We were excited to learn that Alexandra Navarro / Director of Business Development of Digital NEST (“NEST”) has flown the “nest” toLatinas in Tech (“LiT”) to be their Chief Staff Officer. While no company or organization wants to lose a valuable team member, the mission at the NEST is precisely to grow workforce skills of all members and staff to contribute more to our communities. And Alexandra is very well-positioned to do just that! Alexandra was a Titan of Tech in 2019.

In this interview, we learn more about Alexandra, her aspirations and mission going forward.

Santa Cruz Works: Congratulations! Are you going to need to move or what's?

Alexandra: No. This is the beauty of this work. Even though it is a global organization, we all work 100% remotely, which is great. So I'm going to continue working from my home in Aptos.I want to keep connected with this community because I've been living here for the last 20 years. Having the opportunity to work with LiT plus your accelerator is going to be amazing. I mean, I told LiT my heart is with Santa Cruz Works. So anything you guys need from me, I'm here to support.

Santa Cruz Works: Tell us a little bit about your journey from Digital NEST to Latinas in Tech.

Alexandra: My journey started at Digital NEST when Jacob Martinez, the Found & CEO, shared his vision for bizzNEST with me. I was able to take bizzNEST and create a sustainable program under Digital NEST. bizzNEST is the on the job training program that supports our youth to gain skills while working with real clients from our community. Overall, it was a great journey because I started at Digital NEST to create bizzNEST, and gained the experience through that to create my own business, the Blue Leaf LLC. During my time at Digital NEST, I also had the opportunity to help develop the @831 Directory, which helps small local businesses be included in the digital economy. We offer trainings provided by our youth interns that allow them to learn how to expand their digital presence. Right now we have 450 businesses that are already trained, and we develop the materials, resources, and interns to help. So from beginning to the end, I love to take a vision and make sure that it has a big impact and planning and to do this strategy. Digital NEST and @831 inspired me to take the next steps in my career and professional dream which was to work for an organization with global impact to help Latina women become role models, professionals, and decision makers.

And this is something that helped me to get into Latina in tech. In my heart, I was thinking, what is my next step? I love this! I love the community, but I have international experience and I want to be able to impact more people. At the time it was just a thought. Funny enough, LiT reached out to me. And when I saw the Chief Staff Officer position, I was like, this is so perfect. I know how to direct all of that. I enjoyed the six years at Digital NEST because it gave me the nonprofit background and the opportunity to meet beautiful people and staff that work to impact the community.

When I was given the opportunity to work with Latinas in Tech, I realized that I had the chance to work in an organization that has a global impact supporting women to close the gap in the tech industry through global events, career development, mentorship, and a program for entrepreneurship. LiT has over 17,000 members and 20 chapters around the world. It's something that seemed perfect as the next step in my career.

They have over 17,000 members, local members and more than 17 chapters around the world…and a ton of events. Yeah. It's something that seemed perfect as the next step on my career.

Santa Cruz Works: The mission of NEST and LiT seem very compatible. I can imagine you will still be connected to the NEST.

Alexandra: Absolutely. I agree with you. Today I was talking to one of the chapters in Chicago, measuring their needs, the challenges, etc. They said, we need more programs and mentors to help Latinas get into tech jobs. I was thinking we need Digital NEST to grow quickly because the world needs them. I was also contacted by the government in Panama. The Minister is looking for programs like the NEST. He said, “Alexandra, we are launching this program called Revitalize Panama. Do you have anything in your mind that you guys are doing?” Certainly there are things that we are doing here that are needed in the world. And I certainly would like to be the bridge. Isn’t that what you do at Santa Cruz Works?

Santa Cruz Works: Yeah. I think we are kindred spirits there. I took a big 35-year detour deep into a tech career. Now all I really want to do is just help our community and the world at large. But, hey, this is your interview, not mine. Do you think are unique characteristics of Latinas who focus on tech?

Alexandra: Yes, I can think of three things. First is trust, a Latina will give you her best if they trust you. It is important we have a personal trust, a trusting relationship. The second thing that is probably not only common in Latinas, but probably most young people too, is the desire for community and global impact. I see this more and more. And the third, is work life balance. That's why I wrote a book about work life balance, because I saw a need for it in my community. And every time that I talk to Latina women, they have kids, they have family, and they want to be successful. But they also want balance.

I noticed that Latina working tech sometimes lack self confidence. If they have self confidence, they'll be able to look into your eyes, to talk with an accent like mine without feeling that they are going to be rejected, and be proud of who they are, their culture, and their country. The background and self confidence is something that can make any Latina successful. Personally, I often felt rejected because of my strong accent even though I had my Engineering Degree and plenty of experience. Unfortunately, I have also seen that many opportunities for us to build our tech skills are unavailable. And this is what LiT is bridging, building a “skills bridge” to self confidence.

Santa Cruz Works: One of the many things I truly admire about NEST is their ability to bring young people into the tech industry without necessarily taking a route through college, which is ridiculously expensive now. Gen Z does not need to be saddled with debt, on top of global warming, social injustice, and pandemics.

Alexandra: I agree with you. The youth that we work with are typically from underserved communities. Many of them come from farm worker parents and agriculture communities. They start with a huge label, being children of farm workers. Latinos also have to carry a second label, being Latinos. Research shows that the majority of Latinas are in entry level jobs and they don't have a voice to make decisiones. As I mentioned, I am an engineer. I was one of the few engineers in my time. It was 100 men to every 10 women. And it was difficult to survive that world. Now that I am here on top of “I am a woman”, and “I am an engineer”, but that is not all. I am a Latina. It is difficult to survive, to advance our careers, and compete with others when so many labels exist. I dream of a better world where our youth are not solely labeled by their economic background or upbringing. And I hope that we can see each other without those labels that unfortunately exist. Right?

Santa Cruz Works: Yeah, followed swiftly with “hell yeah”. A world without labels, without gender, without color, without age, without status.

Alexandra: We have almost 20K women that are waiting for opportunities and to express themselves. So there are sooo many things that we could explore together. This is just my second week at LiT, and I am trying to organize everything inside. But if you agree with me, we can have a conversation in a month or so.

Santa Cruz Works: Let me know when you are ready, we will be ready.

Alexandra: I'm so glad that you are one of those persons that understand that. Thank you very much.