Drift

Stacie de Armas knows what it feels like to be the other. Growing up a Cubana in California, Stacie embraced her Latinx community wherever she could find it, and she quickly noticed the inequalities between them and her white counterparts. Now working in media research at Nielsen, Stacie feels responsible to represent her community and raise awareness of social inequity, which is what she and Elias talk about in this episode.The highlights:<ul><li>Stacie's childhood (1:16)</li><li>Stacie's early work at Bank of America (7:00)</li><li>Being the "other" in the workplace (14:11)</li><li>Elias' life mantra (16:23)</li><li>Microaggressions in the workplace today (21:16)</li><li>The privilege of work (23:38)</li><li>Stacie and Nielsen's research of underrepresented groups in media (26:08)</li><li>Stacie's advice to the tech industry (41:29)</li></ul>Like this episode? Leave us a <a href="https://www.drift.com/americandream/review/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">review</a>!

I was named one of Latina Style Magazine's Top Latina Executives, and one of Imagen Foundation's Most Powerful and Influential Latinos in Entertainment in 2017, 2018 & 2019, I am a media industry veteran experienced in multicultural media planning, research and analytics, public affairs and I am a diverse consumer behavior insights specialist. I have more than 23 years of communications and media experience developing and activating brand marketing campaigns. I have served as a thought leader relying on insight-driven content and audience engagement. I work cross-functionally with global teams to uncover trends grounded in data and have demonstrated global leadership skills and a proven track record of success across a diverse set of business environments. Feel free to message me via LinkedIn for more information.

Stacie de Armas

SVP, Diverse Consumer Insights & Initiatives, Nielson

Nielsen's SVP of Diverse Consumer Insights & Initiatives talks about her research on Latinx representation in media.



Exploring the Root Cause of Social Inequity with Nielsen's Stacie de Armas

The Root Cause of Social Inequity

Stacie de Armas knows what it feels like to be the other. Growing up a Cubana in California, Stacie embraced her Latinx community wherever she could find it, and she quickly noticed the inequalities between them and her white counterparts. Now working in media research at Nielsen, Stacie feels responsible to represent her community and raise awareness of social inequity.


Get the American Dream Newsletter

Did you know that only 1% of startups that have achieved unicorn status are led by Latin American founders? Drift's co-founder and CTO, Elias Torres, is on a mission to change that. Every other Tuesday, he has honest, inspiring, and authentic conversations with underrepresented leaders in tech. Hear from people who have achieved their own version of the American Dream, as well as those who are creating a more equitable future for the next generation.

The American Dream with Elias Torres

Stacie de Armas knows what it feels like to be the other. Growing up a Cubana in California, Stacie embraced her Latinx community wherever she could find it, and she quickly noticed the inequalities between them and her white counterparts. Now working in media research at Nielsen, Stacie feels responsible to represent her community and raise awareness of social inequity, which is what she and Elias talk about in this episode. Be sure to hit the subscribe button to get new episodes when they drop every other Tuesday.&nbsp;In the meantime, be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias and Stacie on Twitter at&nbsp; @eliast, @StaciedeArmas, and @DriftPodcasts.&nbsp;For more learnings from Elias, check out his quarterly newsletter, The American Dream. You can subscribe at https://www.drift.com/insider/learn/newsletters/american-dream/

"To me, it makes humanity better and safer to help people as much as you can." William Murrell, publisher of BlackBoston.com, found a void in Black cultural resources when visiting Boston with his family. To solve the problem, he built a website where residents and tourists could find all the information they need in one place. 12 years later, BlackBoston.com has expanded to provide affordable housing resources and advertising opportunities for underrepresented communities. In this episode, William explains how his upbringing impacts his work today, and why community is essential to helping BIPOC businesses grow. Like this episode? Please leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias on Twitter @eliast and @DriftPodcasts, and William on LinkedIn or at www.blackboston.com For more learnings from Elias, check out his quarterly newsletter, The American Dream. You can subscribe at https://www.drift.com/insider/learn/newsletters/american-dream/

A democracy is a hard thing to administer. -wm

William Murrell, III

Publisher, BlackBoston.com

BlackBoston.com publisher explains the origins of the site. 


BIPOC Business Spotlight: BlackBoston.com

William Murrell, publisher of BlackBoston.com, created the website as a solution to a problem he found when visiting Boston with his family. In this episode, William explains how he got interested in tech, why he started BlackBoston.com, and why community is essential to helping BIPOC businesses grow. 


Richie Serna doesn't take no for an answer. After hearing that he shouldn't study computer science because he hadn't been studying it since he was 10, that he shouldn't go to a better high school because he wouldn't stand out, and that he didn't have the skill set to succeed in the tech world, Richie graduated from Harvard University, taught himself how to code, and started his own financial tech company in San Francisco. Now 6 years into his work with Finix, Richie reflects on the early days and shares his experiences playing the long game as an underrepresented individual in the tech world. Like this episode? Please leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias and Richie on Twitter @eliast, @RSerna2010, and @DriftPodcasts For more learnings from Elias, check out his quarterly newsletter, The American Dream. You can subscribe at https://www.drift.com/insider/learn/newsletters/american-dream/

Passionate about payments and learning new technologies.

Richie Serna

CEO & Co-Founder, Finix

Finix co-founder explains how he built a financial tech company off of humble beginnings.


Playing the Long Game with Finix's Richie Serna

Richie Serna doesn't take no for an answer.

After hearing that he shouldn't study computer science because he hadn't been studying it since he was 10, that he shouldn't go to a better high school because he wouldn't stand out, and that he didn't have the skill set to succeed in the tech world, Richie graduated from Harvard University, taught himself how to code, and started his own financial tech company in San Francisco. 



Holding leadership positions at companies like Motorola, Microsoft, Salesforce, and now Cisco, Maria Martinez made a name for herself in the tech space. But as she says, "the hard part was not the technology but was the people. But it was also the most important part." -That's how she learned the importance of transparency in the workplace. In this episode, you'll hear all about Maria's career journey from high school math class, to working with Bill Gates, to being COO at Cisco. Make sure to listen to the end for her opinions on how we can fix the lack of diversity seen in corporate America today. Like this episode? Please leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias on Twitter @eliast @DriftPodcasts and Maria on LinkedIn. For more learnings from Elias, check out his quarterly newsletter, The American Dream. You can subscribe at https://www.drift.com/insider/learn/newsletters/american-dream/

As Cisco's Chief Operating Officer, Maria is responsible for the company's operations and transformation, as well as building high-value experiences for its customers, partners, and employees. Martinez oversees Cisco’s Strategy Execution, Customer Success, Renewals, Customer & Partner Experience, Security & Trust, Supply Chain, IT, Services, and Transformation functions. These teams collectively work to accelerate innovation and growth for the company, while helping customers transform their own businesses through Cisco's broad portfolio of hardware, software, subscription and services offerings. A transformational leader and engineer at heart, Martinez brings more than 35 years of leadership experience from a variety of technology sectors including software, services, hardware and networking technology. Prior to Cisco, Maria served as President, Customer Success at Salesforce, where she was responsible for the onboarding, adoption, and growth of the global customer base. She has held executive positions at industry giants such as Microsoft, Motorola, and AT&T and served as the CEO of IoT startup, Embrace Networks. 

Maria Martinez

COO, Cisco

COO of Cisco talks about how to create trust with your buyers. 


Transparency in the Workplace with Cisco's Maria Martinez

Holding leadership positions at companies like Motorola, Microsoft, Salesforce, and now Cisco, Maria Martinez made a name for herself in the tech space. But as she says, "the hard part was not the technology but was the people. But it was also the most important part." -That's how she learned the importance of transparency in the workplace.



Alexandra Paredes (Engineering Manager at Stripe), and Tatiana Carett (Lead Associate at Booz Allen Hamilton) may have grown up 10 minutes down the road from each other in Caracas, Venezuela; but they didn't know each other until they both joined the Latinas in Tech community in New York City. Both Ale and Tatiana believe community is crucial to the success of Latinx in tech, so in this episode, Elias goes deep on what it actually means to be a community, and how to create a sense of community in the workplace. Like this episode? Please leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias and Ale on Twitter @eliast, @ale7714, and @DriftPodcasts, and Tatiana on LinkedIn For more learnings from Elias, check out his quarterly newsletter, The American Dream. You can subscribe at https://www.drift.com/insider/learn/newsletters/american-dream/

Stripe’s Alexandra Paredes and Booz Allen Hamilton’s Tatiana Carret talk about their experiences as Latinas in the tech industry.


Fostering a Latinx Community in Tech with Stripe's Alexandra Paredes & Booz Allen Hamilton's Tatiana Carett

Latinx Community in Tech 

Alexandra Paredes (Engineering Manager at Stripe), and Tatiana Carett (Lead Associate at Booz Allen Hamilton) share their experiences as Latinas in tech and talk with Elias about what it takes to foster a Latinx community in tech.


In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we’re lifting up voices from Drift’s own Latinx community. In this episode, Elias sits down with four members of Drift’s Latinx employee resource group (ERG). Spanning across the marketing, recruiting, sales, and customer success teams, Lorraine Chon-Qui Rodriguez, Luisiana Cruz, Orlando Gomez, and Francisco Oller Garcia share their stories of what brought them to Drift.&nbsp; Tune in to hear why Lorraine’s tennis coach is the reason she made it into the tech world, how Orlando found a community on Twitter, how Francisco learned to honor his roots, and what Luisiana was asking for for Christmas when she was 12 (hint: it wasn’t Barbies).&nbsp; Be sure to hit the subscribe button to get new episodes when they drop every month.&nbsp;In the meantime, be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias, Luisiana, Orlando and Francisco on Twitter at&nbsp; @eliast, @LuisianaC, @OrlandoGomezzz, @VitaminCisco, and @DriftPodcasts and Lorraine on LinkedIn.&nbsp;For more learnings from Elias, check out his quarterly newsletter, The American Dream. You can subscribe at https://www.drift.com/insider/learn/newsletters/american-dream/

Lorraine Chon-Qui Rodriguez

Digital Marketing Specialist at Drift

Luisiana Cruz

Senior Sourcing Recruiter

Orlando Gomez

Drift for Startups, Sr. Business Development

Francisco Oller Garcia

Customer Advocate

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we’re lifting up voices from Drift’s own Latinx community.
In this episode, Elias sits down with four members of Drift’s Latinx employee resource group (ERG). Spanning across the marketing, recruiting, sales, and customer success teams, Lorraine Chon-Qui Rodriguez, Luisiana Cruz, Orlando Gomez, and Francisco Oller Garcia share their stories of what brought them to Drift. 
Tune in to hear why Lorraine’s tennis coach is the reason she made it into the tech world, how Orlando found a community on Twitter, how Francisco learned to honor his roots, and what Luisiana was asking for for Christmas when she was 12 (hint: it wasn’t Barbies). 





Sharing Their Stories: A Conversation with Drift’s Latinx ERG

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we’re lifting up voices from Drift’s own Latinx community.

In this episode, Elias sits down with four members of Drift’s Latinx employee resource group (ERG). Spanning across the marketing, recruiting, sales, and customer success teams, Lorraine Chon-Qui Rodriguez, Luisiana Cruz, Orlando Gomez, and Francisco Oller Garcia share their stories of what brought them to Drift. 

Tune in to hear why Lorraine’s tennis coach is the reason she made it into the tech world, how Orlando found a community on Twitter, how Francisco learned to honor his roots, and what Luisiana was asking for for Christmas when she was 12 (hint: it wasn’t Barbies).
 
For more learnings from Elias, check out his quarterly newsletter, The American Dream. You can subscribe at https://www.drift.com/insider/learn/newsletters/american-dream/




Be confident, and do whatever you need to do to let that confidence shine. That’s the CEO of ALPFA, Damian Rivera’s, motto – and why you’ll always see him wearing suits with fun patterns on the inside. In this episode, Elias and Damian talk about what it means to bring your full self to work, especially as a LatinX employee. They cover important topics like how to confront microaggressions, how psychology influences relationships, and the importance of employee resource groups (ERGs). Be sure to hit the subscribe button to get new episodes when they drop every month.&nbsp;In the meantime, be sure to leave a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends. You can connect with Elias and Damian on Twitter at&nbsp; @eliast, @DamianfRivera, and @DriftPodcasts.&nbsp;For more learnings from Elias, check out his quarterly newsletter, The American Dream. You can subscribe at https://www.drift.com/insider/learn/newsletters/american-dream/

Damian’s focus on social entrepreneurship would come as no surprise to people who know him. In addition to his client roles he served as Accenture’s Managing Director responsible for North American Hispanic American Employee Resource Group from 2011 - 2017. In this role he lead the strategic direction of 16 ERG’s across the US engaging in internal career progression as well as local market activities focused on improving the community in which the ERG is based. Damian also serves on the National Board of Directors of Per Scholas, whose mission is to “Break the cycle of poverty by providing technology education, access, training and job placement services for people in under served communities”.

Damien Rivera

CEO, ALPFA

Be confident, and do whatever you need to do to let that confidence shine. That’s the CEO of ALPFA, Damian Rivera’s, motto – and why you’ll always see him wearing suits with fun patterns on the inside.

In this episode, Elias and Damian talk about what it means to bring your full self to work, especially as a LatinX employee. They cover important topics like how to confront microaggressions, how psychology influences relationships, and the importance of employee resource groups (ERGs).




How to Bring Your Full Self to Work as a Latinx in Tech with ALPFA's Damian Rivera

How to Bring Your Full Self to Work as a LatinX in Tech with Damian Rivera

Be confident, and do whatever you need to do to let that confidence shine. That’s the CEO of ALPFA, Damian Rivera’s, motto – and why you’ll always see him wearing suits with fun patterns on the inside.
In this episode, Elias and Damian talk about what it means to bring your full self to work, especially as a LatinX employee. They cover important topics like how to confront microaggressions, how psychology influences relationships, and the importance of employee resource groups (ERGs).



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About The Show

The American Dream with Elias Torres

Elias Torres

Co-founder & CTO, Drift