As we strive to understand, include and serve our community, we look to you as an essential resource for the things that matter to you, our audience.  This special series of We Live Here centers the voices, concerns, perspectives and experiences of Women. Living life in a larger body, especially as a woman, comes with scrutiny and assumptions about acceptability, worthiness and quality of life. Ebbi Nicole, Founder & Chief FLUFFtivist of Fluffy GRL Movement celebrates, elevates and educates the plus-size experience through events, workshops and storytelling in brave spaces. Today we follow the story of one woman who intentionally de-weaponized and reclaimed the word FAT as an adjective. What does Empower the Fluff mean to you? To Empower the Fluff means to fill the void and unapologetically amplify the voices of this marginalized community that still experiences socially acceptable hate (fatphobia) on micro and macro levels. A huge thank you to Ebbi Nicole for sharing your story with we live here. For more from Ebbi and the FlffyGRL movement,  be sure to give a listen to her new podcast Ebbi & Flow wherever you get your podcasts! FlffyGRL is a local movement that seeks to celebrate body diversity and build a community for plus-sized women. Learn more at [empowerthefluff.com](empowerthefluff.com). Thank you so much for checking out this episode of “We Live Here Women”. If you haven’t done so already, please take a minute and leave a quick rating and review of the show on Apple Podcasts by clicking on the link below. It will help us to keep delivering more ways to “WE”!

[WLHA 013]: We Live Here Auténtico! | Ben Molina | Bolivian Born... Made in STL Today we’re joined by Ben Molina. Originally from Bolivia, Ben is passionate about elder care and his work at the Alzheimer’s association is making a difference in the Hispanic community. Ben opens up about his journey with depression, finding love and his calling in his field.  He discusses the challenges of a disease that disproportionately affects Hispanics and gives us some advice on the conversations and planning that we should start to have in our own families. Ben’s superpower is Empathy! “I don't know how I discovered it. I was always very sensitive to other people and very observant of other people. Also, my mom had a wonderful way of always encouraging us to think positive about people and situations. It's helped me a lot in the field of social work”, says Ben. What does living Autentico mean to you? Autentico means being comfortable in my own skin regardless of the situation. If I am comfortable and honest in who I am, then you are getting the best version of me that I can be. About Ben Ben Molina is a Bolivian-born St. Louis City resident. He’s been living in St. Louis for 8 years. Ben has a master’s degree in social work from Washington University and currently serves as Program Manager for the Alzheimer's Association, Greater Missouri Chapter. Ben is also on the Board for Social Work Leaders in Healthcare. Mentioned in this episode: What is Alzheimer’s.  https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/what-is-alzheimers Hispanic Americans and Alzheimer’s Latinos & Alzheimer’s Disease:  New numbers behind the crisis https://www.usagainstalzheimers.org/sites/default/files/Latinos-and-AD_USC_UsA2-Impact-Report.pdf Links to power of attorneys/ financial:  https://missourilawyershelp.org/legal-topics/durable-power-of-attorney-for-health/ Poder Notarial Duradero para el Cuidado de Salud y Directiva de Cuidado Médico https://missourilawyershelp.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Durable-Power-of-Attorney-Full-Booklet-4-25-17-Spanish.pdf Connections: Connect with Ben Molina Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/bennmolina Music Guide: SEGMENT 1 Good as Hell-Lizzo Good As Hell (Clean Version) (Audio) - Lizzo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QskZIrbRt7c    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoAm4om0wTs Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande - Rain On Me https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoAm4om0wTs SEGMENT 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tgspkNRIcc&ab_channel=KaceyMusgravesVEVO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0X03zR0rQk   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpwSV1QBd8M&list=OLAK5uy_m4wNZ2nJPQ9ACIaRbcxcsMxZM6oC6MsSk&index=5&ab_channel=NLaFourcadeVEVO SEGMENT 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Msl2fl3h59I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSfH2AuhXfw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83S-KtvGM2M&ab_channel=CeliaCruzVEVO

[WLHA 012]: We Live Here Auténtico! | The Hispanic Chamber | Connection and Community Central Today we spend time with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan St. Louis - a connection and central resource in the St. Louis region for 40 years. From the Latino Festival in O’Fallon, the Hispanic festival in Florissant, dance clubs in mid-town and cuisine from restaurants representing many different countries, St. Louis’ Latino culture is booming and is a vibrant reflection of our growing Hispanic population. The median age of Hispanic St. Louisans is 25 compared to 36 of the general population and the percentage of Latinos in the region roughly doubled. Most of the growth in the past 20 years has come in Madison, St. Clair, St. Charles and St. Louis counties.  In St. Louis, Latino residents now account for more than 5% of the city’s population. The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce purposely creates a safe and open environment for people that have similar backgrounds of experiences. The Chamber has specific tools that address some of the needs of the Hispanic community in our region. The staff is bilingual in Spanish and English, so they can help entrepreneurs in their preferred language.  Like other chambers, the Hispanic Chamber does not only serve Latino businesses, it serves everyone. Happy 40th Anniversary!! Mentioned in this episode: Leave a voice message. https://anchor.fm/autentico--podcast/message HCC website:  www.hccstl.com FB:  https://www.facebook.com/HCCSTL Insta:  @hccmetrostl LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/metrohccstl/ Eduardo Platon:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/eduardoplaton/ Sisi Beltran:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/sisibeltran/ Build  a bear: https://www.buildabear.com/ Wash U:  https://wustl.edu/ Hispanic Festival: https://www.hispanicfestivalstl.com/about Mural:  https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/local/hispanic-heritage-month-hispanic-artists-create-mural-st-louis-show-representation-offer-hope/63-53f8c3d1-c56f-4770-afd4-ee71e4065c5c Latinx Arts Network:  https://www.latinxstl.com/ https://instagram.com/latinxartsstl?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= Esmeralda Aharon:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/aharones/ Luisa Otera-Prado. https://www.linkedin.com/in/luferotero/ Carol Lara. https://www.linkedin.com/in/carol-lara/ https://www.instagram.com/carollaraphotography/ Ricardo Martinez. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ricardo-martinez-3609a0168/ Fernanda Estrada https://www.linkedin.com/in/fernanda-estrada-799a61138/ Brian Muñoz:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/thisismunoz/ Ricardo Garza:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/ricardo-garza-/ Club Atletico:  https://www.gobluebirds.com/news Karlos Ramirez:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/karlos-ramirez-8a872b8/ Midwest BankCentre: https://www.midwestbankcentre.com/ Asian American Chamber of Commerce:  https://aaccstl.org/ Heartland St Louis Black Chamber:  https://hbcstl.com/about-the-chamber/ Afghan Chamber of Commerce STL:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/afghan-chamber-of-commerce-stl/ Brian’s article referenced: https://news.stlpublicradio.org/culture-history/2021-11-16/the-st-louis-region-is-already-home-for-many-latinos-and-more-are-moving-here Thank you so much for checking out this episode of “We Live Here Autentico”. If you haven’t done so already, please take a minute and leave a quick rating and review of the show on Apple Podcasts by clicking on the link below. It will help us to keep delivering more ways to “WE” for you each week!

[WLHA 011]: We Live Here Auténtico! | Ricardo Martinez | DACA Dreams Realized Today we are talking to Ricardo Martinez. Born in Mexico, Ricardo is a DACA recipient who grew up in Illinois. His passion for helping Spanish speakers with financial literacy is fueled by his entrepreneurial journey and of course, his love for St. Louis. Ricardo came to the United States when he was five years old and spent most of his life in central Illinois. At heart, he would say he was a “mid-Midwesterner”.  He never really understood how different he was different until later. Ricardo’s parents were immigrants and they jumped at the chance for deferred action. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, also known as DACA, enabled roughly 832,881 eligible young adults work lawfully, attend school, and plan their lives without the threat of deportation.  It provides temporary relief from deportation (deferred action) and grants authorization to work for young undocumented immigrants. For Ricardo’s parents, it meant their children would have temporary, renewable permission to be in the United States.  Meanwhile, they had to learn how to make things work without documentation of their own.  Every two years they essentially lived day-to-day without knowing, for sure, if DACA would continue or not. For Ricardo, DACA granted the opportunity to keep moving forward. According to the Migration Policy Institute, more than 1.3 million U.S. residents were eligible for DACA as originally implemented and it is estimated that the average DACA recipient arrived in the United States in 1999 at the age of 7. More than one-third of DACA recipients (37 percent) arrived before the age of 5. Ricardo’s background, culture and journey are an integral part of what led him to help the Hispanic community. Ricardo founded JuntosAdelante.com, a personal finance website dedicated to helping Spanish speakers understand the American personal finance system. He then founded CentralJA, a digital marketing agency focused on helping Spanish speaking business pivot their business online. What does living Auténtico mean to you? Living Auténtico means understanding who you are and being able to share that with everyone. It means understanding and being able to embrace that you can be yourself, learn who you are and keep building on that. You do not have to be what everyone refers you to be. Mentioned in this episode: DACA Source, Launch code Connections: Connect with Ricardo Martinez Linkedin, Central JA, Juntos Adelante Music Guide: Little Lion Man - Mumford and Sons Natalia Lafourcade - Para Qué Sufrir Day Trip - Desmond Cheese Calle 13 - El Aguante Everything I Am · Kanye West Calle 13 - Latinoamérica Calle 13 - La Vuelta al Mundo Calle 13 - Latinoamérica Thank you so much for LISTENING to this episode of “We Live Here Autentico”. If you haven’t done so already, please take a minute and leave a quick rating and review of the show on Apple Podcasts by clicking on the link below. It will help us to keep delivering more ways to “WE” for you each week!

[WLHA 010]: We Live Here Auténtico! | Suzanne Sierra| The Consummate Connector, Storyteller, Collaborator Today’s guest, Suzanne Sierra is the consummate connector, storyteller and collaborator. Her evolving career path and search for purpose led her to the St. Louis Mosaic Project.  She is Senior Program Manager and leads key programs with major stakeholders including corporations, universities, ethnic communities and multicultural innovation initiatives. Through her work, Suzanne goes all-out to promote regional prosperity and to transform St. Louis into the fastest growing metropolitan area for immigrants by the year 2025. Suzanne’s personal immigration story fuels her passion to create change.  She is the proud daughter of immigrants from Colombia, South America, and she is bilingual.  Her parents moved to the U.S. so her father could practice medicine. Her dad landed a job at a clinic in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where Suzanne and her siblings were born.  Soon after, they moved to La Crosse, Wisconsin, a small town on the western edge of the state bordering Minnesota. Her story is one that reveals an identity crisis. She grew up in what she likes to call a “lily white” community where she was immediately pegged as different.  Though it pains her to share today, she was embarrassed of her parents as kids would make fun of their heavy accent.  There was a meanness that prompted her not to speak Spanish, ironically her first language.  When traveling to Columbia each year for the holidays, she felt out of place and self-conscious about speaking Spanish. She was the “gringa” and found it difficult to find where she fit in. Suzanne brings compassion and empathy to her work in the community because she has the lived experience of being and feeling “other”.  She understands the immigrant story and brings her experiences, language and knowledge to the table. In this episode you’ll discover: ·        Why there is a need for a grassroots approach and focus on language access in our community ·        How we lose people when they need services and don't know that they're available ·        The necessity of access to information ·        The importance of providing information to foreign born people in their native language Connections: Connect with Suzanne Sierra Website:  Sierrapublicrelations.com a small, St. Louis-based PR Firm delivering boutique communication services, in English and Spanish. Linkedin @suzannesierrasewell Twitter: @sierrapr Thank you so much for listening to this episode of “We Live Here Autentico”. If you haven’t done so already, please take a minute and leave a quick rating and review of the show on Apple Podcasts by clicking on the link below. It will help us to keep delivering more ways to “WE” for you each week!

Gilberto Pinela has been investing and empowering the Latino community in St. Louis for many years. He is a trailblazer, creator, producer and talent in many bilingual programming and organizations in our region. Gilberto started his career in the US in New York in the hospitality industry, but he always dreamed of being in front of the camera. In this conversation, Gilberto shares his passion and commitment to St. Louis, the Latino community and for making room for new leadership. LinkedIn Dancing with the St. Louis Stars Gilberto Pinela & Carmen Guynn Performance Video - Dancing with the St. Louis Stars 2022 CORTEX En Breve Show Hispanic Chamber Puerto Rican Society Thanks for listening in - what’s your story? We’d love to hear from you. Let us know what you love about We Live Here Auténtico and the stories of our community. Or maybe you are ready to share your own story - send us an email at info@autenticopodcast.com

Junior Lara and Gabriela founded Autentico podcast so they could talk to business owners and Latino professionals about their journeys and lessons learned with the hope to inspire each other and fill the need they saw in St. Louis. Listen to what it took to for Junior to grow from the Dominican Republic to what it means for him to see the vision now! Plus, a celebration of life of trailblazer, Minerva Lopez Montaigne. Minerva was an advocate for the Hispanic Community in St. Louis, namely, residents and business owners of Cherokee Street. She was a business owner and worked hard to keep the traditions and culture of Mexico alive and well in St. Louis.

[WLHA 007] We Live Here Auténtico! | Harry 'Boom-Boom' Lopez | Coaching Latino Leaders to Level Up In Life Today we level up with Harry “BOOM BOOM” who founded “Launch Latinx, a mindset and business coaching accelerator program that champions extraordinary Latino visionaries and coaches to access their potential. He writes and speaks on issues of personal and professional change.  Happiness, health, inspiration, mindful living and conscious business are key to his unique programs. that blends many of his experiences in coaching, spiritual psychology, executive leadership, and social impact. What does living Autentico mean to you? The never-ending pursuit of the liberation of one's soul. Living in full body alignment. Pursuit of a Mission far greater than oneself. To have truth and Integrity with oneself. About Harry His coaching career started when he was a third-grade professor in Tennessee back in 2012. he was assigned a coach who would come to his classroom week after week and provide him with feedback, mentorship and guidance. After seeing what coaching did for him, there was no turning back and Harry realized he wanted to have a similar impact in the lives of others. Harry received his bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University and his Master’s in Education from Lipscomb University and is a graduate of the Social Impact Strategy Program at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice. In this episode of We Live Here Autentico, we spend time with transformational coach and leader in the consciousness industry, Harry Lopez, championing extraordinary Latinx visionaries, coaches & legends to their limitless potential. There is powerful science behind the consciousness movement and there’s no one better to learn from than transformational coach Harry “Boom Boom” Lopez. You’re going to learn how to activate your voice, power and love to take action toward your goals. We’re diving into the consciousness movement and how that work can help us. In this episode you’ll discover: What it means to have a coach The importance of navigating your career path How self-doubt and self-limiting thoughts (i.e. generational trauma or society expectations) leads to victimization and suffering Why vision trumps everything and is the only thing that will pull you out of the weeds when you want to stay in bed How to know and believe that you're good enough and you're worthy How to tap into your personal trauma and transform The science of mushrooms as medicine How intersecting and overlapping identities offer superpowers for powerful living Mentioned in this episode: Janie Flores, founder Buena Vida Media www.buenavidamedia.com/ Instagram: @buenavidamedia Instagram: @janiefloreslive Twitter: @juanis111 Vanderbilt University https://www.vanderbilt.edu/ Lipscomb University https://www.lipscomb.edu/ Social Impact Strategy Program /University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice International Coaching Federation Teach For America Broward College Fulbright Scholarship Connections: Connect with Harry Lopez Launch Latinx provides opportunities and support to Latinx leaders and talent build high-profitable businesses and revolutionary movements from www.launchlatinx.co Instagram: @theharrylopez Instagram: @launchlatinx Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/halopez/ Twitter: @lopezcoaching Twitter: @theharrylopez

What would you do? Arriving to a new country and having to start your life over? This is Tania’s story – It is the story of many immigrants and refugees - resilience, self-empowerment, rediscovery, family, hard work and success. Tania Interian is bilingual professional and attorney.  She is the owner of Tania Interian State Farm Agency and is the co-chair of the Latino Roundtable of Southwestern Illinois.  Listening to Tania’s journey will reassure you that you are on the right path – even with its challenges and struggles As you listen to Tania’s life journey, take time to reflect on your life challenges, how you overcame and how have those moments impact you today.

The folks of Fairmont City, Illinois didn’t realize how much they needed a library until they’d gotten one. It took some convincing. Thank goodness for Katie Heaton! She knew a good librarian puts their ear down, listens and really pays attention to the needs of their patrons. “You can hear the heartbeat of the community and when you hear that heartbeat, you can figure out what the needs are”, Katie says. Her goal was always to meet the needs of the people she served, whatever that need may be, from literacy to resources to broader partnerships and community services. Only 10 miles from St. Louis, Fairmont City is home for a small population of 2,381 with an average annual household income of around $50k according to 2020 census data. Why would this small town, with a poverty rate of 26.98% want to pay for something they’ve never had nor anticipated they’d really need? After all, when it came down to things of priority for this community, especially during the pandemic, a library did not top their list. Service providers and aid organizations reported food as first, then utility, rent, funeral assistance and mortgage assistance in that order. One bill that families consistently paid for, sometimes before they’d buy food was the phone bill. During COVID their smart-phones, tablets, computers, smart-TVs and streaming services were their connection to their jobs, teachers and medical providers. Fairmont City probably couldn’t imagine life without their library now and Katie is still excited to rise to the challenge every day. Libraries are gateways to knowledge and culture. They play a fundamental role in society. They are a place for personal growth and reinvention as well as a place for help to navigate this world in the information age. Libraries are a gathering place for civic and cultural engagement and a trusted place for preserving culture. For Katie Heaton and her Fairmont City library patrons, it is so much more. Need a boost to your ideas around positive community change and personal impact? This episode with Katie Heaton is a great place to start. Hear how a keen ear and concerned heart for helping people truly makes a difference.