Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to salute.

I'm your host Jenna Saucedo.

And in the next 30 minutes, we'll have a chance to visit with three incredible women to hear about their leadership journey.

One in public service, another in medicine, and even a social media entrepreneur come join me.

Many of you may know that the city recently passed a historically large $3 billion budget.

Well, the woman and the muscle behind getting that budget developed and approved was deputy city manager Medea via Gomez.

In addition to overseeing the budget office, she also leads the fire and police departments, and that's a pretty large organization for a self-described introvert.

We are so lucky to have her time and to have her here with us on the show.

Maria.

Speaker 2: Welcome.

Thank you so much for having me appreciate it.

Speaker 1: So you have this big role and you are the top ranking Latina at the city of San Antonio.

So a lot, lots of pressure, but I'm curious how you got there.

And did you always know that city government was your career pathway?

Speaker 2: You know, it's interesting when I was growing up, my dad was very involved in local government and local politics, I should say.

And I remember him telling me if you want to make a difference for your community.

Local government is a place to go.

So growing up in the back of my head, I always wanted to work for the government.

And at the time, you know, either state, government or federal government, local government, as I grew up and it started to be, become more familiar with the differences in, in government, local government was the place where I, where I decided to Speaker 1: Start my career and arguably today where you can make the most difference.

Speaker 2: Exactly.

Yes, we have so many services and many different businesses within the city organization.

Uh, you may know, we have close to 40 different businesses from picking up your trash every day to running the San Antonio airport, protecting our community with police and fire and everything else in between.

Speaker 1: So I mentioned that you were the highest ranking Latina, uh, at city hall when you were growing in your career.

Did you have any mentors or other Latinas or other women that you looked up to and that set that example?

Speaker 2: Sure.

You know, I did, I feel very blessed, uh, starting with my mom.

Uh, she's a very hardworking woman.

And I remember as I was growing up, she was a dressmaker and she would stay up late at night, making dresses for our local school or individuals that hire her services.

And that was a big example for me of a very strong work ethic.

And as I continue with my, uh, career, uh, other women like Cheryl scaly played a very important role in my professional development.

I had the opportunity to work with her for 13 years and, uh, she was, uh, she took the time really to help me develop into the professional that I am today.

Um, older, very important people in, in my career, not only women, but I had great mentors like Peterson, Noni, who is now, uh, the city manager in the city of Corpus Christi.

Of course our city manager, Eric Walsh, uh, in our chief financial officer of bank, Marcel, they have been, uh, not only great mentors by great great friends, uh, throughout my career with the city and all Speaker 1: Just wonderful human beings.

Oh, yes, Speaker 2: Yes.

Speaker 1: So I understand that you lead our negotiations with police and fire and, and I'm trying to visualize, I mean, those are two departments that are dominated by men, right.

Uh, stereotypically, but also in reality.

And so I'm curious, you know, are you one of the only women at the table?

What is that like for you and how has that dynamic evolve for you over the course of your career?

Speaker 2: So I started getting involved in negotiations in 2009.

Um, Eric Walsh was, uh, back then the deputy city manager, overseeing police and fire.

I was a budget director.

So I would work with him in terms of preparing for those negotiations and being at the table.

So at that time it was just learning the dynamics of, um, how to negotiate a contract and some of the conversations that happen at the table.

Um, I too gave more of an active role in, uh, 2011, 2009.

Um, Cheryl's colleague did a legacy task force to study benefits, um, legacy cause benefits, pension, and healthcare for all of our, uh, employees.

And, um, so, uh, with, with that different role, I, um, had the opportunity to negotiate the contract with a police, um, association, uh, five years ago.

Uh, back then, um, the association did not have any women at the table.

On the CD side, we had our CD attorney Marta, who was a female attorney.

We hire outside counsel, um, was a female as well.

Uh, Laurie steward or human resources director and myself, along with Eric Walsh, uh, Michael Bernard, uh, Jeff Londa, uh, was our, um, chief negotiator, uh, and other members of the team.

So it was, it was mixed on the city side.

It was old men on the association.

You fast-forward now with the police association and they actually have women at the table for the very first time, at least since I've been negotiating.

So that is great.

And on the CD side, um, not plan, but we are all women at the table today.

So it's a different dynamic.

Um, the, the S this new association that we have, um, they, uh, the police officers elected a new precedent in February of 2021 very different approach, uh, to, to the association we had before.

So that has contributed to a, probably more dialogue at the table than what we had in the past.

So, uh, being, uh, um, the first female, as far as I know that oversees those two departments, um, I think I key for me has been to be very assertive, very direct, uh, with the direction that I provide to, to the departments.

I feel blessed to both the fire chief and the police chief are, uh, in my opinion, the best in the country and, uh, very professional individuals that have made my transition into that role a lot easier in terms of, uh, working with such large departments.

And, and as one of the most critical services that we provide to our community, your role is Speaker 1: It was very public.

Uh, and of course, you're in the public sector.

How does that type of high-profile nature influence your decision, make, Speaker 2: You know, that's, that's an excellent question.

And that's something that is very important to me, you know, as working for the city of San Antonio is a big responsibility.

We are a city of 1.4 million individuals.

So I know that the decisions that I make will impact my community, uh, the people I work with, my neighbors, my friends, and everybody else in the city.

So it's is, is very important.

And, you know, I'll mention one of the things that Sheryl Cheryl, one of my mentors used to say, you know, when in doubt, when you're getting pressure, perhaps on a decision to make do what is right for the community.

And that's what I keep in mind when there's perhaps competing, um, interests that may influence your decision, you have to keep your community in mind.

Excellent.

Speaker 1: What have some of your biggest challenges been and how did you overcome them?

Speaker 2: Uh, on a personal note, one of the biggest challenges for me, uh, was public speaking, uh, when, um, Cheryl gave me the opportunity to serve as the interim director for the budget office.

I was very concerned that I had to give presentations to the council in public.

So, um, Peterson, Noni, who was my, my direct supervisor said, you know, you'll be fine.

We're going to get you a professional coach and you can practice and you're going to do great.

And, and I'm grateful, and I'm thankful that I took his advice and here.

Speaker 1: Yeah.

And you're wonderful at it today.

So it's always neat to hear about those kinds of growth areas and how you invest it and how other folks help invest in you to get you to be the leader that you are today.

So, um, I'm curious if you could go back and give, let's say 20 year old Medea advice about, um, life and or professional growth, what would that advice be?

Speaker 2: You know, one of the things that I typically hear about is, uh, I work long hours and, uh, and I do, and since I remember being in school, you know, always wanting to be prepared for that test or for that pop quiz or whatever was going to be, um, preparation was always something that I worked very hard, but I think sometimes I overdo it.

So having to make sure that you, you also make some time for your family and friends, I think that's, the advisor would make my, give myself back then.

And I think I, so give that advice to myself today cause I still have the same challenges.

Speaker 1: Yeah.

Well, it's kind of like when folks talk about work-life balance and you know, how do you ever even achieve that?

Um, but that's, that's another dynamic.

So speaking of work-life balance, uh, what do you do to decompress?

I mean, this is a tough job day in and day out.

What do you do to decompress?

Speaker 2: Well, you know, working out is a big thing.

Uh, for me, I love to do kickboxing.

Uh, the intensity of the workout is great to decompress and kind of relieve all of your, your stress.

So I do that if I can, you know, every, every morning that's my goal, at least Monday through Friday.

Sometimes it's a little bit of a challenge, but, um, that's, that's my goal and I enjoy it.

I love it.

Speaker 1: So preparation hard work, but don't forget about balance and spending time on yourself.

Yeah.

Speaker 2: And you know, when people ask me about work-life balance, I always typically tell them, you get to define that, you know, that is, um, different for, for everybody.

For me in particular is having my workout in the mornings.

Uh, having time to pray in the mornings as what I do, it's spending time with my husband, spend time with my dog, uh, with my family.

So, uh, and when I leave the office, even though it may be late, but I'm driving home and having that sense of accomplishment, I accomplished this things today and that keeps me balanced Speaker 1: Well money.

I thank you so much for your time today for your insights and for being with us on the show.

Speaker 2: Thank you so much.

I appreciate you inviting me.

Speaker 1: You mentioned you're a runner and you're certainly active.

Uh, is that how you decompress?

Is that kinda how you, you maintain your sanity?

Yes, for sure.

I think I'm running and I do like running with friends or running when I can with groups of people outdoors in a safe space.

And so that's nice.

It's a great decompression.

Uh, I also took up some evening walks, so my husband and I will go on evening, walks off, be compressed, enjoy the nice evening weather when it's nice here.

It has been said that true success can not be achieved without passion.

And our next guest credits three areas of passion in her role as the top rehabilitation doctor at UT health, San Antonio's long school of medicine, caring for patients advancing health equity and mentoring underrepresented medical school students.

welcome To solid.

Thank you for having me today.

So What does health equity mean to you in your day job?

So health equity to me means that there is access to care for patients.

No matter the background, no matter the type of insurance they have, that people are able to get access to quality care, and therefore there's good healthcare outcomes in the end.

And so you are, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that you are trailblazing in your space because our, I don't know, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of doctors at your level leading schools like you are that look like you and that are Latina.

So did you have any mentors or any examples along the way that inspired you to pursue this, this level in your career?

So I'm very blessed.

I had very humble beginnings, my family, and they just supported education a lot and they want to just help us focus on studying and pursuing our dreams.

So that was something that I was first and foremost, very thankful.

My family though, they, you know, me being the first in medicine, they very much encouraged and supported that.

I'm thankful to women in medicine who were before me, who I looked up to growing up when I was in the valley, there was one Latina physician in our full cities.

And it's like, oh, that's amazing.

There is no other than my family, doctor or pediatrician who are men.

There is no women locking up positions.

Also along my training, I had other positions, maybe not Latinas because the number of Latinas positions, so low 2.4% of all physicians are Latina.

And so, you know, just having other ones who are working, women who are mothers, they always have inspired and supported me through my journey.

Yeah.

That percentage has decreased I'm sure.

So it's, it's for physicians, but then leaders and leaders and then mothers.

And so the, the percentage is just further decrease.

And so why did you pursue a male Medical career?

So growing up, I looked up to my own position and said, oh, that's wonderful.

I love what they're doing.

And we had really doctors that cared so much about us and called us the next day to check up on us.

And so that's something that I looked up to, or my parents, they were educators.

So a lot of our families were educators and just the care that they had for their students and caring about the future of people.

And I think it was that combination of this same support and love.

And I think that's the combination of getting back into academic medicine because I get to teach students, residents of my patients that get to treat them still.

As I understand that you're relatively new to San Antonio and to UT health, what is a day in the life?

And in this role, what does it look like?

So always, it looks like waking up early alarm set off, you know, get up ready in the morning.

And I run so, or do some sort of exercise first thing in the morning, I feel like, okay, if I can do this, I can get it accomplished.

And I feel good for the rest of the day.

The thing I do at a time when my kids are asleep.

So I'm not missing time with feeling like I'm missing time with my family, get ready for work and come into work.

And it just depends.

Every day is different.

I have meeting, I teach I going, you know, wherever it needs to be done, I'm there.

And then at the end of the day, just depends on the hour.

Usually it's not a usual nine to 500 a day.

It's when the work gets done because there's evening meetings, there's emails to respond to and getting back in the room, eating, seeing my family enjoying some time with them and maybe some, And maybe some sleeping with, there was one piece of advice you could give other young Latinas that are looking to follow in your career footstep That's what would it be?

If my one piece of advice would definitely be to not give up, to know that you can be a leader and shouldn't be a leader and don't be afraid to ask for help along the way.

I think that, you know, there are people who want to help you and it is okay.

You don't have to put it all on yourself.

Excellent.

So what about any advice that you've been given that you didn't take One of the most?

Uh, there's a buy-side that we can give given before about a professional look and I used to like to work.

So I'm a runner and I like to keep my feet, my feet have been injured multiple times and I was told, but that didn't look professional at times.

And so some of it is like, well, professionalism is not what I wear on my feet professionalism with how I act and how I treat people and what I do.

And so, um, I'm going to define my own professional Amen to that.

Amen.

Well, thank you so much for your insight and perspective and for being a salute with us today, Happy to be here.

So what are you most proud of in your work?

Speaker 2: I'm most proud that I get to do kind of what you're doing right now.

I never thought in the beginning that I would get to interview people and tell their stories.

And because it's my own platform, I am unapologetically interviewing only Latina leaders to feature their stories.

Speaker 1: We all know that many stars, these days are born on social media and our next guest has seen her star power rise as an influential Latina lifestyle blogger.

Melanie Mendez Gonzalez is a digital media entrepreneur and the founder of Gambians, what, which is an award-winning blog.

She's a seventh generation Texan, a mother, a wife, and a community leader.

Melanie, welcome to salad.

Speaker 2: Thank you so much for having me, Jenna.

I'm so happy to Speaker 1: Be here.

So I understand that you're celebrating 10 years as a blogger and an influencer.

You were doing it before it was popular.

What actually made you think this is the career path that I want to get into?

Speaker 2: Well, that's a great question.

I joked that I was blogging before there was an internet.

Uh, but so, uh, long story short, I had come out of my corporate career and I was actually in sales and that was my first taste of what it was meant to be an entrepreneur.

However, I didn't love sales.

So a business coach of mine suggested that I take that experience that I had learned in management and leadership and start a blog.

And I'm sure she met write about leadership and management.

And in the beginning, uh, I found it more therapeutic to write about my cultural identity journey and what it meant or did not mean to be a seventh generation Texan seventh generation to Hannah, uh, without that pretty common immigrant Latino story, because I, I looked around and saw that a lot of the Latino blogs were not representative of my story.

And I blogged for like a year without telling anyone what I was doing, but people find you on the internet.

And what really sparked my continuation was that people would read my story and reach out to me and say, Hey, me too, yes, I don't speak Spanish either.

Or this is what my family said, or this is how it's been for me as well.

They were identifying with this, uh, what I called cultural identity crisis.

And, um, it just kept going from there.

Speaker 1: Talk about that because I, I just, I find it fascinating.

And on your website, you know, you talk about the balance between pride and sometimes confusion between Mexican and American cultures.

So how have you balanced that and what does that mean to you?

Speaker 2: Yeah, so a balance, I don't know if I'd use that word.

Um, it's been a journey and that's kind of what the beginnings of the blog was like, Hey everyone, I kind of don't know what I'm doing.

I am confused about what my heritage and what my culture actually means to me.

Uh, but come along with me on this journey and let's figure it out together.

And I spent a lot of time researching, um, both online and, you know, in books and libraries, things like that, like, uh, Mexican heritage, uh, Mexican heritage in Texas, uh, but also talking to my family and asking them, Hey, where did we come from?

Where, how did we get to Texas?

When did we cope?

Because my family is actually from south Texas, but I grew up in west Texas.

So just learning that story.

And in the beginning, it was very confusing because I didn't identify with what I saw in the media, what other people were telling me, what it means to be Latina, Mexicana HANA.

And so I had had to search within and see, okay, that's not my story, but this is my story.

And I am Latina and make an, a into HANA and owning that and, and going, going forward.

So that's a pride in it, right?

Like now I know my own story.

I'm still learning it by the way, all the time.

I figured out seventh generation texted.

I actually didn't know that when I started blogging.

Um, but the confusion, I think more comes in when we allow other people to tell us or to try to dictate to us what it means to be Latina Speaker 1: Well said, I love that you said own your story because it's your unique story and only you have it exactly.

Speaker 2: A hundred percent.

Speaker 1: Yeah.

So you mentioned a business coach previously in our conversation.

And so I'm curious, you know, as you just shifted from corporate and sales into this, into this new career, did you have any other mentors or maybe any sort of inspiration along the way who was helping guide you as, Speaker 2: So I really turned to a lot of the women who I actually have been able to interview on my Facebook live series, Latinas who lead like Maria Hinojosa.

She's an award-winning journalist, she's Mexican American.

She has her own digital media company.

And so I look to women like her, uh, to see, okay, what's possible and what can they do?

So I'm officially Maria Hinojosa is my Speaker 1: That's great.

I mean, you need them.

Absolutely.

So then what advice would you give other young Latinas that are looking to follow in your footsteps?

Speaker 2: I would tell them it's really important to take the time to figure out what's important to you.

And only you ask yourself the questions who am I, no matter the circumstance, like what's important to me, no matter the second stance.

And when you have the answers to that, that's who you are authentically and then create around that start, don't stop figure out what you don't know.

Speaker 1: It keeps going.

And, and how do you think social media will play into the lives of young Latinas?

Um, I, you know, I have a eight month old child, so I think about it regularly, but how can it be empowering to them?

Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, I love this question, Jenna.

Because like I said, you know, part of my story is when I started, I didn't see myself represented even on social media.

I can't really say that today.

And it actually makes me very, very happy.

This next generation of Latinos on social media are really embracing their identity and who they are.

And I hope that for your daughter and your daughter's daughter, that they see those pieces that they understand, Hey, I am, multi-cultural I speak one language, two languages, three languages.

All the only thing that matters is my story and how proud I am to be Latina.

Um, one of my favorite sayings and I say it all the time.

There's no one way to be Latina.

It's only your way.

And I see that represented on social media every day now.

And it just makes me so happy.

Speaker 1: I was just going to say that it gives me the chills.

It makes my heart happy.

So I have to ask you, has there been any advice you've been given that you didn't take?

Speaker 2: Oh gosh.

Oh yeah.

A lot.

Uh, but what comes to mind is, you know, so as a, as a blogger entrepreneur, trying to figure out my, my way in this space, I attempted a lot of workshops, a lot of major national conferences.

And at that time, mommy blogger was the phrase, right?

That was the, the hot thing to do and what everybody wanted.

And a lot of people told me, Melanie, you need to focus on parenting and what it means to be a mom.

And I knew what they meant.

I knew that they met, like if parenting advice, maybe do product reviews of what moms wanted to see and do.

But I had to listen to my own voice and say, what does it mean to be a mom?

Who's also trying to navigate her cultural identity and how do I, um, be a mom to my two boys, um, so that they don't have the same challenges that I did growing up instead of following their advice.

But that's actually not true.

They tried it.

And I was like, oh yeah, no, we're not going to do it this way.

And, uh, 10 years later, you know, we just had that big celebration gave me what is still, uh, we're still creating content around education, entertainment, now, leadership, um, and family life as a Latino family.

Speaker 1: Well, that is a great way to wrap us up.

Congratulations, on 10 years, I'm excited about what's next for you.

Thank you for being on the show with us.

Speaker 2: Thank you so much, Jenna.

Speaker 1: That's a wrap.

Thank you so much for joining us on saloon.

We had a chance to hear from Medea via Gomez about her spirit for public service, Dr. about defining your own professionalism and from Melanie Mendez Gonzalez about owning your own Latina story.

Thank you so much for joining us until next time.

Saluda is presented by Texas mutual insurance company, WorkSafe, Texas.