Supported by Texas Mutual Workers Compensation Insurance Company honor.

Welcome to Salud, celebrating South Texas Latina leaders.

I'm your host, Melanie Mendez Gonzalez.

The influence of Latina leadership can be seen and felt all over San Antonio, in some cases for the first time.

On this episode, we'll see how women are leading in public service, media and marketing.

Salud!

Starts now and.

For the first time ever, San Antonio's fire department is led by a Latina chief.

Valerie Frausto Spent 24 years working in the fire department, moving her way up from firefighter to captain to assistant chief and finally chief.

It took a lot of work to climb that ladder.

And even though she's now at the top, she's not taking anything for granted.

So help me God.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

My name is Valerie Frausto, and I'm the San Antonio Fire Department chief.

As a newly appointed fire chief, I cannot tell you how grateful I am for this opportunity.

I lead a department of about 1850.

And, out of those, there's just over 100 female firefighters.

So we definitely need to bring that number up.

And, no better way to do that than to have a female fire chief.

When I think back, my dream was to be a firefighter, and it was a challenge in itself to to even think of going through the process.

I actually was going through the Academy at, 26 years old.

I entered the department in August of 2000.

I ran every day for weeks.

I worked out, I ate, you know, right.

And I had to actually add weight in order to pass the entrance exam and the physical that is required.

Now, I wish I was in that position.

I never imagined that I would be the fire chief of San Antonio once that, I was in the job.

So I just kept pursuing other challenges within the department, and I worked in various assignments and positions.

And slowly but surely, you know, rose through the ranks.

And the timing was just perfect that I ended up, you know, being eligible and and, to apply for the for the fire chief position.

So it was a huge achievement to me because I, it was my goal to be a firefighter.

Some of the challenges I faced early on was being the only woman in the room.

I came in my academy class.

There were three females, but we, we were looked at a little closer.

There's a belief that we aren't able to do the job.

It is.

Aside from being emotionally and mentally, you know, challenging it.

It's physically demanding.

People think, you know, if if you're not a big guy, you're not, you know, you can't be a firefighter.

If you are, you're not going to be good at your job and be able to perform, you know, when when it matters in any situation that you're faced with.

We operate as a team.

I learned very quickly that I needed to adapt how I do things, and I just rose above.

If I set my my scope on something, I'm more than likely going to achieve it.

I grew up, born and raised in San Antonio, and I had, some family members that were either police or fire.

But as, as a child, I would visit fire stations.

And I just was amazed at, you know, some of the stories I would hear and just the just the feel of the firehouse is different.

And I thought, gosh, I would love to do this job.

I wanted to to have a job that I could make a difference and help people.

I graduated from Incarnate Word High School, and I actually, graduated with every intention to go to, college, and I did.

I went to Our Lady of the Lake University, and I was pursuing, the medical field, which was at the time of a laboratory technologist.

And the only reason I went down that path, or I thought that that's what I was going to pursue as a career is because even though I always wanted to be a firefighter, I thought it was impossible because I never saw another female firefighter.

And it wasn't until I went to a mall one day that there were recruiters set up, and they had information, and it was a female firefighter.

She was, you know, about my size.

And and I thought, Carly, I'm I'd be a fool not to not to at least try.

I think, women are better leaders.

I really, truly do.

And the reason I say that is because we just have an entirely different perspective on things.

We tend to be better listeners, and we tend to, you know, analyze before acting.

And I think that's exactly how I work.

I, I'm very careful and deliberate in my approach.

You know, I always collaborate and it's always bringing together the team and listening to different perspectives.

And allowing that to weigh in on the decision and just being open minded.

So I think, that's something that I bring to the table.

And a lot of people appreciate, you know, having the ability to provide feedback and input and it actually be taken into consideration.

One of the things I, I make it a point to do is I think it's very important to, build up others.

And, you know, when you climb the ladder, you have to pull somebody else up with you because the fire department is going to be around forever.

And I need to ensure that when I leave that there's people that are not only willing but capable of, you know, taking taken over and doing a great job because it's important work.

I think you take a little bit from from everybody, regardless of, you know, their rank or their position.

And if you love your job, then you never have to work a day in your life.

And I think it's also important that you pursue your dreams, no matter what they are.

And no matter what people tell you or you know, the society, tends to classify certain jobs for men and others for women.

And it's it anything's possible.

I feel like I lead one of the best fire departments, if not the best in the nation.

The department is full of very talented men and women, and I want to do everything I can to make us better, to provide a better service.

It's a bonus that I'm live in San Antonio my entire life.

I grew up here, so I take this job very seriously.

I remember an elected official telling me I was, a bull in a China shop.

And I think that there is an aversion to honesty and truthfulness.

It comes across as being blunt.

And, people have said you need to be nice or you need to sugarcoat things.

And my response has been, and what purpose does that serve?

Where if we start with blunt honesty now, we know exactly where we stand with each other.

Nora Lopez could have gone in any number of directions growing up in her beloved hometown of Edinburg, Texas, but a stint on the school paper and opportunity to attend a nearby university and a helpful mentorship brought this Latina leader to where she is today, leading as executive editor at the San Antonio Express-News.

My name is Nora Lopez, and I'm executive editor at the San Antonio Express-News.

What's the story that you're preparing for us for tomorrow?

As executive editor, I oversee the day to day operations of the print production of the newspaper.

So that means I, I have to review the stories that the reporters are turning in today so that I can determine which are going to be the top stories that are going to be on page one tomorrow.

So that's one of my functions, and it's one of the functions that I just hold dearest and that I love.

I love that responsibility of of choosing and deciding the stories that are going to be the top stories the next day that our readers are going to see on page one.

I feel like I'm kind of the conductor of the print newspaper.

I make sure that it's the best it can possibly be, and more importantly, that we make deadline.

If we are even a minute late, I hear it because it's just that's the most important thing to make our deadline.

I think it's fair to say that, the newspapers and, newscast, we help shape the, ideas and the discussions about the issues that are important to our community.

And I take that responsibility really, really seriously.

I grew up in the Rio Grande Valley, on the Texas-Mexico border, in a little town called Edinburg.

It had a university, Pan-American university, and I don't think I would have been able to do, college or university were it not in my backyard.

You know, my family has, we grew up poor.

You know, we weren't even quite middle class.

So not having to pay tuition or, you know, set up an apartment or dorm and being able to live at home still, allowed me to be able to, to attend college.

So I'm a first generation immigrant.

I was the first one in my family to go to college, which was really a challenge because I had no guidance.

Luckily, the counselors there at Panam really helped me that first semester.

I joined the student newspaper staff.

My second semester, and I knew I wanted to do journalism.

Since high school.

I was on the student newspaper in high school as well.

So, journalism just really opened up, the doors for me in a, in a really huge way.

My first job in newspaper, in journalism was at my little, hometown newspaper, the Edinburg Daily Review.

It was a small, scrappy little paper.

But I had a wonderful editor, Jim Mathis, who was just old school, and he just infused so much, into his staff.

He believed in accountability and watchdog journalism.

And he also taught me that sometimes journalism is about being patient when they change the the seatbelt laws.

And they were required.

So like those first few weeks, he wanted to know where people complain.

And so he sent me and another reporter on opposite ends of town to just watch people.

And the reporter and I were like, oh my God, are we just going to be sitting there and counting people?

Is this really going to produce a good story?

It produced a fantastic story because I caught the chief of police not wearing his seatbelt.

I was a police reporter, so you're lucky.

And my leadership style is one of inclusivity.

I try very, very hard, especially when you're trying to make some tough decisions.

To talk to the people about it, to talk to the reporters about it.

And if there's going to be a beat change or something, talk to them, gather their opinion, and you know, sell them on the on the next job that you want them to do.

And I believe in positive reinforcement.

And so more than anything else of I'm trying to convince you to take on a new challenge.

I look for the positives, I look for the strengths, and we build on that.

The biggest challenge probably is finding that work life balance.

It's so easy just to be here all the time and just constantly, you know, updating and reviewing our website and changing headlines, you know, and making sure that the copy is nice and clean.

And so the next thing you know, it's someone, someone 30 and you know, you haven't gone home and you end up picking up that's food for dinner.

And that's not healthy either.

For me to take the edge off the day.

I really enjoy watching satire, and it helps me to process the news of the day and what's going on around you.

When you look at it through through those lenses.

Welcome.

And each day.

And now I'm a previous president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

I was recognized by the local chapter, which I've also been a previous president of, honored me with, the Henry get a Lifetime Achievement Award, which was just overwhelming, because he was somebody that I knew and had admired.

And when we named the award after him, and then to now be one of the recipients was it was a great honor.

And I'm driven by a desire to see other young, journalists come up through the ranks.

So it's really gratifying to see now the young kids whom we've helped put through college and see them now on, on, on TV and, you know, and winning awards, these scholarship winners, you know, it's they make me so proud.

I think too many times we doubt ourselves.

And so I think the best advice I can give you is to, to be confident.

They say fake it til you make it.

It really is true.

You you just need to be bold and be assertive and and let your let your supervisors know what your career goals are.

Don't be afraid to speak up and share your goals not just with your boss, but with his boss or her boss.

So that you're not just somebody who's in the background.

You know, be assertive.

One piece of advice that I wish I had listened to a lot sooner was, one of my mentors, I told them that I had, something and another organization had reached out about a job opening that they had, and I said, oh, thanks, no thanks, I'm happy.

And he said you needed to explore it because you never know.

You know what those opportunities might, might bring.

And I felt like, I didn't want to leave because I needed to be close to my family.

But when he pointed his out to me later, I thought I really should have, you know, explored that opportunity.

So my advice is don't limit your opportunities.

In fact, you should always explore them even when you're happy, and especially when you're happy is when you should explore any outside opportunities because you don't know what they might bring.

Looking back at the arch of my career, from being a reporter to being an editor to the role I'm in now, I feel like I set out to do what I wanted to do.

This little girl from the valley, from the border interviewing you know, people in positions of power and holding them accountable.

I feel fulfilled, and I love my job.

I love my career, and I'm happy.

Not very many, Latino parents want to see their kids in the military.

You know, they want to see us go to school and do different things.

Or as a woman, they want to see you have a family and take care of the house and do all those things that a a woman should do.

Right?

But, my parents, I was blessed with parents that wanted me to follow my dreams.

If you've ever wondered what the value of those seminars, conferences, and summits is worth, you might ask a Latina who has worked in community leadership roles in both marketing and chairing, Anna Maria Suescan-Fast talks with our Jesse Diego Guardo about why these kinds of gatherings matter.

Anna Maria, good to have you so much.

It's great to be here.

Make yourself at home.

Thank you so much.

We have so much to talk about.

We do.

So one thing that I have always been intrigued about leadership is what many of us aspire to, many people aspire to.

So is that what these leadership conferences and seminars are all about?

Because people may not understand what's involved.

I am the biggest proponent of these leadership programs, and I've been through many, and every single time I learn so much and it's about leadership, I think you learn about yourself, you learn about others, you learn different perspectives.

You meet people.

So I do think it's all about leadership, but it's everything that entails leadership.

Right?

I think even in a leadership role right now, I'm still learning.

I'm still going to conferences, talking to people.

You cannot not stop learning about what leadership is because it changes.

There's not one definition for it.

Huge proponent of the program.

Would you attribute their popularity to the fact that people, more people want to want to become leaders, managers, I suppose.

But is that what's fueling the interest in these kinds of programs?

Oh, that's a great question.

I feel like I got into the business, you know, 30 years ago, and I felt like that was just the thing to do.

So, you know, through like a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce that has unbelievable programs for various steps in your career.

And I never really knew.

What does leadership mean?

I mean, when you're in it, it sometimes you're like, oh, is this what I signed up for?

Because you stop thinking about yourself and you have to start thinking about others, your team building culture.

How do you bring up others so that they are fulfilling their roles and their dreams?

Right.

So leadership in of itself, I think has so many different definitions.

And I think it's important to go to these conferences and figure out, well, what does leadership mean to me as an individual in my trajectory in a professional life?

Because they're also very different.

Leadership doesn't mean you have to be the top person in an organization, but maybe it's within a group in your company or an in a team, and you have to lead through there or in school, right in the classroom.

Or, you know, there are so many definitions of leadership and you really just have to absorb information and figure it out, figure out how does it pertain to you and where you want to get.

I know that there, as you say, programs that are somewhat similar but unique at the same time.

So how do you know which one is best for you?

And I'm sure one question is how do I become a part of this?

Is there a cost involved?

Do I need a sponsor?

That kind of basic information, it is, you know, there are cost and some of them are very expensive.

But all of these organizations, I think they have sponsorship opportunities.

Your company can pay for them as well.

So talk to your management team or your boss and see if there are opportunities for continuing education.

So I would say that there are a variety of ways to look at expensive options, but inexpensive options, but also even some community free options.

There should be a variety of different resources available.

You really just have to look.

You really just have to research.

You really have to just explore.

It's not going to come to you, right?

You really have to lean in and figure out, well, what am I looking for?

What do I need to learn?

Well, especially if there's a cost involved.

You want to know which one is best for you 100%.

Would you recommend maybe reaching out to people who have been a part of that program and ask them, so what did you get out of it?

Was it what you thought it was?

Yes.

That is a great suggestion.

I'm a huge proponent of asking questions.

I'm a huge proponent of being like, what worked for you?

What didn't work for you?

And then using that information for myself to figure out where is the best one.

I'll be honest, I have attended 1 or 2 where I thought it was a good thing, and it ultimately wasn't.

But you know what?

I took that as a learning opportunity.

And then it just further refined of where do I need to be?

What do I need to look for?

So perhaps attend more than one if if possible?

If you can, I would highly recommend it.

I mean, in my career, I think I've maybe been a part of 5 or 6, but I learned something different every time.

And every time I participate in one, I glean what I need to and and figure out, okay, what else do I need to learn as I think about my career and where I want to go?

So you come out of these inspired, motivated, and ready to put into action everything you've learned.

But the question is, how do you follow through?

How do you put all of that into action?

Oh gosh, another great question, Jesse.

Every day you just have to, take great notes, create a system where you're always going back to a for reference.

There's information that I go back to all the time for, for sessions that I went to maybe a couple of years ago.

It's a never stop learning situation.

I would imagine that these programs would be especially beneficial to someone who is maybe not as well outgoing, who may be shy, who may be hesitant and think, I don't know if I can go there.

So talk to them.

Can I tell you a little secret?

Please do.

I am one of those people.

I am 100% a behind the scenes gal.

I am the biggest introvert, but I live a career and a life that's very extroverted.

And I believe that these programs, if you can just get it out of your mind and just go and say, I'm going to make myself a little bit uncomfortable today and it's going to be okay.

And you go to these leadership programs when you leave, you're going to feel like, oh my gosh, that wasn't so bad.

I don't know if it's necessarily true now, thank goodness.

But would you think that these are especially important for women who may have never been put in a leadership role?

Often it was men who were in a leadership role.

Yes, I do, and I've been through and I can think in my head three programs to the Hispanic chamber that to this day, the women that have inspired me, inspired me, through these programs, who continue to be what I call, I've learned in these programs, my board of directors, my tribe, I could not have gotten to where I am today without their support, without them being at the end of a phone where I'm like 911, I'm having issues.

I'm struggling with this.

I don't think I can do this or hey, I just need some ideas.

They are there and I've met them all through these programs that have been a part of, and they continue to be in my life and forever will be in my life.

And I think that's what these leadership programs help is, building kind of that community around you to help you aspire and lift you up.

Because can you imagine where you would have been had it not been for them?

I would not be where I am today without those women that I 100% met through these programs.

Thank you so much for being here.

Thank you so much.

It was very challenging because here I am, a 19 year old female.

Eventually going into management, having to, you know, basically instruct and provide direction to to drivers that are, you know, twice my age.

It was very challenging.

I would have come home crying every night.

And, my mother pushed me and encouraged me every single day.

Don't give up, don't give up, don't quit.

You can do this.

You can do this.

And really, that's what kept giving me the motivation.

How inspiring to see our community brimming with such incredible talent.

We're so glad you could join us for this episode.

We'll see you again next week to showcase more Latina leaders on salon.

I'm Melanie Mendez Gonzalez.

Nos vemos.

Salud is supported by Texas Mutual Workers Compensation insurance Company.