Learning, Growing, Helping Others: How I Embrace my Heritage

¡Felices Patrias! My name is Lupita.

Happy Hispanic Heritage Month! This time of reflection and celebration allows us to pay tribute to our beautiful culture, made up of diverse experiences, a love for learning, growing, helping others, and in my case, my parents’ immigrant spirit of working hard. As the proud daughter of Mexican immigrants and growing up in the predominately Latino, blue-collar working community of Bell, California, I understand and share in the stories of so many of our communities in Los Angeles – especially those who AT&T serves in this region.

My father came to this country as a teenager and worked in the California fields as a farm worker. My parents were married in Mexico and came to this country as a young couple, settling in an area known as East Los Angeles. I was raised in a family where we understood the importance of education as the greatest equalizer for all of us. My parents only completed a first grade education in Mexico – and it’s because of this my parents stressed the importance of going to college as it would give us opportunities they never had. My mother was eight years old when she lost her father and my father was a tween when he lost his – and being the oldest meant they now had to help with other responsibilities and work. It’s because of their struggles, sweat, and fierce work ethic that I learned the value of working hard, being laser focused, excelling in school, and learning how to navigate systems to figure out how to get things done. I was the first person in my family to graduate from college. With that, I paved the way for my young siblings to also do the same.

Hispanic Heritage Month helps us lift up stories such as mine – in Los Angeles County, where I live, we make up almost 50% of the population (about 10M people in Los Angeles County). My story is very similar to so many others. I reflect on my journey, now working at AT&T as a respected leader in my role, leading our External Affairs organization in the Greater Los Angeles region and serving our communities. Prior to joining AT&T, I served as a senior legislative strategist in the Los Angeles Mayoral administration, serving as Assistant Deputy Mayor for Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs, where I was a member of the mayor’s executive team.

For more than 22 years, I have been a valuable part of AT&T where I have helped advance public policy and philanthropic initiatives through a variety of leadership positions within community and business organizations in the Los Angeles region. Today, I serve as the Chairman of the Board of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce – the first Woman of Color and first Latino/Latina to serve in this capacity in the chamber’s 100-year history. I am frequently asked to provide thought leadership at events and on panels on topics ranging from technology infrastructure to the digital divide and diversity and inclusion. It’s a role I gladly take on because I get to connect with so many others and it allows me to pay it forward. Most importantly, I stand on the shoulders of amazing people who have helped lift me up – from my hard-working grandmother who was widowed in her 20s, to my parents and so many mentors and sponsors along the way.