♪♪ Scott: The Hispanic community is diverse, influential, and has a growing role to play in our region's future.

The Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with Sacramento State, has just released its first economic report, focused on the issues and opportunities facing the Hispanic community.

Joining us today to make sense of this report and what its results mean for Sacramento are three leaders: Sacramento State's Rita Gallardo Good, Five Star Bank's Lydia Ramirez, and Hispanic Chamber CEO, Cathy Rodriguez Aguirre.

Lydia, what's the overall message that this report communicates to all of us about the state of the Hispanic community within our region?

Lydia: Well, thank you for having us, Scott.

We appreciate being here to really talk about the importance of this report.

But really, what it's communicating is we have opportunity.

Data through opportunity.

And that's really what the fundamental component of this reporting is about, is we've had lots of conversation about the needs and, um, issues addressing our Hispanic population, but now, we have fundamental data to show there are specific buckets of opportunity that we can really put our, um, innovation, creation, representation through, and to really help to prosper the Hispanic community, overall.

Scott: Hmm.

Cathy, what findings do you think will surprise people the most when they see the numbers in this report?

Cathy: Well, uh, Scott, again, thank you for having us here.

I, um-— I'm so excited about this report.

This is the first hyper-local report that's been done about the profile, here, of our Hispanic community.

And one of the things we asked Sac State was, really, one simple question: Can you do this and just show us what the profile is?

So, just like everyone else, when I got the report, um, there were things in here that I was really surprised about.

And one of them, actually, that stood out was the citizenship.

So, when you look at this, our 18 and under-— 96% are U. S. citizens.

And the reason that that stood out to me is, oftentimes, we see the media and the stories, this narrative that's told about us, that, now, I can say is not the full story.

And that was one of the things with this report.

Um, uh, Rita and Lydia are both on my board and they've heard me say numerous times that we need to own our story, and we need to be in charge of it.

And this data allows us to do that, to come out and say, "You know what?

This is actually what our story is."

Scott: You know, Cathy, I am so glad you brought up that percentage of young people because that-— there were many things that jumped out in the report, but that one really jumped out at me because we, at the news media, we have been communicating and implying a very different story.

Uh, not... not that we're-— Regardless of... of where people come from or... or who they are, we welcome all, but the fact is... is that the... the language and the perceptions that the-— that media has created are really in opposition to those numbers you just referenced.

Cathy: Exactly.

And you said it best.

Like, we're welcoming to all.

Our community is incredibly diverse.

And that's what we want to share, that we are, uh-— We have an immigrant story that I think everyone shares somewhere through their history.

But when we look at what this future is, we're looking at a workforce-— right?

-— that are already U.S. citizens, that are here, and they're our future voters.

So, it's about time, when someone really looks at this, and ask themselves, "Are we telling the right story?

How are we reaching out to this community?

How are we making sure we're investing in this community?"

because this is the workforce.

So, if we want California to continue to be successful, Sacramento, really, the whole United States, we need to start looking at things differently and we need to be really reaching out in a different way.

Scott: Rita, I'm curious.

How did Sac State get involved in the creation of this report?

Rita: Well, uh, as... as, uh, Cathy shared, their, uh, priorities really have to do with, um, looking at, uh, Latino businesses.

And there had been a report previously by CSU Long Beach regarding the status of Latinos.

And so, the idea came about through conversations with the Hispanic Chamber around opportunities to report more than just the, um, economic impact, but to talk about education, and to talk about homeownership.

And, obviously, the Institute for Social Research, here, at Sacramento State was excited about the opportunity to participate, because we had seen the impact that it had in Southern California-— especially, a city that's equal in size to Sacramento-— but to also encompass, um, the information and data regarding the six, um, county region.

That was exciting to us, and it was something that, uh, our, uh, administrators definitely wanted to be part of.

And I'm really grateful for that partnership with the Hispanic Chamber to bring about, um, information that can make change, create change.

Scott: Lydia, uh-— Well, Rita's comments bring up an issue for me that I...

I would like you to speak to, and-— but everybody's welcome to jump in.

So, Cathy uses the term "Hispanic," and it is the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Rita just used the... the term "Latino."

I've heard the term "Latinx."

Help us, just as an aside, deal with-— What is the appropriate, um, description that we... we, as a community, should be using to describe this community?

Because it seems that there are a lot of, uh, of different things.

Can you help?

Lydia: There are.

There are.

Scott: 'Cause I think a lot of our viewers, they... they... they've got the same kind of question that I do.

Lydia: Well, you know what?

Frankly, so do we.

And... and that's just being honest.

Right?

That's why you just got three different versions of what could it possibly be?

I think it's a, uh, it's a personal identification, um, in terms of what the individual, um, uh, feels comfortable calling themselves, representing.

Um, if you were to ask, what is the most political or correct term to use, it would probably be "Latinx" today, to incorporate all, um, that might fit underneath that umbrella, both, um, he, she, and they.

Um, so that's why we do utilize that term of "Latinx," to be inclusive.

In nature, to include all, uh, parties that might identify in that regard.

But if you were to ask me, I more closely identify with "Hispanic," or "Latino," and that was just, um, how I was raised with my family and in the community that I was a part of, which, um, why, um, the founders of the Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce named it as such.

It was 50 years ago that that term was used, and there was an evolution to "Latino," um, to more incorporate-— encompass all of the Latin American, uh, cultures that might come underneath that umbrella.

Um, so it's... it's a ever -evolving landscape, so to speak, but, um, I think the, uh, the more appropriate term at... at this day and age, um, for, um, for the media and such would probably be "Latinx" at this point.

Scott: Mmhmm.

Anybody else, uh, have a opinion that they want to offer on this?

Cathy: You know what?

Lydia said it best, and we always-— You know, I always let people know whatever you personally feel comfortable with is-— It's an individual choice.

You know, when someone asks me, I usually say "Latina," and I told someone the other day, if actually possible, I probably would've said "Americana," 'cause I like to think that, you know, I'm a twist.

I was born here in California.

So, it is-— that-— I feel that would be more me.

But it's one of those, just like for everyone else, it's, you know, reflective of you.

And I always let people know, just be respectful of what people choose.

I always tell the funny story that when I came home from college my first, uh, quarter, came home and told my mom and said, "I just found out that I am Chicana!"

I took my first Chicano Studies class, and I got to tell you, Scott, this was my mom said.

"No.

No, you're not.

That is not..." And so, it's generational too.

So, it's one of those things that we spend a lot of time on... on it.

But, again, it's an individual choice.

What we really want to focus on more is, you know, what are the common bonds and the common opportunities that we have?

And focus there.

And put our energies there, and hopefully, someday, you know, we'll all come to a term that we pre-— uh, you know, that we all can agree on.

But, for right now, I think that it's just reflective of the diversity of our community.

Lydia: One hundred percent.

Scott: Well said.

Okay.

Well, le... let's go back to-— Cathy: There's no easy answer for that one.

Scott: Okay.

All right.

Hey, you know, w... we... we are all about promoting and growing understanding.

So, uh, thank you for the feedback.

Uh, let's go back to the report now.

What are some of the conventional assumptions, Rita, that you think that this port-— report-— Beyond, um, particularly, that percentage of young people who are U. S. citizens that, um, we just talked about, what do you think that this report most blows up, in terms of conventional wisdom about the community?

Rita: Well, I think that, um, it shares that the Latino community has come along, um, much more than, um, say, the media has give us credit for, whether it was internet in the home, uh, whether it was, um, education attainment.

Uh, I found that, um-— The numbers show that we have acclimated, um, being here in this country.

Um, as my... my parents-— My... my father, uh, came in 1961 from Guadalajara, and, uh, uh, my father has a fifth -grade education.

I'm in a doctorate program.

My father came here so that I would, um, come here and work hard, and... and grow and prosper.

And all that... all that being said, what I was very, um, proud about was that, uh, at this time, the Latinos in this region have, uh, 5% of those Latinos have a graduate degree.

That shows that we're starting to grow in this, um, region, to have, um, uh, have acclimated ourselves, um, to give back to the community, to help run businesses.

Um, I was really very proud to see that, um, the numbers aren't as dire, but there's still, um, numbers that were surprising to me, especially when it came to the impact of COVID.

Scott: Well, uh, one-— You know, it's great that you mentioned that Rita 'cause I...

I wanna, uh, go to Cathy.

Cathy, one of the things that really jumped out at me in this report was that, from a income level, in Sacramento County, that the community earns-— The... the, uh, average wage that was reported, or family household income, was $85,000, and that's higher than the general income within the community.

Now, I...

I assume that that was for-— based on, uh, a family.

You know, so, um-— You know, a family size of three or four, something like that.

I don't know what statisticians use, but I thought that, "Wow."

If... if I were in business marketing products and services, I'd say, "Man, this is a community that if I haven't captured a market share, I really need to be looking at this community as an opportunity."

Cathy: And... and you're completely right, Scott.

I would say, though, one of the things that-— You know, this was our... our first report.

So, this is the baseline.

And that, actually, you know, was brought up a... a few times, you know, this part, and the fact that there is actually this closing of a gap, um, in income.

In our community, one of the things that, you know, would probably be-— show up in the next report is we also tend to be multi-generational households.

So, it's not uncommon, you know, for there to be a family and maybe, um, the grandparents are still there or, you know, um, the daughter's moved in and set-— and they're taking care of one another.

And so, that, in a sense, will, you know, inflate the income there.

But it's still to say that you are right, though.

It's a market share that you want to look at because what happens is that they're making decisions together.

Right?

Or coming in together, you know, to purchase a home.

And Lydia, who's, you know, a leader in the banking industry, can certainly speak, you know, to that, from her end.

But there... there's a lot going on.

And I think one of the important parts from this report is that-— to realize the Hispanic community has been contributing to the economic engine of this region.

The Latino community is either-— You know, it's a predominant workforce.

They're opening businesses.

They're, you know, purchasing new homes, all through even the horrible impact of COVID.

So, as we lost more lives in La-— the Latino community-— and that's a fact, you know, it's there-— there was also this other part where this resiliency of coming together and continuing to make sure that, you know, you were thriving through recovery.

And so, it's an interesting, you know, piece, and maybe that's where that, you know, spirit comes in, that we all have in our stories of someone that gave up everything to come here to create these options, you know, for us, as Rita spoke to.

But, you know, it's definitely something that people need, you know, to look at.

This is a market share that you don't want to overlook because, you know, because of the growth, because of the investments that it's making.

And, yes, if you were a company, I would certainly be looking through this report and rethinking, "How am I messaging out?"

to make sure one: yes, to help this community, but two: let's be honest, it's going to help your bottom line.

Scott: Right.

Right.

Lydia, as a banker, I...

I wanted to ask you what are the implications of some of the findings in there, such as that only a third of Hispanic high school graduates met the requirements to enter university at the CS and UC level?

You're about, uh, helping to grow the region at... Lydia: Right.

Scott: ...um, as a banker, and... and funding those entrepreneurial opportunities to grow our future economy.

But the workers are the most, uh, important resource to getting that done.

How did you react to that?

Lydia: So, that's very, uh, interesting that you bring up that topic, Scott.

To me, that was probably one of the more Aha!

moments, for me, as I was reading that report, um, because-— So, you start out with the population number that was, um, astounding to many people thinking that, um, those under the... the age of 18, uh-— That number, that were actually, uh, truly a hundred percent American citizens, um, was pretty-— is-— was high.

So, if you're thinking about that number, and then you're looking at the educational attainment and, um, the opportunities afforded to them at high school, um, and not being given the same opportunities, or not giving the same communication, um, there's an... there's an opportunity there.

There's an opportunity to create-— um, to... to remove the divide, or the unequal divide, to make sure that everyone has access to understand what are the requirements for a CSU so that we can go into Sac State?

What are the requirements for UCs, so that we can go into the UC system?

I was a... a UC Davis grad and... and Cathy was a UC Davis grad.

Um, and so, you know, trying to figure what does that look like?

Um, uh, Rita talked about, uh, 5% get their, uh, graduate degrees.

I'm part of that 5%.

Rita's going to be a part of the 1% that get their PhD.

So, um, while the numbers show that people are doing it, it's still too small and we need to create representation.

And one of the things that Cathy and I talk about constantly is, uh, representation matters.

And so, when I'm thinking about my position within the... the banking industry and, um, being, um, the chief operations officer for Five Star Bank, and being a part of that C -suite, and Cathy representing the Chamber as a CEO, there's not enough.

There's not enough, uh, um, Latinas, or Latinos, or Latinx individuals, acting executive director and above, C- suite individuals.

Um, we need to start opening up those doors and inviting those.

So, as I go up, I need to bring five more people up with me that are willing and wanting to be able to do that.

So, how does Five Star Bank come into that whole play?

We are-— to your point-— participate in the entrepreneurial programs through Sac State, or with UC Davis, um, with UOP.

But now, the next stage is to make sure we go dep-— down deeper through the Los Rios group, and then, um, even into-— We do a lot with Cristo Rey, um, and making sure that we have a fundamental understanding of-— we understand that there's a large population coming through our education system right now, and it would be foolish for us to not pay attention to the workforce development that needs to happen at all levels, and starting down at the K through 12 grades, in order to be able to create that equal educational attainment, and to move our, um, population from the skilled workers into education or healthcare or management.

Scott: Well, I, um, I...

I hear you on that.

And in one of the profiles, Cathy, uh, Cambria Solutions CEO, Robert Rodriguez-— You know, you hear about a success story of an entrepreneur like that who's grown a very large, very successful and... and thriving company, but then, you connect that back to some of the other stories that you have in here, like Jonathan Hernandez's.

And the-— It... it seems that there is a... a need, somehow, to further elevate and highlight those success stories, because I think all of us can agree that when you see someone you can relate to on... on whatever basis, it can give a young person the inspiration and the belief to kind of reach for their own star.

How do we do more of that?

Cathy: Oh, my gosh, Scott.

So, I think you're looking at three people here that love nothing more than to do just that.

So, it is about, you know, elevating one another, you know, sharing our stories.

The reason you see the mix in here is exactly for what you said.

We wanted a student profile so people can see, you know, what their journey is and what it's looking like.

And then Robert's in there, who ha-— you know, started with very humble beginnings and has created, you know, this big company.

And if you talk to him, he's very much the same way.

It's about bringing people up with him and making sure there's representation at all levels of his management and executive, you know, team.

So, it's being intentional about what you're doing and who you're bringing up, and then-— and sharing that with everyone.

So, people have heard me say numerous times, "There's enough light for everyone," and it's our job to make sure that we're casting it out.

When we talk about, you know, interns and mentoring, like, uh, we take it very seriously.

Right?

You know, we're there to make sure that whether they need an email, a call, whatever that might be, we're available.

And we need to talk about that openly, you know, both the struggles and the challenges, but the successes, you know, with our younger generations so they know that it's... it's possible.

It's attainable.

Scott: Well... well... well, Cathy, as... as a matter of fact, um, recently, along those lines to try and build those connections, didn't you, in the Chamber, also start your own leadership program to try and... and start to build that out?

Cathy: Act-— Well, so, we're one of the ones, just as you were, that came in to help brainstorm, you know, for a new, um, leadership program that is, you know, focused on Latino leadership, and it's called Nueva Epoca.

And right now, it's being, um, run through a team of community leaders, and I know that Rita is one of the mentors for it.

So, there's a lot-— Actually, what's really great about it is it's brought a lot of the community together, you know, to do that.

So, they fir-— just graduated their first cohort, and they're going through their second right now.

And it was exactly that, to bring in emerging leaders, um, to give them that opportunity to bond and connect with one another, to find out, you know, you're not... you're not the only one.

A lot of times, we thi-— people are coming through and think "I'm the only one that's feeling this.

I'm the only one that's experiencing this."

You know the power of bringing people together and hearing from one another saying, "Okay, you understand what it's like to be the, you know, the only woman, the only Latina, the only 'something' in a group."

Scott: Right.

Right.

Cathy: And suddenly, when-— You know, you're with a group that the "only" becomes bigger.

And so, we're, you know, helping to establish that next group of leaders, to give them that confidence, to continue to build up and elevate.

But also, that reminder that as you're going up, that you're bringing people with you.

Scott: Right.

Rita, I...

I want to go back to this report and... and, frankly, the times that it was created within.

We... we've talked a lot about, tangentially, the coronavirus and all of its various impacts.

But how, specifically, you know, given this report and... and some of the opportunities and challenges that it highlights, how has the coronavirus impacted some of the things that Sac State studied, with regards to the Hispanic community?

Rita: Well, I'd like to say that I'm very proud of the leadership of President Nelsen.

Uh, we continue to support students through this pandemic.

Um, we were, um, quick to pivot to an online, uh, virtual environment, and were quick to provide, uh, mental health services, um, food services, any critical services that students needed in order to be successful, including, um, converting one of our parking lots, um, that is in the entrance of the university into a... a Wi-Fi hotspot.

Uh, we ensured that students had what they needed, and... and to include, um, the support of faculties for their own success.

Uh, I will say that, uh-— I do want to share that we are a Hispanic-serving institute, um, meaning that Sac State serves over 37% of their, um, student population, um, are Latino.

Uh, this past year, uh, our... our, uh, admissions were at a record-breaking 31,750.

Uh, and I share that because we are very, um, aware of student success programs and servicing students, and so, when it came to p-— the pandemic, we were quick to have the testing.

We were quick to bring, uh, any, um, uh, vaccination services to campus, and I'll share that, uh, uh, faculty were th... were there at the table, ensuring that they were flexible and working with students for their own success.

In, uh, May of this past year, uh, we hit 26% graduation rate.

26% of our students came through and completed their, um, bachelor degrees in four years.

Scott: Hmm.

Rita: That is also a testament to the work that Sac State does, um, not only for the Latino students but also for all the students, um, in the region that are, um, enrolled at Sac State.

Scott: And finally, Lydia, with all of the findings that were within this report, share with us just in our final moments, uh, one thing that you'd like to see future s-— uh, study and... and more focus on, as you look toward preparing more reports like this in the future.

Lydia: That's a great question, Scott.

I think this, um, this report is scratching the surface and giving us an opportunity to have a starting point, uh, to bring people to the table and have the conversations that are going to be meaningful for opportunity, going forward.

But the next iteration, uh, will probably focus on homeownership.

Uh, we focused a lot about-— on renter, um, numbers in this report, but homeownership is going to be that next, um, you know, um, focus, uh, for opportunity to pay attention to, you know, how do we get, um, the American dream?

And how do we help to, uh, achieve that, together, as a community?

And what are-— um, who needs to be at the table to assist with that?

But... but first, we need the true data to see where we are with that component, um, and how our tax dollars are being used as a community.

Um, are they going back to the reinvestment into the community, or maybe doing something different?

And how can we help to, um, maybe move that funding so that it's... it's being, um, allocated appropriately, so we see this population thriving within the Sacramento region?

Scott: And I think that we'll leave it there.

We'll look forward to that next report.

And that's our show.

Thanks to our guests, and thanks to you for watching Studio Sacramento.

I'm Scott Syphax.

See you next time right here on KVIE.

♪♪ ♪♪ Scott Syphax: All episodes of Studio Sacramento, along with other KVIE programs, are available to watch online at kvie.org/video.