Special Promotional Section
The 2020 Estrella Award winners are : “ Rising Estrella ” Kendra Macias Reed , deputy director of the Franklin Boulevard Business District ; “ Inspiration Estrella ” Estella Sanchez , founder and executive director of Sol Collective ; “ Champion Estrella ” Dr . Lisa Cardoza , vice president for University Advancement at California State University , Sacramento ; and “ Legacy Estrella ” Marlene Garcia , executive director of the California Student Aid Commission .
“ A few years ago ... I saw other leadership awards and I didn ’ t see the name of a Latina or Latino in their roster and I asked why ,” says Rodriguez Aguirre . “ I was told the awards selecting committee didn ’ t know of any .” So six years ago , the CEO decided to start her own awards ceremony to celebrate “ Latinas who are changing the narrative for our community .”
Past winners include leaders in the arts , social responsibility , nonprofits , corporate management , education and community services — like Rachel Rios , executive director of La Familia Counseling Center , who was recognized with the Inspiration Estrella Award in 2017 .
“ Receiving the Inspiration award ... was humbling ,” Rios says . “ I was a runaway kid and I was given an opportunity to work and go to college by a nonprofit organization . I chose to give back because many children in disadvantaged communities don ’ t know the opportunities available — they don ’ t even know how to dream . My goal wasn ’ t to win awards , my goal was and continues to be ( to lend a ) hand to the young individuals and communities that need it most .”
Leslie Valdivia-Rivas , co-founder of Vive Cosmetics , accepted the Rising Estrella Award in 2019 for developing a beauty brand after noticing the lack of representation of the Latina community in the beauty industry . Since then , she ’ s been featured in national publications , including O , The Oprah Magazine and Allure . In 2018 , the Legacy Estrella Award was given to Carolina Rojas-Gore , who spent much of her career as the Director of Community Empowerment for Univision 19 . In that role , she assisted the Hispanic community with access to education and healthcare through campaigns like the annual Día de Donar Sangre Blood Drive , the largest event of its kind in the region .
“ I devoted decades of my career to a job that was meaningful and gratifying ,” says Rojas-Gore , “ but most importantly , I was able to be connected , educate and entrust the Spanish-speaking community in Northern California and was able to provide them with the information and resources they needed .”
This year ’ s awards were particularly important to give the community something to celebrate . The festivities were presented in a series of videos and interviews that aired on ABC10 and
Telemundo 33 and on social media in lieu of the traditional in-person luncheon .
“ In light of the pandemic , this signature event was more important than ever in highlighting the impressive work and stories that can touch the lives of young women and motivate our communities through these hard times ,” says Rodriguez Aguirre .
Lilly Cortés Wyatt is a bicultural / bilingual ( in Spanish ) journalist , public relations professional and visual storyteller who owns and operates LWPR . More at LillyWyattPR . com .
Congratulations to all of the recipients of the Republic FC Kickstart program ! Republic FC is proud to have partnered with Suncrest Bank to assist in their mission of continuing to support Sacramento ’ s economic recovery with over $ 10,000 in grants for local-LatinX owned businesses .
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