This month we celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month. It’s a time to pause, celebrate, and honor the voices, stories, and contributions of the Latino community. The past few years haven't been easy. There's been doubt, uncertainty, and moments that were, frankly, unsettling. But the Latino community is doing what it does best: showing up for one another and leading with corazón. And the results speak for themselves.
Within our team, community resource group (CRG) Relativity Latinos in Tech (REL-L.I.T.) celebrated its five-year anniversary. Watching so many people come together – proud, energized, and committed to each other's growth – was a reminder of what community can build. And beyond our walls, Latino leaders across industries are driving change, fueling innovation, and lifting others as they rise.
So what better moment than Hispanic Heritage Month to hear directly from some of those leaders? In the conversations that follow, five industry leaders share how they've navigated their careers, leaned into their identities, and built something meaningful along the way.
Grab your cafecito. These are voices worth pondering.
Maribel Rivera, ACEDS
Maribel speaks to what it means to earn – and hold – a seat at the table. What does representation look like in practice? What did she have to navigate to get there, and what does she wish she'd known sooner?
Growing up Puerto Rican, I watched my mother make everyone feel important, whether she was hosting at home or leading at church. The lesson I took from her comes down to this: “Nena, aquí se le hace espacio a todo el mundo.” Sweetheart, we make room for everyone. That instinct is in my DNA, although making room for my own voice has taken practice.
As a Latina without a college degree, I’ve been overlooked for opportunities and questioned whether people would take my ideas seriously. I’d share them in conversations after a meeting, then watch someone else present them and get the credit. I was angry with them and frustrated with myself for staying quiet. I had to unlearn that habit of making myself small. That meant sharing my ideas openly and speaking up when my contributions went unrecognized.
Having people invest in me helped. I still remember an executive sitting me down and telling me I could be a leader. Over time, I built a personal advisory board: people whose advice I trusted and whose judgment others respected. They’ve helped me think through opportunities, advocated for me when I wasn’t in the room, and held me accountable for my own progress.
For someone on the outside looking in, that’s where I’d start. Find one person you trust and respect, ask for guidance on a specific goal, and follow through on the advice. Your circle will take time to grow. Look for people who will be honest with you, including when you’re getting in your own way. I still have moments of doubt, and having that support matters. My mother taught me to make room for everyone. I’ve had to learn that “everyone” includes me.
Jessica Cruz, Relativity
Jessica shares her perspective on intentional career development. What strategies, communities, or mindset shifts made the difference?
Prior to joining Relativity, I was at a large company where it felt impossible to grow my career. After a few failed attempts to move into new roles internally without any tangible feedback as to why, I decided that working for a well-known brand was not enough. I needed to be in a culture that recognized impact, encouraged ambition and curiosity, and allowed me to bring my full self to work.
Stepping out of my comfort zone to leave a company I had been with for more than nine years allowed me to find a new role with an organization that aligned with my personal values. And once I no longer had to spend unnecessary energy on fitting in or explaining my worth, it opened a world of possibilities.
My advice for creating that moment instead of waiting for it: pay attention to the gap between the growth you're asking for and the feedback you're getting. If you keep hearing "not yet" without a clear path to "yes," that's your signal to stop waiting for someone else to open the door and start looking for – or building – one yourself.
Having a mentor, especially when navigating a new role, has been instrumental in my development journey. A good mentor can not only help with role specific growth but also your overall confidence. Being able to share strategy to gain input, discuss difficult problems, and have a sounding board are just some of the benefits of having a mentor.
If you’d like to find one but don’t know where or how, I’d suggest starting within your own organization. Know a leader with a similar background or that you find inspirational? Reach out and make the ask, or leverage your direct manager to help with connections. Most people are flattered and they will at least be open to conversations, even if they can’t commit to a more structured mentorship relationship.
And finally: be curious! We are in a time where technology is moving at an unreal pace and while it can feel overwhelming, it's not slowing down. Lean into new things with an open mind, keep learning and be your best advocate for your own career development. And don't underestimate the value of being one of the few Latinas in the room; it's an opportunity to bring a perspective this industry needs, not something to shrink from in an attempt to fit in.
Juan Ramirez, NSerio
Juan explores the intersection of entrepreneurship and cultural identity. What does it mean to carry culture into your work?
In legal tech, a Colombian development team, like NSerio, is usually something a vendor mentions quietly, if at all. But we made it the headline. We advertise it. Our company’s mission is that e-discovery recognizes Colombia as home to the best software developers in the space; we say it at every all-hands and track the wins that prove it.
We bring Colombian coffee and candy to conferences, wear ponchos with the flag at our booth, and invite customers to Bogotá to take part in our company events. This has led to collaborative relationships with our clients. The advantage isn't the coffee or the trips. It's that when your country's name is attached to the work, quality stops being a process requirement and becomes a personal obligation.
By leaning into our culture when the team builds and delivers an app, they're representing something. Our customers get the benefit of that, and so do we. It's a uniting force.
Jocelyn Plain, Bird and Bird & Laura Penuela, Relativity
Jocelyn and Laura bring a global lens: what does connectedness mean when your identity and your community span borders?
Jocelyn:
For me, community has never been a single, fixed concept, and that is precisely what makes it powerful. As a Cuban American German professional with dual American and German citizenship, I carry multiple identities (and three languages!) wherever I go. Soy Latina, but I am also American, with German citizenship. Navigating those layers has taught me that professional environments are not obstacles to manage; instead, they are adventures to lean into.
This perspective shapes everything about how I build relationships at work. At Bird & Bird, I am part of a global pricing team that spans the United Kingdom, Germany, China, Australia, and beyond. What strikes me about our team (under Global Head of Pricing Anthony Shillingford), is that the connective tissue is not uniformity, it is curiosity.
When you approach a colleague in a different country not as someone who does things differently, but as someone who sees things differently, the conversation changes entirely. You stop trying to translate and start trying to understand, and in doing so, you begin to build real alliances. Building connections across geographies always starts one colleague at a time. Whether working in consulting, on the vendor side, at a university, or now within an international law firm, I’ve found that the fundamentals remain the same: understand your audience before you try to reach them.
Cultural fluency is not just about language; it is about knowing when to listen, when to adapt, and when your perspective adds something the room does not yet have. And that is the gift of a global identity. Problems look different depending on where you are standing. Every challenge is an opportunity for growth, but you must be willing to see it from more than one angle first. Sometimes you will make mistakes, but you will recognize them, adjust, and keep going. We are global citizens operating in changing environments and we must be adaptable, flexible, and brave. We are stronger together in communities rather than operating from silos. Get to know your international colleagues and learn to build bridges into the future together. ¡Gracias!
Laura:
For me, community has always been a big part of who I am. I’m originally from Colombia, and there is a very strong sense of community in Latin culture. We have big families, and family celebrations are rarely just about your immediate family. My mum is one of 11 children, so growing up, Christmas, birthdays, and special occasions were always about bringing a big group of family and friends together. That shaped how I see community today.
I then moved to Australia on my own in 2009 and had to build a new life, career, and support network from scratch. I’ve adapted to the way Australians work and build relationships, but I’ve also brought my own values with me. For me, that means making the effort to really get to know people, understand what is happening in their world, and build genuine relationships.
Becoming a mum added another layer to that. Raising children without your original support network can be challenging, and it made me realise how important community is – particularly when you are trying to balance family and a career. I found that so many working parents are navigating the same things, whether it’s a sick child, a difficult day, or simply trying to feel like you are doing a good job at everything. Those shared experiences create connections that can be much deeper than what you might expect from a professional relationship.
It has also changed the way I lead. I used to see things quite black and white, but becoming a mum taught me that grey can coexist with black and white, and sometimes it is actually the best answer. We are all human. We make mistakes, we have difficult days, and we can’t give 100 percent every day. What 100 percent looks like today can be very different from yesterday depending on what is happening in our personal lives. I’m quite open about my own vulnerabilities because I think it creates space for other people to do the same.
For me, connectedness is about making that effort. It’s about being genuinely curious about people, understanding that there is always more going on beneath the surface, and showing up for each other. When people feel that they are truly cared for and supported, trust grows. You build a community where people feel that they belong and where they can do their best, both at work and in life.
Celebrate Your Story
Hispanic Heritage Month is more than a date on the calendar. It's a reminder that our stories matter, our contributions shape industries, and our community, when it shows up for itself, is a force.
Across these conversations, a few things became clear. Maribel showed us what it looks like to not just earn a seat at the table, but to use it with intention. Jessica reminded us that career growth doesn't happen by accident; it's built through community, mentorship, and the courage to own your path. Juan challenged us to stop treating our cultural identity as something to manage and start seeing it as the competitive edge it's always been. And Jocelyn and Laura brought it home by reminding us that connection doesn't stop at borders, and that the strength of this community is as global as we are.
These aren't just career lessons. They're a reflection of what it means to lead with corazón and to show up fully, to lift others as you rise, and to refuse to shrink in spaces that weren't always built for us.
So as we move through this season, carry something from these voices with you. Reach out to someone in your network. Mentor someone coming up. Celebrate a win whether it’s yours or someone else’s. The community that has carried us this far was built one relationship at a time, and it grows the same way.
Feliz Hispanic Heritage Month. Cuídense mucho.
Graphics for this article were created by Kael Rose.
