- [Narrator] Funding for this episode of ¿Que Pasa?

NJ with Carlos Medina has been provided by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey PSE&G The New Jersey Economic Development Authority Hackensack Meridian Health The Engineer's Labor Employer Cooperative 825 ROI NJ Business Magazine Hudson County Community College - Hey, familia.

Welcome to this month's episode of ¿Que Pasa?

This month, we're lucky to have Camelia Valdes, Passaic County Prosecutor, Fernando Uribe and Maria Rodriguez-Gregg, Kayla Rodriguez Graff of SweetBio, Inc. And Live from the CAALE Gala, Yotuel Romero and Adam San Miguel.

And don't forget, ¿Que Pasa?

(lively salsa music) (lively salsa music continues) Welcome to ¿Que Pasa?, Camelia Valdes, Passaic County Prosecutor.

- Thank you so much for having me.

So good to see you and be here.

- Tell me what it's like to be the top law enforcement officer in Passaic County.

- Well, it's a challenge every day.

It's impact every single day.

Didn't know I would be here doing this as long as I've done it, but it is so gratifying and rewarding to be able to serve in this way.

- And we go way back when you were President of the Hispanic Bar, I was one of the board members.

- Yes, 2004.

- Yeah, yeah, 2004, 2004.

Now, prior to Passaic County Prosecutor, you were the original AUSA Valdes.

- Yes, I had the distinction of serving as an Assistant US Attorney in the District of New Jersey and didn't think I'll ever leave there.

That was the dream to serve at the federal level.

But this opportunity came and now 12 years later, here we are.

- That's great, that's great.

Tell me a little bit of your family's journey here.

I know they were from the Dominican Republic.

- Yes, so my parents came to New York.

I was born in the Bronx, like many good Dominicans.

And then at some point we moved to Newark and I was raised in the city of Newark and my mom still lives in Newark.

She'll never leave the Brick City.

- Excellent, excellent.

Now, when you were named Prosecutor in Passaic, many firsts.

First woman in Passaic County, first Domincana in the whole country?

- Yes.

- Wow, wow.

And first Latina in New Jersey - Yes - To hold the position as a county prosecutor.

- Yes.

- So what else is in store for us, for you?

Are there any, I know there's some positions floating around out there.

and I've seen your name quoted in many articles.

- It's a wonderful tribute to be named in so many things and to know that the work is recognized because being the first Latina County Prosecutor and the first woman and the first, all those things, they're wonderful but when the celebrations are done, what remain is the work.

And to be able to be a public official as long as I have had the opportunity to do it and to really impact families and communities and victims, and then to be named and mentioned every time there's a conversation about public service is incredibly humbling.

And Let's see.

Who knows what the future brings?

- Who knows, who knows?

How do you navigate that?

'Cause as a prosecutor, you're not supposed to necessarily be at political functions and deal with politicians.

- Right.

- But the gatekeepers for many of these positions are politicians.

- Yes So how do they know of your reputation and good work if they're not able to really sit and talk with you to then be able to recommend you to the President?

- Sure, so what I say to people, especially attorneys that work in government service is "You do your work and you let your work speak for you."

And no, I can't contribute politically and no, I can't be at fundraisers and I can't do that.

But what I can do is do the best possible job I can with what has been entrusted for me to do.

And to do that with integrity and character and honesty.

And I have worked and I've been very conscious of my reputation, so that hopefully that draws the attention to people who are in the position to make those types of determinations.

And so that is the hope, but ultimately as a government attorney who is not allowed to participate politically, you have to let your work speak for you.

- Sure, sure.

I had looked over your bio and it was like 20 pages (Camelia laughs) of accolades and awards (Camelia continues laughing) so it was heavy reading, Camelia.

- Sorry about that.

(Carlos laughs) - But tell me, you're a Latina role model.

You've spoken at events.

You've spoken at an event for the Chamber.

What do you tell young Latinas pursuing law or pursuing business or entrepreneurship?

What do you tell them?

'Cause it's difficult for a Latina still, to start a business, to be paid 100% of what your peers are getting paid.

what's your pep talk to them?

- So I tell them to be very conscious of what their, why is, why do they want to do what they do?

And if they have a dream that they are trying to nurture, that they're trying to pursue, they have to surround themselves by people with the same energy, the same spirit that believed in their dreams.

Because let's face it, Even when I was coming up, my parents had an elementary school education.

So the greatest thing that I could've done with my life was finish high school.

And I didn't know it at the time, but I was poor, I was Dominican.

I was brown.

I was from Newark.

And so their expectations for me, and these are the people that love me, was that I was gonna get married and maybe work and have children and that was going to be that because that's what everyone in our neighborhood did.

So when you don't see people that are doing what you want to do, whether that's being a prosecutor or a judge or a business woman, then you have to seek out those role models somewhere else.

They exist and unfortunately Latinas have to look a little harder and they have to surround themselves with people that believe in their dream.

And that's once you achieve your dream, it's not only getting it, it's maintaining it.

So making sure that you're staying positive, making sure that you are moving about the world with integrity and with character and with reputation because our names are all we have and you keep yourself rooted and anchored in faith and in family and in friends.

That's what I tell them 'cause it's tough.

It's a daily challenge, but it's not impossible if you keep that circle together.

- Great, well thank you for being a role model.

Keep inspiring - Thank you - Our youth here in New Jersey.

- Thank you - Gracias And up next, we have Kayla Rodriguez Graff from the company SweetBio.

(joyful salsa music) - Kayla Rodriguez Graff, welcome to ¿Que Pasa?

- Thank you so much.

It's a pleasure to be here.

- You and your brother Isaac, both of Puerto Rican heritage, founded SweetBio.

There's a lot of Boricua pride.

- I'll tell you.

We all come from all sides of our family, come from Guayanilla.

It is our honor and our distinct privilege to be able to represent Puerto Rico and all the journeys that have come before us.

It really is just one of the biggest motivators that we have and to keep it forward for the next generation, let's go.

- Exactly well on the show, we love to highlight Hispanic role models.

So tell me a little bit about SweetBio and your role as CEO.

- Honey is an amazing material, but it's limited.

It's messy.

It's, short-term, it's topical and there's this huge problem in the world with wound care and especially wounds that are on the rise, like diabetic wounds.

And when we think about who is impacted the most by diabetes and these wounds, you think of our family, you think of people of color, of African-American descent, of Latino, Latina descent, and the results are catastrophic.

And so how can we leverage the brain that my brother has as a Biomedical PhD Tissue Engineer and my background in business.

I worked for Target Corporate for many years.

And my specialty is to think about business in a different and unique way.

How can we combine and say, listen, there's an opportunity here to be able to build something that can help save lives.

And so that was the Genesis of SweetBio.

It was this vision that a powerful material could solve a really big problem.

And one that we feel very strongly about.

- Yeah, it's an amazing story.

And especially we know that Hispanics, African-American community really access to medical care, proper diet are so important.

The fact that you're doing that is amazing.

I understand SweetBio receive funding from a company called VamosVentures, a venture capital fund that invest in diverse companies.

And I know that Apple has a Race Equity and Justice Initiative.

And I found out just today that they added 30 million to the already $100 million investment that they made.

And we know access to capital for Hispanics is so difficult.

Tell me a little bit about the process of working with Vamos and accessing that capital.

- How incredible to have one of the best brands in the world shine a light on the importance of funding Latino, Latina companies, and then do something about it.

We met Vamos about a year ago and went through the process and we were fortunate to be one of the companies that VamosVentures had selected and to have Apple be a part of that experience.

Is provided this amplification of our story, of our message, of our mission and our vision.

And I know that this amplification is already starting to change lives.

We're getting emails, we're getting calls of how we can get our product into the hands of those who need it most.

Isn't just about building an innovative company.

It's about how can we leverage this innovation and help the communities that need it most.

And a lot of times those are at odds.

So to have that alignment and a true commitment from Apple and from VamosVentures to say, we want innovation and we want it in our communities.

That is the answer right there.

We just feel so much pride, we're humbled to be one of the vessels that can do that.

And we are so motivated by this to be able to keep driving this forward.

- Yeah as you know, as I know, Latinos are starting businesses two to three times out of the general population.

And Latinas at even a greater pace.

So it's kind of like Latina super power is finally out there, it's no longer a secret.

And kudos to Apple for recognizing our superpower.

What can you tell entrepreneurs out there?

Our viewers that are having trouble accessing capital, maybe they're not feeling motivated, give them a pep talk.

Tell them a little bit about what drove you to continue this six year journey.

- When you're thinking about an idea, solving a big problem, It has to hit you at your core because this journey is not an easy one.

Life's hard and then layering something like this, jumping into the unknown, which of course you can de-risk along the way, there are resources where you can understand how to pitch or how to talk to investors, how to build financial documents and marketing plans.

But this decision, it is a big one.

It's a life changing one and it's difficult.

And so know that there is more support than ever to help Latino, Latina companies build their ideas into a business and get funding.

Vamos is one of the ones that is standing up, but they are accelerators and there are more that are rising to the challenge.

Thanks to this amplification that Apple is doing.

So go grow it, take the steps.

You can fail at doing what you don't love.

This is a moment to be able to take a chance on something that you do love.

Gotta have smart people around you, and you've gotta bring your skillset and your grit to the table, but believe that you can do it.

And that gets along way, so.

- Incredible words.

Thanks for being such a great role model Kayla and continued success with SweetBio.

- Thank you so much for the opportunity.

(energetic salsa music) - Welcome back and now we have Maria Rodriguez-Gregg and Fernando Uribe.

Welcome to ¿Que Pasa?, - Hey Carlos, - Tell me about the new show that you guys have, the podcast that you have, that you're working on together?

- Well, it started in Halloween of last year.

I currently host politically direct with Insider NJ, which you can check out folks at insidernj.com/podcast.

And I had Marie on as a guest, which is the norm every week.

And I know that she's a very big advocate about domestic violence awareness.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

And I said, "Listen, why don't you come on the show?"

And she was on, and then after the show was great.

It had tremendous amount of views and clicks and listens.

And then over the Christmas holiday, I approached her and said, "Listen, I really like our, the vibe we had on our show, I think we gelled well.

I think we have a lot of similar ideas politically and socially and why don't we try to do a show together."

Other people had floated the idea to her, but I beat them all to it.

And it worked out for me because we've been a great team since January of this year.

And I couldn't ask for a better broadcast partner when it comes to talking about politics.

- How's - Absolutely - To work with this guy?

- It's really great.

I think that we have really contrasting point of views.

We're very like, but very different at the same time.

So it's fun to have a show where we can basically have that back and forth, have different perspectives on a lot of issues in New Jersey and nationally yet still be respectful, Still have fun dialogue.

- Yeah - I think it's really great for the people that watch as well.

- So Maria, you were an Assemblywoman and now you're involved in a lot of nonprofit.

What's your drive to public service?

- You know, I grew up in a family where service was very important.

I grew up in a military family service was everything.

And so I guess having that upbringing really contributed to the need to give back.

When things happen to us, the best thing that we can do to acknowledge and honor even some of the most traumatic and bad events is to share our story and find ways to help others through difficulty.

Many people know about my experience with domestic violence, and it brought me to a foundation called Safe Way Out formerly Forever Your Overwatch.

And now I've been on their board.

I'm currently the Vice-President of Operations.

And what we do is we help empower, protect, and train those that are escaping violent situations.

We will go into their homes, help secure it, help put up cameras, escort them to hearings, escort them home and it's not just domestic violence.

We help people that are victims of rape, sexual assault and human trafficking.

- Interesting, interesting.

And Fernando, you're very involved with the American Cancer Society.

You've an event coming up, tell us when it is the date and - It's coming up.

- You know I was gonna be part of it?

- Yeah, it's coming up.

I'm glad you're a sponsor here with ¿Que Pasa?

New Jersey.

And A Professor's Quest to Save Breasts has been sort of my staple philanthropic project since 2008.

And it's taken a lot of work.

I mean, it's been laborious, but it's fulfilling.

I mean, the name gets me in trouble once in a while, A Professor's Quest to Save Breasts.

- I think it's a great name.

- No, it is.

But you know sometimes people always have something to say about it but fortunately since 2008 it's raised almost $53,000.

- Great.

- And it's formation.

So it includes everything from like raffling off prizes to auctions and it's a great networking experience.

And I'm proud to have Maria as a cause with me this year at Mamajuana Cafe in West New York, which is right along River Road in West New York.

- Sure, that's great that you both give back.

Let's talk a little since most of my guests, I think Fernando criticize that are more on the liberal slant, so give me your handicap for the upcoming gubernatorial election.

- Oh - To a Republican.

- Well, we're going to talk about in our show later today, but listen, Governor Murphy's in a real good position to get reelected and he's looking to break a streak that Democrats have been suffering for long since almost probably since Brendan Byrne and that's before my lifetime where a Democrat has not been reelected governor since it.

It's a long time in New Jersey politics.

Murphy's in a good position.

There've been a lot of things that we can critique the governor on.

In terms of policy, I've disagreed with some of his mask mandates and his approach to COVID, but for whatever reason, it's not sticking and whatever criticisms of that, whether it's the recent controversy involving Katie Brennan, that's been unfortunately glorified by the Ciattarelli's campaign.

It's been, I think in poor taste or the Edna Mahan women's prison fiasco, nothing has stuck to the governor.

And again, being the fact that I'm the conservative sort of journalist here in New Jersey, one of the few.

The Liberal Media in New Jersey doesn't really do a lot to go after the governor.

A press like NJTV and David Cruz and Tom Moran with the Star-Ledger and the others.

They kind of cuddle Democrats in the governor's mansion and in the legislature.

And I'm one of the few conservative journalists, opinion journalist that actually take Liberals and Democrats and Progressives to task when they won't.

And I think the governor is a good shape to get reelected because of the fact that Ciattarelli's just dropped the ball incessantly during this campaign.

- Sure, Maria.

- I mean, I couldn't disagree.

It's really unfortunate.

There was a really great opportunity for Republicans to be successful.

Jack Ciattarelli started his campaign, what two years ago, prior to COVID, that was a real opportunity to target areas especially in Northern Jersey to really basically build a name ID for himself, create in roads in communities that he's going to need in order to win and they didn't do that.

Maybe this will be a wake-up call that they need to step up their game in terms of outreach, how to win.

Hopefully they realize that the strategy that they've been utilizing, isn't quite working.

And I think the strategy that's been taken on, even on a national level regarding COVID and the Republican Party, personally to me, I think killing off your base isn't the best strategy.

And I think that there needs to be a little more, the fact that Trump got vaccinated yet when it comes to other local elected officials they're not pushing vaccinations.

They're actually stoking fears regarding vaccinations, comparing there're people that are running for office that have compared COVID to the common cold, it's horrific.

And so we look like these hyper critics and we get some criticism for it - Absurd - And it's fine.

But I look at it as a family, I'm gonna criticize, I'm gonna tell my family what you're doing wrong.

I'm going to tell the truth to your face because I want to see you do better and be better.

- Great.

Well, thank you both.

Thanks for everything you do.

Thanks for the philanthropy.

And remember to support Fernando's event coming up And up next, we have some scenes from the CAALE Gala Live from West New York, New Jersey at Rumba Cubana Restaurant.

(energetic salsa music) (easygoing salsa music) (speaking Spanish) (audience cheers) (shifts to upbeat salsa music) (Yotuel speaks Spanish) (audience cheers) - ¿Que Pasa?

Is lucky to be with Yotuel today.

He is here receiving the Jose Marti Award, so we're very excited to have him.

(speaking Spanish) (Yotuel speaks Spanish) Thank you for being here.

(Yotuel speaks Spanish) How does it feel?

I know you're an actor, a singer, a model.

You won the Latin Grammy Award, but how's it feel to receive the Jose Marti Award today?

- For me, this is a better prize.

- Okay - For real that's a Jose Marti for all Cubans is (speaks Spanish) He is the line to follow.

New York City (speaks Spanish) - And somebody lived in New Jersey who you - Celia Cruz.

- You are a big fan of.

(Carlos laughs) (Yotuel speaks Spanish) (Carlos speaks Spanish) - No - "Patria y Vida" has become the anthem for the struggle for the Cuban people.

How does it feel that your words, your music, your lyrics I've inspired so many.

(Yotuel speaks Spanish) (continues speaking Spanish) (continues speaking Spanish) - We spoke a little earlier about how music speaks volumes, music can't be suppressed.

- Yeah.

And the government in Cuba tried to suppress that music.

Talk to me a little bit about that dynamic.

(Yotuel speaks Spanish) (continues speaking Spanish) (continues speaking Spanish) - Gracias (speaking Spanish), God Bless.

- God Bless Cuba - God Bless Cuba (Yotuel speaks Spanish) (cheerful salsa music) I'm here with Adam San Miguel.

Who's the President and CEO of CAALE, the organization that's giving the award to Yotuel.

Thank you for being with us.

- Of course, thank you for coming Carlos.

- How many people you have here tonight tell me?

- 300 plus - Amazing - We got the street - Amazing, amazing - Locked down, as you can see - and it's been great, so far.

You are the winner of our Nonprofit of the Year at the Chamber last year - Yes, thank you so much.

- You've been doing great things.

- Yeah - How did you get Yotuel such a inspirational person?

- Yes, so I'm involved in a lot of things Cuba-US related.

And we have some contacts that are actually his friend.

And I said, listen, this is the moment to have him here.

We've got to have Yotuel come to Jersey, come talk to the Jersey Cubans, bring that message up here and make sure we're united as one.

So he graciously came.

- Yeah - He's got his family here, his mom's - That's awesome - taking care of his kids.

- That's awesome.

- It's a family event.

- You know how we do it.

- I love it.

- It's not formal.

- I love it.

- Guayaberas.

- Guayabera.

- We are just down, we're just as his family.

- So tell me a little bit about CAALE.

What will you tell our viewers about your organization?

Have you been growing exponentially.

- So far, thank you for the support Carlos.

That's the first thing I'll say always you've been, Carlos has been with us since we were founded supporting our events and all of what we do.

What we do as an organization is we are betting on the future, which is the youth (speaks Spanish) We are a leadership development program that takes college students of Cuban-Americans, the Cuban descent through college with mentorship, workshops and leadership skill building, financial freedom, resume writing, interview skills, networking, you name it.

Once the barriers that impede connection, impede real help being brought to Cuba are down, these students will be empowered to bring change not only to Cuba, but to these local communities that were from here in New Jersey and across the world.

So that's what CAALE is, an investment in the youth.

- Great.

Thank you for being here, CAALE.

You're doing great things, man.

Entrepreneur, business legend, leader (speaks Spanish) - Thank you so much.

(easygoing salsa music) - I want to say to all Cuban-Americans (speaks Spanish) (continues speaking Spanish) (speaking Spanish) (audience cheers) - Ladies and gentlemen that's our wrap.

We have some great role models and great scenes from the Cuban CAALE Gala Live from Rumba Cubana on Guttenberg New Jersey.

And please remember, ¿Que Pasa?.

- [Narrator] Funding for this episode of ¿Que Pasa?

NJ with Carlos Medina has been provided by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey PSE&G The New Jersey Economic Development Authority Hackensack Meridian Health The Engineer's Labor Employer Cooperative 825 ROI NJ Business Magazine Hudson County Community College This has been a production of the Modesto Educational Foundation.

(energetic salsa music)