Today we’d like to introduce you to Priscilla Guasso.
Hi Priscilla, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Since early 2020 I’ve had the privilege of speaking with over 100 Latina leaders at various levels within Human Resources. One of the most recurring themes that has come up in each conversation: Defining Moments. It is the culmination of these continued defining moments we experience in both our personal and professional life that help us learn, grow and shape us into the amazing leaders that stand before our teams today. However, it can also be these same defining moments that can challenge us deep to our core with sometimes not feeling a way out into the light.
Latinas Rising Up In HR started out as a bold vision of intentionally connecting Latina leaders within human resources in either corporate, nonprofit or as entrepreneurs. Why? As an avid networker that enjoys connecting people, this desire to build a community stemmed from the broken reality of not seeing Latina representation in executive leadership roles at top HR conferences, as subject matter experts, speakers, panelists and in publications. When my HR career took me into Diversity & Inclusion, I constantly dug into the different statistics published and learned from different sources, such as the HACR’s Corporate Inclusion Index who reported that only 2% of executives in leadership are held by Latinas. Another report in 2019 by the Latino Corporate Directors Association published that only .85% of directors serving on Fortune 1000 boards are Latina. Honestly, these numbers are staggering and is one of the many reasons I continue doing my part within HR to ensure our voice is heard and represented.
I had the opportunity once in my career to see my RVP of HR as Latina and I had one of the most amazing times in my career because of her leadership. It is because of leaders like her and others in my book that have pioneered the way showing that we each can and will continue to reach these executive levels. Unfortunately, the scarcity of Latinas in HR is becoming more prevalent during this pandemic and which is why I ask you to look honestly into the make-up of your own HR team. When I became an HR leader two levels from our company’s CEO, the research I had read so much about earlier in my career was beginning to sit in more clearly. I was part of a minority of women that had defied the statistics and I was determined to take a risk and make a change for me while also giving back. Through the support and encouragement of my publisher, Fig Factor Media, I continued my path of intentionality in 2020. In my book, you can read more on how this book came to life through sharing vulnerably my personal defining moments and sharing 20 different stories of resilience we each had to tap into to achieve professional success.
Now, almost a year since that first conversation with Fig Factor Media, I have had the privilege to author my first volume of Latinas Rising Up In HR. Each leader in this book now joins me in that special literary honor of not just only becoming a published author but joins me in the recognition as a #1 Amazon Best-Selling Author in (6) categories. My vision continues to expand and I look forward to publishing many more stories in the coming years to generate a platform where our youth see themselves represented and feel that much closer to their career goals and mentors to get there. Through our virtual book launch, we’ve touched 9,000+ lives and I have now pivoted my focus to connecting with our community of over 234 Latinas In HR with a common purpose: we’re ready to share our keys of knowledge and success to O-P-E-N doors of unlimited possibilities for one another. This all said I can’t stress enough on how important it is that we continue to take inventory of why you do what you do, from the very small things in life to the big defining moments. I’m extremely grateful to my own support community for encouraging my curiosities and pushing hard on me to break the chains of imposter syndrome, doubt and negativity. They remind me to focus on leaning into my boldness, values and community.
As I look to reopen my chapter of going back into the workforce as an HR executive and fully recharged, I wouldn’t be where I am without the support of my family, friends, co-authors, publisher, past colleagues and other phenomenal organizations like VoyageMIA that encourage the use of their platform for new voices like those in Latinas Rising Up In HR. I invite you to join our community on social media through @LatinasInHR, actively become part of our journey through the purchase of our book for you, as a gift or for your organization. Partial proceeds of each purchase will be used for our two scholarships launching in March (Women’s History Month). For more information and ways to partner with this group, visit www.LatinasRisingUpInHR.com or connect directly with Priscilla Guasso on LinkedIn.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No, my husband and I had to save money for this dream, then I had to search in my network for not just Latinas In HR but leaders that embodied specifically leadership characteristics and values. Casting the net to find the right leaders for this book was not easy. I had to lean deep into my network (which was fun!) but required moving around and lots of asking. I then had authors not able to join us due to competing priorities of where they were at in life during the writing phase, their own personal struggles of sharing their story and the workload they were balancing with covid. The next struggle was this being my first book, however my publisher Fig Factor Media walked me through the entire process! I learned so much about every phase of launching a book. Then it was reconnecting with very little time with marketing partners to join us in this inaugural book launch. Through this book process learning to create a community while it’s something I love doing, to do it under your name was what was different. Learning to lean into others for guidance and help is what has been my saving grace.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am most proud of the family that I come from. We are not perfect, but they taught me the values I have today of working hard, doing what I love, continuously leaning into my curiosities, never stop learning and to share our knowledge. I am most proud of knowing when it was time for me to take a pause, to have listened to this inner voice which has allowed me to create something extraordinary for my Latina community. I get to now lead workshops, talks, panels and trainings for Latinas in HR. Through my book, I created a separate community of book sisters that will forever be connected, sharing our ups and downs and encouraging each other to get to the next phase in our lives. We are each other’s life-lines, asking for advice and having a safe space to learn, grow and promote our work. I’m most excited of the legacy we will leave behind with having partial proceeds of our book going to two scholarships. One for aspiring HR undergrads and a second for mid-level managers looking to obtain their SPHR/PHR/CP certification. For as long as people purchase our book, this scholarship will continue to give back year over year.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Yes, I feel like I’ve taken risks personally and professionally, which you can read in my story, from how I got my first job showing up at the Hyatt headquarters without an appointment 15 years ago looking for a job, to when I took on interim roles, to when I joined the corporate office, to when I moved from Chicago to Miami for a role (leaving everyone in my network and family behind), to leaving a company I loved dearly to go back to Chicago, to then leaving that job to take a pause during a pandemic, focusing on my health while writing this book and creating a community, to now continuing this journey into new business ventures and just recently coming back to Miami during this pandemic to get away from the cold.
I honestly believe that you do not grow and see your fullest potential until after you’ve made risks. I invested in this book, in a dream, using my savings to make this come alive. Through it, I’ve seen how much creativity, innovation and grit I have to get so much done… and more than anything, how to do it through a community of supporters along the way. While risk can be frightening, I have a very large community of family, friends, colleagues, contributing authors and partners that are there to lift me with advice, encouragement and direction. It’s always a good time to disrupt and even better when you can do so with people that share your vision.
Pricing:
- 19.97 Latinas Rising Up In HR book
Contact Info:
- Email: Priscilla@LatinasRisingUpInHR.com
- Website: www.LatinasRisingUpInHR.com
- Instagram: @LatinasInHR
- Facebook: @LatinasInHR
- Twitter: @LatinasInHR
- Other: https://linktr.ee/latinasinhr
Image Credits
Jorge Guasso Edith Pacheco Francisca Phillips
