How Philanthropic CEO Carmen Rojas Learned to Lead as Her Full Self
Latina to Latina: How Philanthropic CEO Carmen Rojas Learned to Lead as Her Full Self
This month was fun. It was fun because I had a co-worker named Anna reach out and ask to collaborate on selecting the episode. It was great for me to be able to share a little bit about how and why we started the Ally Podcast Club, talk about how I try to pick episodes for the group, and share some good, meaningful conversations about allyship with a like-minded person. Thank you Anna!
This month we landed on an episode for the club that helped us both celebrate and honor Hispanic Heritage Month and introduce yet another new series to the show (which we love to do!). And as a bonus - we’re headed into our annual “Give” campaign here at Microsoft and so the episode also brings up topics around philanthropic giving and how best to consider measuring some of these charitable organizations around action vs. just “performatory” giving.
The series is called Latina to Latina and is a wonderful series where host Alicia Mendez talks to remarkable Latinas about making it, faking it, and everything in between (the tagline straight from the website). Even in the handful of episodes I’ve now had the pleasure of listening to I think it’s a wonderful way for women who associate as Latinas to really get insights from role models and women who are really making an impact on the world.
In this particulate episode we get to meet Carmen Rojas who had just recently stepped in as the CEO of the Marguerite Case Foundation and hear about her upbringing, her approach to leadership, and especially how she brings her full self to the role every day. Carmen was very inspiring for all of us, even those of us who don’t identify as Latina women.
Suggested discussion questions (if you need something to start the conversation):
How important is it for us to be able to see role models that look like ourselves? That come from similar background and heritage?
The first in the family to go to college is something many families have stories about. Does your family have a defining moment such as this that gets talked about?
When it comes to giving money to charity - how do you evaluate the organizations that you contribute to?
In a broader sense, how do we as individuals help hold charities accountable?