How to Turn Your Passion Into Profit & Win an Emmy | Audrey Puente
This week we welcome 4x Emmy Award Winner, Audrey Puente, who is not only the daughter of Latin jazz legend, Tito Puente, but also the woman you have probably seen on your TV screen for over two decades, and now on FOX 5 NY as their News Meteorologist.
In this episode, Audrey shares what life was like growing up in a household that welcomed celebrities like Marc Anthony, Carlos Santana, Celia Cruz, La India etc. and her key lessons for success.
Why tune in:
Learn how Audrey trail blazed her own lane as one of few Latina Meteorologists on TV
The process for getting nominating and winning an Emmy
How to turn your passion into profit
Reinventing yourself when your expertise no longer serves you
How Latinas can stop discriminating against each other
Full Transcript:
Welcome back to Banking on Cultura I am your host Victoria Jenn Rodriguez and you know on this show we talk about the vibrancy and complexity of Latino culture entrepreneurship and of course all the bonchinche in between now my guest today is no I would say she's not shy on camera that's number one you've probably seen her on your TV screen in the mornings or in the evenings or you might know her um from her amazing family that has contributed so much to Latino culture when it comes to music jazz and just adding so much I would say color to our Cultura and it is my absolute honor like this is a little fan girl moment for me so guys follow along with me okay uh but I am truly honored to have none other than the Miss Audrey pente I'm Bing gosh wow that was quite an introduction and I'm fangirling you because I had found you on Instagram and was following you and all your inspirational like like Shares are just amazing thank you you know what's so crazy about that is like you found me like the Audrey buente found me and I think that really goes to show like you never know you never know like where your content is going who is seeing your content when there's powerful Latinas I'm I'm bound to find you and I'm I will follow you I love that see you're a Latina's girl girl we we need more of that in theity if especially if you have like the Puerto Rican flag on your uh bio it's an instant follow instant you know I recently added that I've added that like a couple of months ago cuz I was like you know what we going to stand out here with my boa flag and you know in true boriqua fashion you know we're very prideful right and we love our flag right we love our flag okay okay um so for the people who don't know you please introduce yourself okay so uh I happen to be a television meteorologist in New York City uh I'm going on 25 years in New York City when did when did that happen when did that happen I don't know uh so I've been in the business for about approximately about 30 years and how did that happen and uh that's my main gig I am a mom of three teenagers uh have a few side hustles of my own and uh my you know I love being on social media and inspiring folks and I if you follow me Audy pente at Audy pente uh I do a lot of uh weather inspiration because I find that like to help people weather their storms whether it's uh in the environment or in life and your social media is hysterical by the way like sometimes when you post things tell me what you think it's funny like you'll post something about like having like a bad hair day but then you'll correlate it to something else and it's just so funny like how you integrate you know when you have your son on your post when you put it in like your stories it's always I always get a nice giggle out of that or whenever you give us a behind the scenes of when you're at the studio and you're telling us there's a lot of material there I don't even post nearly half of what actually happens in my daily life yeah amazing so we like to kick off the show with some boing so tell us something we can't Google about you okay so uh it's interesting because we had talked about a couple of things before and I just thought of the other day I secretly judged for the Grammys since I was a teenager what okay yeah I feel like no one I've never actually talked about this okay thinking exclusive that's what we like I've never talked about this in public so okay so my father was Tito Puente let J Tito Puente put some respect on that man's name thank you very much warranted for sure yes uh so he you know obviously got nominated for many Grammys every year and what happens is when you in the Grammy world if you have a recording of any sort it's uh automatically goes into um nominations or the options to be nominated type of thing now I don't know how they narrowed it down to the actual nominees that happen but what happens is my father back then because this is back then it was on paper I I'm sure they do it electronically now uh they used to mail him the a packet with all the nominations for the Grammys of every single category and there's usually five nomin ations in every category and so he would fill it out you literally like check off and fill out in a ballot at the time you know that's how it was done back then I'm talking like late 70s going to the 80s right and so I would see it eventually and i' like Dad what are you doing I think I eventually asked him one time this is middle school and he told me how it was but he he would ask me about some of the artists because when it came to the Latin artists he knew everyone who he wanted to check off because the votes are done by people like you're voted by your peers in the Grammys so um so he would look through I would look through the packet and I would see you know you name it like Madonna Michael Jackson things like that and and he would allow me to pick out other categories so as I got older he would just hand me the packet he would hand me the pack he would just do all the Latin artist Latin categories and then hand me the packet for the rest and I literally voted like for you know record of the Year album of the year uh from all categories like from you know uh oh my God Jazz although I you know he probably did the Jazz ones definitely did the Latin ones but I did most of the pop culture ones and I did that every year for like I don't like a decade that's so cool that you got to experience that yeah it's a little know so what was it like growing up with a celebrity dad like who was so respected in the genre he was in musically but also in the community like what was that like Well's interesting I was born into it so I didn't know anything different it's part it was just my upbringing it wasn't like one day he became famous and uh so growing up I just remember my my house being very loud because it was there was a radio in every single room my dad constantly had Latin music or the Latin music stations playing in every room and we always had a cast of characters coming in and out because musicians are you know they're interesting yes they're characters artists artists creatives I mean I'm talking like you know CIA Cruz you know I mean when she walks in the door it's magnanimous you know her presence you know Carlos Santana I mean you know uh name them they probably were in my house right Johnny Pacho another one always around uh Yolanda du um La India you know so uh there was always these people that with huge presence like these are you know they have to have big egos they're they're very big and magnanimous all of them and so I was constantly surrounded by this greatness of all kinds even though it was all one in one genre of music but they all had their individual place you know in um that genre and so with that said though I also lived in a neighborhood that was you know uh Suburban uh New York I lived in Rockland County growing up and uh wanted to have it like tamed down that we had this loud household right with all these like characters coming in and out all the time and you know musicians and bands playing and things like that because also when we I got together whether it was at my house or someone like Martin Cohen's house that was a big one he was the uh creator of Latin percussion which is the instrument uh company okay uh there were Jam sessions no matter whose house you were at there was always a party picture any Latinos we always have parties right and but when you have it with musicians there's a jam jam session going on it was pretty wild till late in the night and uh so it was very loud my that's my childhood like it was always and then traveling the world with my father when he went on tour uh when I was little I didn't go that much because we had school but when we got older my younger brother and I we would go on tour with them uh at the time you know of course I didn't appreciate I was a teenager who wanted to hang out with my friends and I was being dragged around like you know Switzerland for New Year's and things like that right living like such a dope life right and right now I I realized what it sounds like because when I was living it it was I I you know it's somewhat annoying because I was a teenager who just wanted be my friends like any normal teenager now looking back of course I'm like wow I really lived an exceptional childhood in teenage years and I have great gratitude for it all and I really started to turn it when I think I got in my 20s that's when it really started to turn I started realizing oh wow this is this is different yeah this is different that's so interesting like you always hear artists say like their kids humble them because like your kids don't really care girl I got stories I got my favorite I'll tell you my favorite dad story so my father of course worked late nights all the time and God bless him he always woke up in the morning to say goodbye to my brother and I when we go to school uhhuh and I'm talking this is a man who would come in at 4: in the the morning and and still got up like at 7:00 a.m. to say good to say goodbye now our bus stop in elementary school and middle school was right across the street from where we lived in the house and but all so all the neighborhood kids uh would be that bus stop so there's my my dad would be at the door waving goodbye but in his bathrobe or like his pajamas cuz he had just gotten home like two or three hours earlier right from work and I was like oh my God please can can you please not come to the door it's embarrassing because everyone else's dad is going out with their suits and their briefcases and you're in your pajamas at 7 a.m. and I remember at one point actually telling my my dad and my mom like can't dad go to an office like everyone else's parents not knowing not knowing I'm telling the great Tito Puente you please like do you really off do you need to play drums do I don't know how to tell my my friends when they ask what your par like you play drums right no not realizing at all it was I was so it's funny so in that sense I guess we humbled my dad because we'd like really you play drums like not realizing like no big deal right like who he is it didn't hit me until later on into my teenage years and I was like I bet you would give anything for him to come to the door in his robe now yeah yeah yeah it was something I spoke about at his eulogy actually yeah all the all the sounds and not the music sounds the the other sounds of being my father yeah oh I love that um Daddy's Girls be the best I'm here we're blessed to be daddy's girls um okay so you said you grew up around greatness right you had highly influential folks coming in and out of your house all these influences on you did you ever feel like pressure to be amazing and to do amazing things what's up miente are you looking for mentorship and the plays to secure the big bag have you ever watched me here on the Banking on Cultura podcast and thought to yourself you know what I want to work with Victoria Jenn or maybe you thought to yourself I want to be a part of her network of badass women and entrepreneurs well guess what you absolutely can join me this November November 15th through the 16th in the heart of New York City for my 7eventh annual secure the big bag and wellness Summit let's face it so many of us are tired burnt out ready to throw in the towel honey and quite frankly we want to dedicate ourselves to the soft life but what if there was a way for us to achieve both time and Financial Freedom and also have a healthy well balanced life what if you could secure the big bag build a business that fuels you versus drains you as well as build a solid network of business besties who want to support and motivate you while also centering self this Summit is the Premier destination for the latest Marketing sales and AI tools that can tenex your business while also nurturing your well-being learn from Top experts from both both business and wellness including Executives from the corporate sector so that you can explore corporate level opportunities that can elevate your business to new heights ensuring you're not just prepared but fully equipped to dominate in 2025 and Beyond this is your opportunity for your business to thrive while you do too head over to secure thee big bag.com to check out the agenda and all the Heavy Hitters that will be in the building I cannot wait to see you in New York City miente it's go time actually no no I did not uh I think I just absorbed it I just absorbed it my father people always ask me you know things I've learned from him the greatest lesson I learned was to follow my passion he specifically told me figure out what it is that you love to do and you figure out how to get to pay paid to do it and you'll never feel like you're working and I know people have said this in various ways but it is it was so true because I love weather I love meteorology and once I figured out how to do that and have a job doing it because I didn't think that was a possibility I actually went to college to be a lawyer right and it was my last semester where I had an internship opening in uh the weather department at a local TV station and I jumped in and it changed the trajectory of my life and I was so passionate about and still am you know I often say don't tell my bosses that I would do this for free right right right I love it so much and he was on the money I mean it was so it you know he he just he just led by example and I was surrounded by all of these other people that were just they were so passionate about everything they did and I just absorbed it I feel like it was just yeah I ate it up yeah so a Latina meteorologist like how like how like how did you know you were fascinated by the weather you know my earliest memories over were um hurricanes uh Gloria and um that that came through and actually broke through a window in my kitchen when I was little and and Frederick was the hurricane that came before that so we had two in a row at this time and I just remember just being fascinated by the whole thing and the flooding water that came in the window I know it sounds may sound scary but and it was but I don't know for some reason it just clicked and I always found myself when my parents would watch the news because back in the 70s and 80s I mean the news was on like when it came on people watched It's not like today things are streaming you can watch whenever you want when the news came on you everyone had to sit down and watch it at that time and but I was always interested in the weather part always and I was able to go to NBC Studios at 11: my dad brought me because was who he was of course I didn't know at the time you I just thought he knew somebody that he could hook us up not because he was Tito Puente and they would let him into so right so I came and uh was introduced to Frank Field who was a legendary meteorologist or weather person on NBC and he put me in front of that green wall chroma key and I was fascinated by the whole thing I'm like wow this is just amazing uh I met Chuck and Sue Simmons Chuck scarbo Su Simmons their legendary team here in New York City and uh it was it was such an impact on me that now to this day when people come to visit or they bring their kids I'm aware of what this moment can do so I really pay attention and show them everything I possibly can while they're doing that quick visit because it was quick when I made but that was it I I knew that wow this is something I'm really into that was the seed it was and I didn't again click until the internship I had when I was in my last semester in college and that changed my life yeah MH I love that so you have had a fascinating career so 25 years plus doing the damn thing so when you first started did you feel like because you come from such a uh well-known family um did you feel like you had to kind of like trailblaze your own lane like prove yourself like I didn't get here because of my dad I got here because I earned it like I put in The Sweat Equity yes and I did I did put in this s Equity I feel like uh it's interesting it didn't never dawned on me that anybody would hire me because I'm Tito Puente's daughter it just it just didn't I felt like I did the work and I earned the spot I really did uh when I decided I wanted to do uh meteorology on TV or be a television meteorologist I again I was on my path to law school and I graduated and I told you know my parents I told my parents I'm not going to law school and they said what what really what what are you going to do because the plan was for me to be an attorney in the music industry that was the plan okay cuz I was The Bookworm of the family so uh they said no I'm not going to do that uh I'm going to do they're like what are you going to do I said I want to do weather on television they said what what what what is that and I said I'm going to figure it out and I did and once I figured out what was required to learn to do uh I did what I had to do and so with that said is that I studied meteorology I ended up going to take classes in New York City while working behind the scenes at a television station which ironically is the one I work at now it was my first TV job out of college um mind you I got in the door because my father knew some he knew somebody I said hey Philip Philip Alano he's a legendary uh broadcaster also hey I'm interested in TV can we have can we meet and boom that that set me up as a trainee at Fox 5 and so uh I did the thing I did the thing like I had to study meteorology I ended up you know learning about being in front of a chroma key I absorbed everything I could tugging on you know Al Roker's jacket he eventually became my mentor you know whatever weather person was around I asked questions I came in on weekends uh with Nick Gregory at the time who's I'm now working with but I used to come on weekends and like you know I showed interest I was eager I was willing to do the work and so you I eventually went back to college got my masters in meteorology so I did all the things that were required so I I feel like I did earn the spot and at back then you know women we were barely out there and Latin women there was no one I saw no one so in a way I sort of thought there is my opening so to speak you know I saw the opportunity I'm like where are we like that I'm not being represented here I my role model is growing up or you know Ed chakon Rita Moreno um you know Maria on Sesame Street you know like so I sort of somehow was aware that I was trailblazing I was setting tone like this is it and and again follow I was just following my passion and listen I I realized I was the only female Latina in the room okay that's fine I'm okay okay with that it sort of I think it made me I think the men especially were amused by me at first but once I would open my mouth and prove that no I actually earned my way here it became a different story and um I feel like I earned the respect over time because again I did the work MH yeah yeah and you definitely have made a name for yourself winning four emys and just killing it and we're going to circle back to that because I want to know was the process of getting an at me okay cuz Mak a needs an at me uh but you said something really significant that I think a lot of our listeners our audience can really resonate with and perhaps even struggling with right now you said you were in school you had this path you were on the path to law school you were going to be a lawyer in the music industry and then last semester you decided to Pivot flip the scrip so a lot of folks find themselves on this path right I went to school for this I'm working in this industry so this is it this is what I'm going to do what advice would you have for someone who is over kind of the routine of their lives even though their area of expertise and is in something but they want to Pivot but they just don't know how what would be your advice to them well I think initially it I would offer to be clear what is exactly that you actually want right because you can't put in the GPS I want to go to Connecticut right you need to have an exact address to get to where you want to be so once you're super clear to on what exactly you want like for me I knew like I want to do television I want to be television meterologist in New York City and New York City was because it was my home whether it was you know Cleveland or wherever I wanted to go home so and then you reverse engineer you once you clear on what it is that you want where you want to go where you want to be reverse engineer do I what what is what do I need to do to get there what are the steps I mean now we have Google I didn't have that I had Barnes & Noble you know so uh and I also went to a lot of conferences back then I networked my way through as well every job I ever got I did get because I knew somebody but it's not how you think I did it because I went to these conferences and networked and you know uh maintained relationships followed up all the all the things and uh in fact you did a podcast on this recently about a conference uh no how to network in conferences that's right you gave amazing tips I meant to I I meant to reach out to you to tell you that was on the money I mean every single thing I was like yep yep I would say oh my God is the listener of like I can't and she's a guest now okay sorry that I had to pop in a few I had to get a few uh a few episodes in I was like let me see what's going on over here yeah I I was very impressed you really nailed it on that podcast whatever number that is you know put in the show notes uh so yeah once you're clear I feel like then it's about reverse engineering now I don't recommend like jumping you know full in without a plan of sorts and some people say you know you should have a job you know don't go after the next job until you know in other words have a job before you yes is it don't or you go after the next one or you know don't quit your job right now till you have the next one in place something like that right so and listen there were times where I didn't have the next job and but I still believed in what I was doing and I was focused so I it was depends on individual where are you at and what kind of risk you willing to take or or can responsibly take actually because you need to be responsible if if you have a family things like that I mean I did all this when I was you know young I was in my teens and 20s so it's you almost it's that's the time it easier for you to Pivot like at a younger age like what about people who have more seasonality let's say you got 30 years in the game somewhere or a decade and you're like oh this isn't for me anymore like how would you suggest they pivot same way or something different same I think you know I think now it's so much easier I would say to make that pivot because with the internet I mean the the possibilities are so endless in careers that you can create for yourself now I mean entrepreneurship is amazing right now I mean people can create so many different new things of what they're passionate about I mean I have ideas of my own about my what's next you know and uh I see how it's possible with just being on your phone I mean there so you could build things right off your phone it's it's amazing I think you said something that was really important and I want to drive home for folks it's you had this internship and that was like it everything clicked and I think that's a great takeaway for folks is put yourself in new environments do something you've never done volunteer because that's what's going to expose you and I think this is really helpful also for someone who is stuck who doesn't know what they want to do who doesn't know the exact address in Connecticut they just know Connecticut they don't know exactly where in Connecticut they want to go right using your example so it's important for you to go outside and participate and experience and Shadow someone and ask someone for their time and pick their brain and you know your research I will say uh again be clear first you got to be clear about what you want to do and uh because if how are you going to meet people and then you be like I don't really know you know when they ask what if you're not clear what if you're like in that face great question I would offer to really explore what are you truly passionate about what would you be willing to do that you actually didn't get paid for and I'm not saying don't get paid I'm just saying like I feel about that way about the weather I I'm I'm already looking at the weather maps it's something I do when I'm not actually at the physical job anyway so how great is it that I actually get paid to do what I be I would be doing it anyway you know and so what are those things what do people tell you that you would be good at right that that people get that a lot oh you'd be good at this you'd be good at that pay attention to those things what do you feel in your gut that truly like gives you like puts a smile on your face to actually be doing right whether it's like it could be gardening right it could be floral arrangement whatever it is hair cutting hair styling it whatever it is then there's a conference for everything there is a conference for everything even so much so like when my daughter my oldest was thinking about whether she was going to go to college or not I actually gave her the offer listen if you want to take a gap year or maybe not go at all but take a year I will pay to take you to a series of conferences of things that you are passionate about because I learned more in conferences than I ever did in classroom uh great I needed my meteorology degree but conference going to conferences and networking they have workshops there's like uh you know seminars I mean the networking is just you know invaluable it's worth every penny if you really love like Fitness or whatever it is like so I told my daughter name five things you're interested in and I'll be willing to like spend this x amount of money and we'll find a conference and we'll go and just to explore yeah I would love that would be a good way to jump in I love that you want to me and if you and listen if money is a thing which it is for some folks there's free things all over the place I mean come on there's you you can start with Facebook groups uh there's free uh meetups they're everywhere you just do your homework yeah I know if money's an issue I know you at least have a cell phone and an internet connection so you can Google anything right or not go to the library there's Wi-Fi over there so let's go back to emy's so four time Emmy Award winner like how does that come about like how do you get an Emmy okay so I didn't know for quite a while believe I wasn't tell I didn't start getting them until I figured out oh that's how and that's that's when I started earning them okay okay okay so you literally submit a piece of work into the Emmy nomination process they don't come find you you have to put yourself in the pool to be nominated I didn't know that either for a long time in my career never thought to ask and no one told me okay once I found out I was like oh I think I might have asked when hey how do you how did you get that in me how does it work oh you submit your work so in television we literally find pieces that we do and we enter them in submission now the way it works in the New York Emmys that I am a part of uh those submissions get narrowed down I think at some point uh I think I'm not actually sure about that part what happens is because I'm actually a judge uh in the New York Emmy uh oh okay anyone who's in uh the industry can be a judge I volunteer to do so okay that everybody does it because it is timec consuming but I do it regularly okay so what happens is I then receive uh once I'm accepted to a certain panel to judge and I always do weather I don't I only do weather damn I was about to be like you oh hook you up no no well that's the thing I they don't allow you to judge in the region that you are actually in so I don't judge anyone here in the Northeast right yeah I can only judge anywhere else across the country other than the the region that I'm in that that's how they keep it fair yeah uh you know being in weather though I've been around for a while and I've met a lot of people so I do intend to see people that I know but I'm very um I I do right I follow the rules yes yes I follow the rules and so what happens is someone like me there's certain criteria like you you get judged on three um three things it's usually content uh creativity and execution and then they have the requirements under those specific things is this the content of the of the the um category and the because there's certain things like it could be weather um presentations or it could be a weather story like you don't have to be a meteorologist to win a weather Emmy you could have done a story on a weather event that went on to the news there's all kinds of things there's long format short format there's a lot of different categories gosh I think there's over 60 categories wow yeah it's crazy what time of year does this normally happen uh I'm judging right now actually um it happens year round because each of the regions have their award ceremonies at a different time okay yeah now now to submit it they changed it now it's from January 1st to December 31st of the year before so right now we're in 2024 okay so submissions would be for January 1 to basically for all of 2023 from the first of the year to the last day okay and that would so in other words when we have our ceremony the actually awards that will happen in the fall right this fall it would be for you're winning for 2023 correct oh okay so I should be submitting now for 2024 for fall 2025 to get awarded uh well there'll be a window to submit yeah they they'll let you know right um You have to check in with them and then you I forgot the window is actually okay I'm going find out I'm going do some research there's a window the window closed for New York this region because right now we have our nominations list out so I I'm up for another nomination listen too is girl yes I'm really nominated right so yeah so that yeah you'll you only submit during the window time there's a certain like think like two months you they tell you oh this is the deadline to submit and then they go out and I they get judged and then you find out at the award ceremony whether you win or not where do you have your Emmys I have them proudly displayed on a nice like display table when you walk in it's like boom people see them uhhuh like in your home yes lovely there's four of them right there lovely lovely glistening in Gold lovely I think that's so cool it is I I I was floored when I saw my first one because uh I've seen them before and I I it's weird I never thought I would have I never never thought to have one I never thought I would have one I didn't didn't think I couldn't have one right I just didn't know what to do and then when I figured it out again just find I know what you need to do so you can nominate yourself uh no meaning you're submitting on your behalf right correct and then a committee right decides who gets nominated and then that committee judges on the nominations and decides who wins right okay right okay got it and so like I have four Emmys they're not all weather actually right because I do a variety of things at at my station so the first one was which it's my favorite one right right uh we do a weather special every year and I actually spearhead the US submitting it every year because I I go around I collect everybody's you know like money information I'm like okay let's go oh it cost money to nominate yourself oh girl tell that wait how much is the fee oh my gosh you know I it depends if you're a member or not oh uh it's tiered like uh yeah it's tiered so if you're a member you have to pay one price if you're not a member so you can actually submit and not be a member of the um Emmy Award organization or em Academy okay uh so there's that interesting and so yeah and so if you're in a group like if there's how many you know group of people are doing it together you split the cost and uh so when you're judging do you take someone being a member into consideration no we don't know if they are or not when they sub we don't know okay okay okay and when you're making your selections of like what you want to submit what is that process like like how are you assessing great question so you got to get a Vibe I keep a running log in my phone on a note you know a notes of things that I've done during the year I'm like oh you know what I really like that I I think I liked I did that I'm going to put that down as possible emm submission you know so when the window comes up I kind of go through and I'll look I'll look back on some of the stuff at the station and be like you know what that one I think I want to do that so that's how it happens for me um the other Emmys I earned are again they were in a group I do a special every year called Tower of Heroes it it's something to do with um the the climbing of one World Trade Center we do stories on that relate to 911 CU I mean there's just endless amount of stories that came out of that uh we won them for that one another one was our weekend news cast so you know everyone on the team won that one uh the one another one I'm really I'm proud of all of them don't get me wrong but another one uh we did a uh special called Caribbean in the city and I highlighted six prominent like new yor Ricans which I loved that piece I was when we won that I was like yes yes yes it was I'm very proud of that one because it was highlighting new y or Ricans and it was great yeah so do you need to submit work that happened in that year that you're submitting for it can't be like past work no it has to be within that the year that um eligibility year okay which be January 1st to December 31st usually the like right now be for 2023 oh yeah so the I means we earn coming up in this coming uh award ceremony the the material came from 2023 oh so I need to get a move on it because I got some popping material from 2023 that could go really really well okay yeah you have to find out I don't know how it works I research to figure out but I know they give out em for like podcast and YouTube shows and right even stuff you do on social media like like you said there's several there's so many categories there's even categories for like traffic reporting makeup I didn't realize it was there's an award for makeup W I didn't know that either yeah there's a lot of there's a lot of opportunity okay yeah all manest Victoria am the award winner absolutely absolutely manifestes you can reach at anytime you want to chat more thank you I appreciate that um oh my goodness okay I'm so excited all right no because I need to have my Shrine you know what one of my once you know you know like cuz I didn't know how to do it but now that I'm telling you now I can sense so now you realize oh wait this is actually possible now I know what it is yeah um so I don't know if you knew her but her name was Shirley Rodriguez ranesi do you know who she is absolutely so Shirley is like my second mother she took me under her wing when I was in college and like put me on the board of a charter school when I graduated college got me my first job Leeman Brothers after college like made that introduction for me she took me under her Wing um she told me how to eat lobster like all the things I love it and she had this I remember visiting her home she had a home right across the street from Central Park and um she had like this Shrine of all her Awards and accomplishments she had all the pictures Nelson like all the pictures and I remember in that moment thinking to myself like I'm going to do this like this is what I I I'm going to emulate this like I'm going to figure out how to have all of my accolades on like a wall um and so that was the seed that was planted back then that now is coming to fruition meeting you putting me on game with the Emmys um so shout out to Shirley Rodriguez from I miss her so much she was such a uh Force yes such a force and a lot of the woman I am today is because of her because I got to literally be her right hand like she would take me to everything I would be in all The Insider conversations with top politicians she would take me to Washington she would take me to Albany she would have me in her room when she was negotiating when she worked at the Empire State development uh building and she was with um Cuomo on the time like she would bring me into these meetings and I would just be a fly on the wall and she would just let me obser erve and I would see her in action like 100 Hispanic women her nonprofit like I was an intern at 100 Hispanic women when I was in college that's kind of like how I met her and we met and like instantly connected well I know whatever you put your mind to you're going to do because she to have her as your Mentor like amazing amazing Force yeah she really really was no I see why you're so forced you're amazing Force yes listen I I come from a lineage of women who like poured into me um and showed me the way and she was definitely one of those women who like saw something in me when I needed her most well now that you told me that connection like I I see you now I see you right connect somebody with someone else and you're like oh if that if you're connected with that person I know that you are something yeah if she was still alive Audrey like I just think about it all the time like I I would be in a completely different place than where I'm at right now because she was just so I'm going to put you in this room I'm going to introduce you to this person we're going to position you here this is where you need to be like that's how she rolled with me so I just know like I would be like 10 years ahead of where I am right now but I also know like she's guiding me in this moment as well she actually set you up she did she did she set me up she gave me the layup and now I'm just like taking it you know another story I'll share with you and then we can move on I host a woman's event every year and the year she passed away was this same and they were hosting her funeral was the same day of my conference and so I dedicated the entire conference to her like I had a whole opening slideshow for her like everyone in that room knew who Shirley was and like she touched them in that room and that was like my dedication to her because I couldn't be there oh that's amazing it makes me want yeah it was it was it was so beautiful it was a moment it was a moment um but yeah I always like when I accept Miami in my speech I can hear it I can already hear it will be one of the women that I mentioned in that speech for sure for sure so let's get into the Talk That Talk segment what's up miente are you looking for mentorship and the plays to secure the big bag have you ever watched me here on the Banking on Cultura podcast and thought to yourself you know what I want to work with Victoria Jenn or maybe you thought to yourself I want to be a part of her network of badass women and entrepreneurs well guess what you absolutely can join me this no member November 15th through the 16th in the heart of New York City for my 7th annual secure the big bag and wellness Summit let's face it so many of us are tired burnt out ready to throw in the towel honey and quite frankly we want to dedicate ourselves to the soft life but what if there was a way for us to achieve both time and Financial Freedom and also have a healthy well-balanced life what if you could secure the big bag build a business that fuels you versus drains you as well as build a solid network of business besties who want to support and motivate you while also censoring self this Summit is the Premier destination for the latest Marketing sales and AI tools that can 10x your business while also nurturing your well-being learn from Top experts from both business and wellness including Executives from the corporate sector so that you can explore corporate level opportunities that can elevate your business to new heights ensuring you're not just prepared but fully equipped to dominate in 202 five and Beyond this is your opportunity for your business to thrive while you do too head over to secure thee big bag.com to check out the agenda and all the Heavy Hitters that will be in the building I cannot wait to see you in New York City miente it's go time and this is where we address something Taboo in the Cultura uh something that you feel passionate about or something that you want to draw uh some dialogue around that maybe is not being spoken about enough so talk to us what is something Taboo in the cult for you oh you know I think we talked about this and I sort of again another thing you're bringing out all the things I don't talk about publicly right okay uh you know I I worry about us discriminating against our own that's what I worry about um I think for me my experience with that with me saying that it comes from an experience of not being Latina enough in some rooms and feeling like because of that I'm being shunned out by my own people and it's hurtful and I'm not I I now know you know through time that I'm not the only one that has experienced that and uh I would love to just have that not be right because as I told you earlier like when I see you know powerful Latinas on Instagram I'm I'm I follow you right away and if I see a you know Puerto Rican flag on whatever I'm not even reading what you're doing I'm already follow because that's that's how I choose to show up and it would be nice if everybody did yeah right uh there unfortunately have been moments where I I have felt that I
wasn't I don't want to say terms that that that would make anyone I love you know what I love about our culture so diff like there's so many different facets of us it's not just one mold right we we come in different shades right we come in different shapes we come in different like even in different like languages countries like skin tones right I I it's there's we have such a Melting Pot within our own Cura um it it it sort of confuses me why I or anyone else within that would be felt like we don't belong because we there is no one mold for all of us right and so yeah like I I have not been part of groups because I felt like I wasn't either loud enough dark enough I didn't have enough of an accent I didn't speak Spang English enough or full on you know Latina enough I didn't speak enough Street talk or whatever it was it was always some like not always it's with the times that I've had these experiences that's what it was I felt like I just didn't look as Latin as they were and listen growing up like I was always mistaken for Italian or Greek you know and but again like I didn't I saw so many shades of us in our own culture I didn't understand it from within us why did why I still wasn't being you know kind of within the fold of some things you hear this a lot can you give us an example more things I'm not haven't spoken about right uh getting the hands sweaty now well this is important right and and one of the reasons why Banking on Cultura exists is the this is happening often and it's impacting how we show up in the world it's also impacting how we collaborate or don't collaborate with each other and I believe it's it's it's one of the reasons why we can be Our Own Worst Enemy and it's because we don't talk about it we act like it's not happening or if we talk about it it's in our own little separate silos but when many of us are experien ing the same thing something needs to change correct um so yes I would love an example I the one that really sticks out the one just struck me immediately was uh in college uh I very much wanted to be in a sorority like I just want I and I mean truth be told I wanted to do it because I wanted to go to the parties like I mean they look kind of exciting not going lie yeah and so right I'm a very I was very social in high school I was going to college I'm like I want to be I want to do that whole thing you know and uh and so there was uh um you know I did the whole Rush process there was a Latin sorar starting up and I thought I want to do that one right because because just be I'm Puerto Rican I should do that one and I felt shunned I felt shunned most of the girls were I guess way more Latina than me and it it hurt and so I ended up joining a predominantly Jewish sorority Believe It or Not wow yeah I did and interestingly enough I brought in Latin girls into the sari over time because they saw me when you know you meet the girls in rush I would always um sway over to the Latin girls and be like hi you know meet them and stuff and my house ended up becoming more mixed it wasn't predominantly you know it was predominantly Jewish but there were you know other um cultures and sorts in there and so yeah that was that was you know I when I think it's sad when I think about that because it didn't have to be that way I don't think and I would loved to have had that that little piece like you because you always connected with your house you know your sority house your your group and um I don't have that in the Latin form I love my you know love my Jewish I do they're great girls and uh but yeah that that would be the example I would share it's interesting that you say that because I find that a lot of um a lot of us tend to go where we are accepted right and go where we we feel welcomed and it is unfortunate that or even that where you think it's familiar right that's that's why I was going going that that's what's familiar to me I I like to be around my Latinos totally and I believe that's why you find a lot of you know Latinos and black communities like collaborating making money together making moves together because there's an acceptance there that unfortunately you don't see in the Latino Community it's not as prominent like for example I was having this conversation with a girlfriend of mine and we were talking about how her and I a lot of our opportunities that are coming to us are through black women not through Latinas Latinas are actually the one talking [ __ ] and trying to block us from the opportunities and how can we change this what needs to happen I know for myself I've pushed my because listen that experience and maybe a couple of others had made me feel like well you know it made me Shy Away actually from groups but as I got older right because this was like teenagers years and um you know 20s but as I got older and and started being in my career and meeting more Latinas um and realizing that I had a place that I need that I was being moving into a leadership position by being who I was being a meteorologist Latin one that kind of sort of thing I needed to insert myself is what I did I basically inserted myself in Latin groups I I just showed up and I maybe the TV thing thing made it easier for me to show up because now I was known I I'll give that I I'll I'll give that yet I still needed to show up like you because I was scared I was scared and I still showed up in groups and felt like you know I don't speak fluent Spanish you know I speak Spanglish you know and are they going to really accept me and then you know people will talk to me in Spanish and I answer in English I do understand uh I didn't know if it was going to be offensive but I think over time first of all they they accepted me and I think part of it may have been the TV thing okay like I know okay however I took that I feel like I took they gave me the ball and I ran with it by showing up in a supportive manner for whatever the organization was I've been on Boards of organizations um I'm offer myself to speak anywhere I host many things uh and so yeah so I feel like I I I inserted myself I had to I had to because I had to I had to show that I actually love being Latin I love being Puerto Rican and if I'm shying away from it how is that showing the ca that I actually do uh feel proud of being Puerto Rican yeah I actually have to I have to walk the walk I have to talk to talk yeah be the change you want to see yes yes I think that's a great takeaway so if you can if you resonating with any of this and you feel like an outcast or you feel like you're not being accepted reach out to me I'll talk to you reach out to Audrey she'll talk to you um but but but the main takeaway is insert yourself like it's a leadership uh attribute like if you want to see the change you have to be a part of the change and it doesn't it doesn't happen if you're just talking about it in conversations with your close Confidant it happens when you take some action and you start leading by example right and taking the risk and inserting yourself even though at first you might feel like and listen you can be scared you can be scared and do it anyway you know that's the definition of courage right uh having the fear and doing it anyway and and you'll find your people I feel like I found I found my groups I actually I don't think I even found anybody that actually shuted me out after but but the thing is like you start to feel and once you're confident in yourself and you know like listen I know I deser I I earned my spot here I deserve to be here MH I recently had a conversation with a friend of mine who uh she's uh she's amazing her name's Paris Alexandra she uh she runs the Brooklyn Wellness Center and uh she's an entrepreneur type and she went to a conference and she called me from Tennessee and she says I'm in this room with you know milliona and you know they're all entrepreneurs what am I doing here and I said girl you better get out of that hotel room and you go right back in that Ballroom cuz let me tell you something you belong in every room that you're in everyone in there was you at one point those are the people you need to be around right now so you can learn from they were you you walk back in there you belong in every room that you that you walk into yeah and so that's what I take with myself I'm like I belong here so I if I feel like I belong here then it's going to happen mhm and who cares what someone else thinks most of the time I haven't really had had much resistance cuz I feel like when I show up at something you know listen you do it responsibly I'm not showing up at places that I feel like you know there's places you know you really like I don't really belong here yeah yeah yeah yeah but I'm talking like you know if I'm Puerto Rican and I'm Latin right I'm Latin and I'm a female I belong in a female Puerto Rican organization don't I hello yes yes so I'm going to show up mhm mhm yeah own the space that you're in own the skin that you're in and have the conf to like walk into these spaces and own the room love that uh so Audy tell the people where they can find you uh well you can find me on Fox 5 in New York right uh you can also stream it we're at Fox 5ny y.com social media platforms it's all Audrey pente one word all of them except for Tik Tok someone beat me someone beat you and got your name yeah so I'm the Audrey PO on Tik Tok I I'm not into the the I know people need to do it but I whenever a platform comes out I always jump on it right away whether I'm GNA do it or not just get my name because there are other Audrey PES yeah not this a there are other people who have the same name as me yeah yeah and what's funny is that I follow all of them and like we follow each other I love that yeah crew yeah I want I one day want to have a like a meet up with all of us yes one there's one in Texas there's one in Alaska I mean like I love it yeah they're all over I love it all right well thank you so much for being on banging Aura I being here sharing your thought leadership coming through with your energy it is truly an honor and just um yeah I I'll see you on the Emmy stage girl yeah absolutely I look forward I look forward you bring the Emmy to lunch we'll have a lunch with the right we'll bring our Emmys to lunch Emmys and tea and lunch yes I love that we'll bring them out on a date all right guys thank you so much for tuning in and I'll see you on the next episode hey guys if you enjoyed this video I'm pretty sure you're going to love the next one so make sure to click right here and tap in to the next episode.
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