Owning My Space: Resilience and My First Talk as an Author

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This past weekend in Washington, D.C., something extraordinary happened. For the first time, I was introduced not as a communications strategist, a spokesperson, or a speaker, but as an author.

And then came the moment that stopped me in my tracks. Dr. Valery Maya, the chapter president, introduced me to the approximately 200 attendees by saying that only 7% of authors in the U.S. are Latina.

Seven percent.

Hearing that number out loud hit me hard. It wasn’t just about me standing on that stage. It was about us. Every woman who has ever doubted whether her story mattered. Every daughter of immigrants who was taught to stay humble, who was told to keep her head down instead of taking the mic.

My talk that night focused on resilience and adaptability, the same traits that have guided me through my current season of uncertainty and reinvention.

As I listened to the speaker before me talk about imposter syndrome, I couldn’t help but laugh to myself. It felt ironic that I was about to take the stage while quietly trying to silence that little voice asking, “Do I really belong here?”

But as I walked up to the front of the room, I felt something shift. Because at that moment, right then and there, I decided that I did belong. Belonging isn’t something you wait to be granted. It’s something you claim, and that night, I decided to occupy the space I had earned and to stand fully in it.

For much of my career, I’ve helped others find their voice, their story, their message, and it’s work I’ve always loved. But this time, I stood in that light myself, and it felt both humbling and exhilarating. I was surrounded by impressive women who were kind, supportive, and powerful in their own right. And for the first time, I wasn’t amplifying someone else’s story, but I was sharing my own for Redefined is truly a labor of love.

To ALPFA DC, thank you for hosting the incredible She Rises event, a celebration of women’s empowerment, resilience, and representation. You created a space where Latina professionals could come together, share their stories, and lift one another higher.


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