speaker 2:Absolutely, she's still here and I'm like okay, now can we talk Absolutely.
Speaker 1:You know, and I think it's really important to do that and the agency, the port authority. I will say, for the capital plan, the two biggest changes to the capital plan were direct feedback from the community. So we did listen to the community, you know so, and it was, and I would say that I, when people would be like, why are you even here? I'm like, we expanded the bike lanes on the gwb because of y'all, you guys kept talking and talking and talking, and so we, finally, we reviewed and we're like you know what, we couldn't make this, but we couldn't, I'm like, and it changed the project. It actually was a little bit more costly, but we knew that it was important to you.
Speaker 1:So the two changes of the capital plan when I was there was to expand, you know, the, the, the, the, the middle part of the bridge I can't God, I should remember this but to make it wider so that it so that pedestrians and cyclists didn't kind of kind of bump into each other, and that was a direct piece of feedback that was incorporated after the public comment period, you know. So I'm just like guys, like you know, be honest here. If you wanna use us as a boogeyman, that's cool, but we are listening to you, you know. So, when I would say those examples, they're like, well, that's true, like you are always here, you do do job fairs and you do call us and you do talk. I was like, yeah, cause, you know, I'm like I don't know who you talked to before, but that's not me. You're talking to me now.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:So if you have a problem, you call me what's going on. You know, I think I, you know you you earn people's trust. You kind of have to. You just kind of you got to keep doing it.
Speaker 2:I love that and I think you know part of some of the cheat codes that you kind of dropped there, right? Or like that inside outside game, there's a lot of value, like, yes, I work for this organization and yes, I am tasked with delivering this project and I am also tasked with building trust and building community and having people not just for the sake of one specific project but for the long term of our presence in these communities. So that inside outside a game of hey, I know you told me not to talk to these people and I'm not going to tell you, I'm going to talk to them, but I'm absolutely going to talk to them and I think you know part of that is also just being a person of service, right, Like you work for the community.
Speaker 1:And there were times where I fundamentally disagreed with decisions that you know my bosses made and I was like you're wrong, I'm like this is going to blow in your face if you do this, you know, and sometimes they listened to me and sometimes they didn't, but I was very much like you know what, like I know that I'm representing the agency, I'm like, but what you guys are planning is not right and this is not right and it's going to, it's not strategic either. So please do X, y and Z. Or there were there was one time the construction folks, the consultants. Sometimes they ran the program managers which drove me nuts and the program managers were incredible. But you know, like some of these people were a, but you know like some of these people were a little like, you know, sneaky.
Speaker 2:Well, they're tasked and evaluated by different metrics.
Speaker 1:Right, sure, and there was a habit for a long time Look, the government relations folks, like some of the line departments, the departments that made money, that brought in revenue, like didn't want to include us because they're like, oh, you're going to tell us, no, we can't do this. But my, I worked really hard to become friends with the engineers and the architects and the program managers, cause I'm like, my job is to protect you. So the only reason I the only way I can do that is, if you loop me in, do not bring me in at the end, cause if you brought me in when we were planning it, I would have told you this is going to be a problem. This is going to be a problem. This is going to be a problem. Do not call me when there's an issue.
Speaker 1:So there was one time where these construction guys up at the GWB were going to take parking for two weeks during Christmas and I said, no, you're not. I don't know who you are and why you're delaying our project. I'm like I'm sorry, this project is a year and a half delayed. I'm like, do not pin that on me. If you want to take parking spaces, have you guys flyered? Have you guys informed the community board? Have you guys talked to the elected officials? Because if you want the number of the congressman, I will literally forward the voicemail that he calls me to you because you will talk to him. I was like we're not doing it, do it in January. You can wait after the holidays. And they're like they were pissed. But my boss at the time, Justin Bernbach, I went to him. I'm like you're going to get a phone call and he's just like you're right. He's like that's fine. He's like I trust you, he's like I trust you. I was like they can't do this right now. And now they're saying they're complaining that I'm, that the go-kart is deleting the project. I was just like no, no, no, no, no, no, no. That's your poor planning, that is not my problem, but you are not going to do this to folks and if we are going to do it, we're going to do it the right way.
Speaker 1:So I made sure to flyer. I created brochures, we put the flyers on all of the cars in advance to get people heads up and we did not take parking spaces for two weeks during Christmas. We did it in January, in mid to late January, because I was like why would you do this during Christmas? People are away, so people might have their cars towed. People are visiting and it's the damn holidays. And I remember telling these guys I'm like gentlemen, this isn't Legos. If you would you like this happening in your, in your, in your neighborhood? They're like well, no, I'm like, so why would you do it in my neighborhood? I was like no, I'm like. And if there's a problem with this, then I'm like, that's fine. I'm like but call whoever you need to call. I'm like, but we're not doing it. So I said no and then I went immediately to my boss. I was just like you're going to get a phone call. But I explained to him why. And he's just like but you're right. And I was like and then it was it.
Speaker 2:I love that that was it.
Speaker 1:I think, but it's just like don't do that, Like just have some common sense. Parking in Washington Heights by the bridge is a nightmare anyway and you're going to take it away for during the holidays, yeah.
Speaker 2:And yeah, and I think part of it is like people you know they're tasked with delivering a project on time and on budget.
Speaker 1:We're tasked with you got to remember, like this is you're not, you're not. You're not working in a vacuum. These are people's homes, these are neighborhoods. These working in a vacuum, these are people's homes, these are neighborhoods. These are people that you're impacting, and my job is to make sure that we mitigate the impacts as much as possible. And it's my job to tell you that this is an issue you should know already. I hear you, but it's really really insensitive and kind of careless to think that people wouldn't have a problem with having this done during the holidays. So to me, it was my. I'm like would you do this in the Midtown Tunnel? I don't think so. There's another thing there.
Speaker 2:Let's be clear. I love that. What's your favorite part of your role, like whether it's right now or generally through your role as an external affairs professional?
Speaker 1:It's funny, it's like I don't like people, but I do like people. I think people are just so kind of divided and in their corners and I'm like everyone just needs someone and I fundamentally believe in government and public service as like the only entities that are large enough to tackle big problems. And you might be in a good position today, but you won your sake and you might be in a really bad position tomorrow, and I just feel like I think it's really, really important to help people. If you can. You know I think that you can. You know it's not entirely altruistic, like, yeah, you, you want to make money, you want to. You know, you want to live nice, but I, I want to be proud of the work that I do, you know, and, and that's important to me and I realized it's taking me, it took me a long time, but I'm like I have to believe in the work that I'm doing to do it. If I don't believe in it, I can't do it.
Speaker 1:You know, and to me, that's how I was raised. You know my parents. We always had, you know, random people from Ecuador living in our house. You know I'm like who is this? I would always be like this is the clown house. I'm like there's there's so many people here but my grandpa, my mom and my and my grandma like that, like if we can help, we we got to help.
Speaker 1:You know, and to me, like that's kind of ingrained in me and I genuinely, it genuinely makes me feel good to know that, like I'm working for an organization that is helping people and I love being able to say like you know, the girl that does my nails, you know. I was just like, do you have insurance? And she's like no, I need help. And I was like, okay, you got to call this person, you got to call this person. And I'm like that's a good thing. People need to know that this is available Because somebody helped me, somebody helped my grandma, somebody helped my grandpa. You can't go through life without somebody. And I just feel like there's so many people that are struggling and it's a policy choice. I want to make sure that I'm not contributing to that?
Speaker 2:Are there any forms of media that could be books, podcasts, shows that you have watched or read or listened to that have shaped you personally or professionally?
Speaker 1:That have shaped me. Well, my favorite show when I was in high school was buffy the vampire slayer, and my grandma hated it. She's like oh, this is a demonial, that's all like you know, demonic stuff. And I'm like this show was actually very smart because it wasn't about monsters. The monsters were a metaphor for growing up and like the teenage years and and she was, you know, a female like superhero, and I just and she was funny to me, I just thought she was so cool, I love that show so much, so like that was like my formative show growing up when I was in, you know, in high school. But in terms of like shows or like things, I'm trying to think Like I don't know, I love film, I love TV, like I'm definitely one of those folks that you know in another life. I would have loved to be on stage.
Speaker 1:You know, so like the arts is something that's very near and dear to me. You know, like sometimes I would be at Broadway shows and I would cry because I'm like I could have done that and like it kind of hurts, like it's a little painful to watch it now because you're just like I could have done that and like it kind of hurts, like it's a little painful to watch him now because you're just like to be on stage. It's the best feeling in the world.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1:But podcasts, I listen to the Daily a lot, New York Times and then Errol Lewis, that's my man. I love that guy because he's fair and he goes after everybody you know. So Spectrum, New York One, that's kind of my Bible a little bit.
Speaker 2:You know, I think it's easy for folks to see you on LinkedIn or on whatever platform and realize you're Highlight Rio and think you know everything has always been great and peachy and amazing. Are there any hurdles that you've had to overcome or low moments in your life career that you're like you know what. We went through that and we're fine right now. What would you like to share with people?
Speaker 1:It's not linear, that's for sure I would say. You know, I thought my life was going to be very, very specific, like I'm going to do this and I want to do this and we'll do this, and my life went like that, you know. But thankfully I always had people in my life that loved me and cared about me and protected me. You know what I mean. And hurdles, yeah, definitely, my car accident messed me up really bad. As a 19-year-old, getting your face messed up is not great. I did very well that semester, but a year later I had the worst grades I've ever had in my entire life and I had to crawl back to graduate with like a 3-3. But it was hard because I just I went through depression, like it was really hard. It was really hard.
Speaker 1:I think the sorority definitely saved my life because I had something to do and I definitely like kept going because I was like, well, I can't let these girls down, like I gotta keep. But I was a mess during that time, a whole, complete mess. And then, like after, I was kind of lost because I didn't really know, like I had convinced myself that I was gonna be a lawyer and then, when I decided I didn't want to do it. I was like, well, what do I do now? You know, and there's also that like expectation of, like you know, my family has worked so hard to to get me to where I am, you know, and my mom had a car accident after I was born and she became disabled after that and subsequently every part-time job that she worked at was at my school and never cashed her own check because it went to my tuition. You know my grandparents if I didn't have them, my life would have been very different, you know. So, like, so, like.
Speaker 1:There's a lot of I couldn't be selfish because I have a lot of people that depend on me, even though they'd be like, well, no, like you know, you put that on yourself. I'm like, yeah, but like my mom's, my mom, and you know it's my job to take care of her, it's my job to take care of my, my family, and they've been through way way too much for me to give up over something, over like the, you know, first world problems. So whenever I would get in my feelings, I'm like my grandparents did not raise me to be a punk, you know, but I think in the last few years COVID hit me really hard. I got sick twice and that messed me up a lot. And my dad died my grandfather six years ago. So to me my life is very much before him and after him, and it's been very hard to live without him.
Speaker 2:Is there anything else the world should know about Veronica that we have not discussed?
Speaker 1:today. I don't know what you see is what you get. I'm a little bit too open sometimes. And then my boss, brian simon, one of the best pieces of advice he gave me, especially in in business, is like you need to master, tell he's like you are incredible because you are so genuine and authentic. He goes. But that can be used against you if you're not careful. So mask your tail, you know, um.
Speaker 1:So I worked very, very hard to, you know, not be very clear about how I feel about things, you know, because my face says everything. Sometimes I'm like, and I'm always like, fix your face, fix your face, fix your face, especially if you're managing a team like you, gotta you, you do have to move differently, you know. And me at public health solutions, I'm on the executive team. Like you, gotta there, you, you do have to move differently, you know. And me at at public health solutions, I'm on the executive team. Like you, you do have to move differently. And you know veronica, you know, at home was very different from veronica from phs, you know. And there's a reason for that, you know, because I'm not representing just me, I'm representing an organization and they deserve to have a level of um professional. That is expected, right? If you know me, I'm very, very honest. You know that, roddy.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:To a full, got it. I love it. Well, thank you for joining us today. This has been great to learn about you and your path, so appreciate it, thank you. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did and believe on the mission we're on, please like, rate and subscribe to this podcast on whatever platform you're using, and share this podcast with your friends and your networks. Make sure you follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn at career cheat code and tell us people or careers you would like to see highlighted. See you next week with some more cheat codes. Peace.
