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Charlotte Castillo was seven years old when she became the Chief Translator for her Dominican immigrant family in New York City. She didn't know it then, but she was already doing the work — figuring things out beyond her years, building courage in real time, and learning how to move between worlds. Twenty years later, she's still translating. Just on a much bigger stage.This week, Charlotte joins us on Behind The Work.Charlotte is the Managing Director of Poderistas — one of the fastest-growing and most influential digital communities celebrating Latina culture in the United States. Before that, she spent over 14 years as an award-winning senior executive at ViacomCBS, and before that, she was the founding Head of Marketing at Latina Magazine — the first print publication ever created for the bicultural Latina. She is a first-generation college graduate from Wesleyan University, the proud daughter of Dominican immigrants, a New Yorker to her core, and a mother of a 16-year-old son.In this conversation, we start at the beginning — what it was like to grow up as the daughter of Dominican immigrants in New York, and how that environment shaped her sense of identity, resourcefulness, and ambition. We talk about what it meant to be part of Latina Magazine from the very start, and what drew her deeper into media and marketing for a community that had long been underserved and misunderstood.We get into the pivot — what made her walk away from a long, successful corporate career, how she found Poderistas as a volunteer after being laid off during the pandemic, and what it felt like to step into something so mission-driven after 14 years inside one of the most powerful media companies in the world. We talk about why Poderistas works — why leading with culture, beauty, health, and entertainment creates the trust that makes civic engagement possible — and what she has learned about what actually moves people from awareness to action. We get into the danger of treating Latinas as a monolith, what it really looks like to correct that in media and politics, and what Latina power means not as a slogan, but as a real, lived practice in everyday life.This episode is for you if:- You've spent years building someone else's vision and you're starting to feel the pull toward something that actually reflects your values.- You're navigating the transition from a corporate career to mission-driven work and want to hear from someone who made that shift and found her footing.- You care about civic engagement but feel like traditional outreach has never spoken to you — and you want to understand a different approach.- You're a Latina who is tired of being treated as a monolith and wants to see what it looks like when an organization actually gets the complexity of our community.- You work in media, marketing, or philanthropy and want a sharper lens on how to reach communities with authenticity rather than assumption.- You want to understand what it looks like to build power through culture — and why that approach is more durable than anything built on messaging alone.Connect with Jessica:- Subscribe to the Behind The Work newsletter — link in bio- Follow Jessica on Instagram: http://instagram.com/@jessicasantana- Follow Behind The Work on Instagram: http://instagram.com/@behindtheworkshow- Follow Jessica on TikTok: http://tiktok.com/@jessworldwide- Follow Behind The Work on TikTok: http://tiktok.com/@behindtheworkAbout Behind The Work:Behind The Work is the show for the ambitious person looking to level up their lives, their career, and their businesses. Hosted by Jessica Santana, Behind The Work goes deep with the executives, founders, and leaders who are building from a place of power. Each episode pulls back the curtain on the real work — the strategy, the setbacks, the pivots, and the purpose — behind the people, companies, and organizations shaping what's next.
Jessica Santana is a business and leadership coach for entrepreneurs and executives. She specializes in teaching founders, entrepreneurs and executives how to build strong businesses, careers and lives they love.
Behind The Work is the podcast show for ambitious executives and entrepreneurs looking to build businesses that scale and careers that leave an impact. Hosted by Jessica Santana, each episode features in-depth conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and executives who are building companies from the ground up and are succeeding in their career fields. Discover the real successes, honest failures, pivots, and the vision behind the most successful people reshaping industries.
Some episodes, we’ll sit down with some dope guests and hear about their journeys. Other times, it’ll just be us—breaking down the lessons, strategies, and real talk that I have learned as an entrepreneur and executive – It will be everything you need to keep pushing forward and you’ll always walk away with something tangible and practical.
This show will provide answers to questions like:
- What does the real journey from zero to success actually look like—beyond the highlight reel?
- How do I turn my business idea into a profitable, scalable company?
- How do successful founders navigate failure, pivots, and setbacks without giving up?
- What's the difference between entrepreneurs who scale to millions and those who stall?
- How do you secure funding, and what should you know before approaching investors?
- What does it actually take to build product-market fit?
- How do you build a high-performing team and company culture from the ground up?
- What blind spots do first-time entrepreneurs have, and how do you avoid them?
- How do you balance growth with profitability and sustainability?
- What's the real behind-the-scenes strategy that successful founders use?
- How do you stay motivated and resilient through the tough seasons of building?
- What's the path to building a company that can scale beyond you?
- How do you know when to double down on your vision versus pivot?
- What does leadership actually look like when you're building something from scratch?
- How do the most successful entrepreneurs think differently about risk, money, and opportunity?
Hey, everyone. Welcome to another episode of Behind the Work, the show for the very ambitious person looking to level up their lives, their careers, and their businesses. I'm your host, Jessica Santana. And if this is your first time tuning in, I wanna say welcome to the show. So today, I'm really excited because we are sitting with one of the most fabulous ladies I've ever ever met.
Jessica Santana:Her name is Charlotte Castillo, and she is the managing director of Poderistas. We're gonna talk about what Poderistas is a little bit later on. But for now, I just wanna say, Charlotte, welcome to the show.
Charlotte Castillo:Thank you so much. I feel so honored and humbled to be here. So thank you so much for having me.
Jessica Santana:Of course.
Charlotte Castillo:And by the way, you're very fabulous too.
Jessica Santana:Thank you very much. And so, you know, you and I met through Susie. Mhmm. I was looking for amazing guests for the show and she nominated you. She said you were phenomenal.
Jessica Santana:And as I've gone deeper into your story and learning more about you, I was like, there's so much about your journey that really resonates with me as a Latina from New York. And so I actually wanna start with that. I wanna start with your formative years in New York City. You know, you identify as a Brooklyn girl like me. Mhmm.
Jessica Santana:You know, you're from Dominican immigrant parents. Tell me about, you know, those early years in New York City, and who was Charlotte as a young girl?
Charlotte Castillo:Well, Dominicana, you said, and Brooklyn Girl. Even though I did have a stint in The Bronx, my friends from The Bronx are like, you don't claim us, but my formative years are from in Brooklyn. I consider myself a Brooklyn Girl always. I went to public school all through like middle school and high school, which I'm very proud of because then I ended up at a PWI, but we'll get a little bit into that later. Mhmm.
Charlotte Castillo:I think, you know, when I think of my youth and, you know, being a child, I think of just like a lot of joy, you know. My parents were both, you know, working parents, you know. We we didn't have a lot of money, but there was a lot of joy, a lot of family. Every every weekend was a una fiesta. Right?
Charlotte Castillo:We made it, know, Dominicans get come together. They're drinking, they're eating, they're playing poker. And it was just a lot of joy. A lot of joy, a lot of love, a lot of pressure. And also a lot of pressure.
Charlotte Castillo:My parents, they would always say, and I have this ringing in my ear, we'll always be laborers. Right? That's that's why we came here for you. Mhmm. Your ticket out is education.
Charlotte Castillo:Education, education, education. So wonderful message. Wonderful. I'm so glad I had that, but it was a lot of pressure. Like, literally, my parents, I would show my report card and have, like, 93, 94, 95, because I was I was a nerd.
Charlotte Castillo:I was I was studious, and I I did like to read and learn. My father was like, where are the rest of the points? Like, literally. And at and at one point, I thought I I made that up. I thought I made that story up, and then my parents, you know, passed away a couple years ago, and my dad we were going through their stuff, and my mom would save everything.
Charlotte Castillo:And I found a report card that said, literally, you know, was like, you know, nineties, like, I remembered. And at that time, you had to, like, the teacher would send you your report card and then your parents had to send it back and sign it.
Jessica Santana:Mhmm.
Charlotte Castillo:And the teacher wrote a note, oh, Charlotte is excellent, very great student. Congratulations. You should be proud. And my dad wrote a note and I read it. Thank you so much, but if she were that excellent, there'd be hundreds.
Jessica Santana:And that That's so funny.
Charlotte Castillo:And that is, like, the story of my childhood bringing growing up with my kid my parents, like, the pressure. Mhmm. Very thankful for it, but it was a lot of pressure.
Jessica Santana:Yeah. Yeah. You know, it's so funny because it reminds me of my own story. I remember my dad never wrote a letter back to my teachers or anything like that, but I remember I used to come home with, like, nineties. Right?
Jessica Santana:And I would be so happy. Right? Like, I was, like, top of my class. You know, I graduated valedictorian in high school. I thought I was jente.
Jessica Santana:You know, I thought I was somebody. And your dad yeah. My dad was very quick to humble me. Yeah. He was always just like, okay.
Jessica Santana:90. That's great. Where's where's your 100? Yeah. Because I don't teach 90.
Jessica Santana:I teach a 100. And I remember, like, you know, at some point asking myself, especially as I've, like, grown up and started, like, my own healing journey, like, whether or not that was, like, a good thing or a bad thing. Yes. And I don't have an answer to that question yet, but I'll let you know what I come up with.
Charlotte Castillo:Ditto. Ditto. You know, I think it's both. I think it it's it has these positives. It had it taught me so much.
Charlotte Castillo:It, you know, it made me who I am. Right? It made us who we are. Right? Like achieving, like, you're doing all your things.
Charlotte Castillo:You start your nonprofit. I you know, I've had my career. I work in a nonprofit, and I'm proud of all the work. But it also comes with a little bit of trauma. Mhmm.
Charlotte Castillo:That, you know, every day I'm still working on. But I I wouldn't have changed it, to be honest. If if I could go back and they said, you know, reset, I think that was the way that was their gift to us. That's how I see it. That was their gift.
Charlotte Castillo:And, you know, that was their sacrifice. Like, they came here, they left everything. Right? They left everything behind for something better for they and knew it wasn't necessarily for them. It was for their children.
Charlotte Castillo:Right? So I that's what we are. We are a testament to that work. So but it does come with its trauma, lots of therapy bills later, and still working on it, and it's all good. It's all good.
Charlotte Castillo:It's part of the journey.
Jessica Santana:Yeah. Yeah. For sure. And, you know, growing up in New York City, I always say that New Yorkers are some of the most resourceful people. And then I also say New York Latinos, like, they are even above that level of resourcefulness.
Jessica Santana:Right? And so when you think about
Charlotte Castillo:And then Latinas.
Jessica Santana:And Latinas. Yes. And Latinas. I mean, these days, there's so many different Right.
Charlotte Castillo:No. But I mean, varieties.
Jessica Santana:I think women in
Charlotte Castillo:on top of that,
Jessica Santana:I think
Charlotte Castillo:we are, you know
Jessica Santana:Yeah. For sure. Latinas. Let's yeah. Let's focus on women's for the for women for this.
Jessica Santana:So, you know, Latinas, we're just very resourceful people. And I believe that, you know, we learn this through seeing our mothers and through seeing our fathers and through seeing our community members, our grandmothers, our sisters just, you know, make something out of nothing. And I think so much of what we see a lot is that inform our leadership later on in the way we do business, the way we build our careers. And so tell me a little bit about how, you know, those experiences growing up in New York with your family, with these high standards made you resourceful, and also what did it teach you about leadership?
Charlotte Castillo:Absolutely. I think what we just talked about made me super resourceful, and and ambitious, but also the adultification. Right? Like, I was nine years old, eight years old, but I spoke English and my mom did not speak English. It's like, for those who don't know, New York is like the power company.
Charlotte Castillo:Hey, there's a bill, I don't understand. My mom would say, call. And I was eight. What do I say? What do you mean what do you say?
Charlotte Castillo:You speak English, you have the tools that I do Okay, not I figured it out. And on it went. I am not exaggerating, I was basically a secretary to my mom because she didn't have the language. She didn't have the tools. And because of that and that experience, I am super resourceful and super independent.
Charlotte Castillo:And when I think about it, I I always call myself a little bit of a utilitarian player Mhmm. From a career perspective. I'm like, you throw me in anywhere. Obviously, not surgery. But you throw me in anywhere, and I could figure it out.
Charlotte Castillo:You know? I have the tools to be able to figure it out, the wherewithal, the resource, the network Mhmm. The the confidence, the the you know, just the thought process of, like, I can do this. My parents did this. They, you know, they struggled.
Charlotte Castillo:They did all this. I can do this. Ask some questions. Ask around, then I can make it happen. And if I don't know how to make it happen, I can find someone who can make it happen.
Charlotte Castillo:But all of those experiences, all those calls to con Edison, all those translating letters, all those writing letters for lawyers, for whatever it was Mhmm. At a very young age, you know, that led me there, you know, and gave me the tools to be able to kind of figure most things out. So, you know, again, traumatic. There's trauma there because I think you have to acknowledge that. But, also, it's who what made me who I am.
Charlotte Castillo:So I'm super grateful for it because I've been you know? And I won't say lucky. I think I've been I've been able to use those tools and use that skill and use that experience to do a lot of different things.
Jessica Santana:Yeah. Absolutely. You know, on the point of translation, I think one thing that I really love about your career and the things I've learned is that you seem to have been translating short for your family and navigating all these different spaces. But in some ways or form, in some way or like, some way or form, like, you also have become a translator between a growing population of Latinas and the dualities a lot of times that they have to navigate. And you became the head of marketing for Latina Magazine
Charlotte Castillo:Mhmm.
Jessica Santana:Which was the first bicultural publication, which I don't think people realize, like, how important that publication Mhmm. Was when it started. And so I'd love for you to share a little bit about what you've learned about translating a culture to you know, that has different audiences to a group of people. And also, what was it like to be there in the beginning of the publication?
Charlotte Castillo:The boom.
Jessica Santana:The boom.
Charlotte Castillo:Yeah. The the first Latino boom or the second one. There have been so many. It's funny. You know, I and and I'm dating myself, which I don't really mind.
Charlotte Castillo:But this year, this summer, will mark thirty years that Latina Magazine launched, which Mhmm. Is hard to believe. Like, thirty years feels like it went by in a flash. But at the time, we were doing something different. Right?
Charlotte Castillo:You know, I was part of the launch team and and and started out, you know, part time and then kinda became the one of the first or the first marketing director. But there were other publications out there, but they were in Spanish because the thinking was at the time that to reach Hispanic women, as they were called, you know, Hispanic Latina now. Right? Mhmm. Mhmm.
Charlotte Castillo:You had to speak to them in Spanish. Right? And that was what was commonly known. And and and this woman, Christy Howberger, who actually I just saw, who's still a friend, I'd stay with her when I come to LA. Mhmm.
Charlotte Castillo:She thought, well, no. I wanna see magazines like me. And by the way, don't speak that much Spanish, but I'm still Latina. And I know that there's a lot of people that I know that are Latina that have this. And she did research, etcetera, etcetera.
Charlotte Castillo:Mhmm. And that's what led to Latina Magazine. Right? Mhmm. With the partnership with SSENSE, who had gone through a similar story for the African American community of women.
Charlotte Castillo:But one of the things about Latina that was really interesting to me and really gelled it, you know, I was a New Yorker, born and raised in New York, Dominicana. I had never left New Mhmm. And in that job, my job was promotions coordinator. I had to travel the country to sell you know, to get Latinas to get excited. My first job was Charlotte, build a Latina a a college campus tour where Latinas are.
Charlotte Castillo:How do I do that? I don't know. Figured out. And back then, there was the Internet, but barely. I mean, really.
Charlotte Castillo:Like, it it wasn't like all these resources on hand. Like, I literally was calling universities and trying to find Latinas and trying to figure out based on census where the Latinas were in some schools. Created this kind of roadmap of a Latina tour and went on this tour to introduce the magazine to young women on campuses. Plus, I attended what I lovingly call all the nacho festivals around the country. Right?
Charlotte Castillo:Like, I went to Phoenix and Tucson and all the cities in in Texas and Chicago and LA, and and I was astounded. I was like, woah. By the way, Dominicans aren't the center of the world. That's so funny. Right.
Charlotte Castillo:There are other there's other Latinas, like, you know, Mexican. Obviously And, there were Mexicans in New York, but not to the numbers that there are now, back thirty years ago. There were, but not as many. The population just hadn't migrated there yet as much. So it was really fascinating to me to see that this community of Latinas that were different than me and that they ate different things and they kinda sounded they had different accents, but we had a lot of similarities.
Charlotte Castillo:Right? And I I well, one of part of our pitch to advertisers Mhmm. Because they were like, well, you know, why can't they just these women that you're you're reaching, you know, read magazines in English or Spanish or read magazines from their home country. And I would always say, and we kind of all agreed, I, as a Dominicana from New York, born and raised, have more in common with a Mexicana from LA, born and raised, or a Mexicana from Texas than a Dominicana from the from The Dominican Republic. Mhmm.
Charlotte Castillo:I just do. Right? Our experiences living in The United States kind of brought us together, being otherized in The United States brought us together. Pop culture brought us together. Mhmm.
Charlotte Castillo:So we we pitched that. We were like, look. There's this version of Latinidad. Yes. It has its challenges and all this stuff, but there's this version of Latinidad that really brings us together.
Charlotte Castillo:Let's so we were pitching and marketing a magazine, but it was also a community. Yeah. It was this idea of this community of Latinas doing we were the first, the first in our families, the first generation to go to college, the first career women. So that was also a shared experience, Traumatic with trauma, but lots of lessons and lots of joy and lots of pride. So that's kind of what we we we're pitching and we're selling and we're building together through the magazine.
Charlotte Castillo:And then fast forward with the work that I do now, I feel like I've gone full circle. Right? Like, I now I'm also continuing to build community through lifestyle, through a lifestyle lens, but also this idea of, like, okay. Now there's so many of us, and, yes, your lifestyle matters and taking care of yourself matters, but what are we doing with this? Like, what's that impact?
Charlotte Castillo:What can you do with it? You know, we'll talk more, you know, later about Poderistas, but that's what I'm really proud of is that it's gone from acknowledging and belonging and, yes, and now it's like, okay. Yes. Let's acknowledge as belong, but what are we doing? Mhmm.
Charlotte Castillo:Let's let's harness that power because we have it. It's not enough just to be numbers in terms of census. Right? Because we've been saying it. We've been hearing.
Charlotte Castillo:If we're not taking action, those numbers don't matter. Right? We become a silent majority. So that's kind of the the the cycle, and I hope I answered your question.
Jessica Santana:No. You did. You did. I really, really just wanna say that that is fantastic. I would say also that your experiences really resonate with mine as well.
Jessica Santana:When I was in New York I grew up in New York City, born, raised, lived there until I was, like, 30 years old. The only time I left New York was, like, I spent one interesting year in DC. But then every other year, unless I was in college, I was in New York City. And it was the first time when I moved to LA, you know, back in 2019 where I met a different kind of Latina. Mhmm.
Jessica Santana:And like you, I think I was like, wait, everybody's not Puerto Rican? What's going on? And then I realized like, oh, wow. We are different and they are beautiful in their own ways. Their culture is beautiful.
Jessica Santana:But I still sees, like, pieces of myself as well. And so I will say, like, your exposure outside of New York City to Latinidad is just so important. Mhmm. And then now, you know, I spent some time in Miami, and I've met a lot of, like, women who are Cuban. I'm like, oh, wow.
Jessica Santana:You guys are different, but also the same at the same time. And so this, you know, story you're sharing about, like, how you were able to see the differences, but also have this unifying factor among all of us is, like, pretty incredible.
Charlotte Castillo:Yeah.
Jessica Santana:Go ahead.
Charlotte Castillo:And I'll add one thing that I think is really interesting. I remember, you know, I'm on I you know, and I consider myself an Afro Latina than I am, you know. But but in New York, I'm like, I'm Dominican. Right? Like, especially back then, I'm Dominican.
Charlotte Castillo:It didn't like, it it was never a question. I'm Latina. I'm Dominican. When I started traveling, it was funny. I would go to some of these festivals, a lot of people would be like, oh, how cool.
Charlotte Castillo:A sister, you know, representing Latinos. We need more of that. And I was like, yes. And I'm Latina. You know?
Charlotte Castillo:And and they were, like, blown away. So it was, like, also, like, a two way learning. Right? Like, it wasn't just me. It was, oh, there wasn't a lot of exposure to Dominicanas or to Latinas who looked like me necessarily.
Charlotte Castillo:And that was fascinating to me. I was, oh, wow. Interesting. And I would always be, yeah. I am black, and I am Latina, and I speak Spanish.
Charlotte Castillo:Mhmm. And and and it was always like a real interesting conversation, and people would always be like, wow. That's so cool. I didn't know. So, again, I saw it as a this opportunity to just understand our each other.
Charlotte Castillo:Understand each other, like, you know, like, you came. And, And, again, this was years and years ago, but and there's more openness, and there's obviously many more women representing and Latinas representing in Hollywood. Not as enough, but more than there were thirty years ago. Right? Yeah.
Charlotte Castillo:I mean, Latina magazine was Jennifer Lopez' first cover. Yeah. And that was before she was J Lo.
Jessica Santana:Yeah.
Charlotte Castillo:Like, she was on Money Train. That was her big movie. She was about to come out in Selena. That was that's how long ago we we we were around, and that's how kinda like before this boom. Mhmm.
Charlotte Castillo:But it was the first time that you were seeing representation across the spectrum as best as possible. Know? Yeah. People, could go back and there were probably flaws, but it was hard because there weren't that many Latina women in Hollywood that you could really kinda would sell a magazine, frankly. Right?
Charlotte Castillo:It was hard. But we we we had some beautiful, incredible covers with a nice spectrum of women and and and backgrounds and stories. So it was it was a good time. Yeah. The heyday.
Jessica Santana:Yeah. For sure. It was fun. Yeah. No, I I think it's so important that you're saying that because it reminds me a lot about, like, the complicated history we have, you know, the the intersections with the diaspora and us not all looking the same and still coming from the same places.
Jessica Santana:Right? And I think it it oftentimes lands with me as like, you know, you might not know us in in the ways in which, you know, you know us to to see us on TV as, but, like, when you do get to know us, you realize that the there's so much dynamism in the Latina community that makes you wanna get us get to know us even more. You know? And so when you think about, like, the time you spent at Latina, right, what ultimately made you say, you know, I've done everything that I can here to actually now go and put yourself in a position to work at ViacomCBS? You know, Viacom is a really big company and why did you decide to take your talents there?
Charlotte Castillo:You know, I I've always loved pop culture and media, and I had been a Latina for eight years, and I loved it. I mean, it was it was like family. Like I said, I still many people that are were there were still family, friends, etcetera. But I but it was also very, like like family complicated, and also it was comfortable. Right?
Charlotte Castillo:And I was like, I wanna know if I can do this somewhere else. It was like testing myself. Like, yes, I can do it a Latina. It felt safe. It felt safe, like family, like but I was like, okay.
Charlotte Castillo:It's time for me to know. Can I do this in a bigger setting? And by the way, I did publishing. And, you know, again, this was a while back, but I was like, oh, publishing is challenged. And it still is.
Charlotte Castillo:I mean, there's there's I I don't know how many less percentage of magazines out there now in the newsstands, but there's just it was a dying industry. Although it seems to be having a little bit of a comeback. But so I wanted to do television. Television, I did music, and then I did magazines, and I wanted to do television. And I'd go like this because literally, we were 1500 Broadway, and MTV was across the street at 1515.
Charlotte Castillo:And I was always like, I wanna be there where TRL was. And, you know, and I didn't think I could do it. Back to that, right? Like somebody sent me a job description, someone who used to work a Latina on my team and said, hey, Charlotte, and I always told her, keep an eye out. There's a job I think you'd be great for.
Charlotte Castillo:She sent it to me And I read it, and I was like, I didn't even understand it. I was like, what is this? It was licensing. I was like, I don't know what licensing is. And a friend of mine at Latina, an ally, I would say, who worked there at time, who she was amazing.
Charlotte Castillo:And she was like, Charlotte, you got this. You you when you do this, you do this. Like, she helped me translate, right, the work that I did at Latina to this work that they were asking for. She's like, you can learn the licensing stuff. It's a business.
Charlotte Castillo:And that's why she was there at Latina. So I always am really grateful to her when I think back because I wouldn't have applied because I was like, you know? And you hear that as a running theme. Like, I was like, I can't do this. Like, you know, you you always doubt yourself.
Charlotte Castillo:So I applied for the job, and I went. And actually, the the person who was the my boss, he said the same thing. He's like, you you know, you you have the transferable skills. You know how to build a brand. You know you know how to write a marketing prod you know, plan.
Charlotte Castillo:You'll learn licensing. Here's the book. So I got hired, which was amazing. I was frightened. Right?
Charlotte Castillo:Was like, don't know if I'm gonna be able to do this. And and what I it was licensing. I wanted to get into television. Right? But that was a that was an easy kinda backdoor way to get in.
Charlotte Castillo:It was an ancillary business within the big business of of television and and and IP, intellectual intellectual property. So, you know, I did I was under the licensing group under Nickelodeon, Nick Junior, Nickelodeon Junior. Right? So I said, okay. I'll figure this out.
Charlotte Castillo:And then my career, I I was fifteen years in licensing. Like, never thought I thought I was gonna use that to get in and then get into television. But when I realized what I was doing was brand strategy, brand marketing, this idea of taking an IP and understanding how can you really build it out. What are the other properties? What are the other things and and kind of shoot out, you know, output that you can do beyond the the the the content.
Charlotte Castillo:And I was really I love that. Like, I think it's really interesting. And I learned about it and, you know, got some great opportunities while I was there. And, yeah, ended up my career there fifteen years, and I ended up being you know, my last position was SVP of global brands for Mhmm. For Viacom, which was funny.
Charlotte Castillo:When I think back when I started, I was, you know, director of brand management or whatever for, like, Nick Junior and really grew the portfolio. But but I walking in, I thought I can't do this job. Right? And then I ended up and, obviously, it's fifteen years a long time, and I did different things, like different tours throughout. But for me, it was time, to answer your original question, it was time to take my energies and see if I could do it, to fly.
Charlotte Castillo:Right?
Jessica Santana:See Mhmm.
Charlotte Castillo:Can I take this this this kind of expertise, this marketing thing that I figured out at Latina and and had this formula and we did well, I thought, and do it somewhere else? Right? And and add. Right? Because, you know, we were ambitious and, you know, what else do I wanna do?
Charlotte Castillo:I always thought I wanted to be a CMO at a a media company. That was, like, my goal. So I thought that's what I need to do. I need to do television. The big the big kahuna with not not so much anymore, but it was at the time.
Jessica Santana:Mhmm. Yeah. You know, and it feels like everyone that I talked to for this podcast or just friends that I know, the pandemic time was a really pivotal time where they started asking themselves a different set of questions. This was also the time where you got involved with Poderistas, which is where you're at now as its managing director. You know, you could have kept a career in corporate.
Jessica Santana:Like, after you spend a significant amount of time like that to build up a brand both personally and professionally? What made you say, you know, I actually wanna transition into the nonprofit sector? And what made you feel called to the mission of Poderistas? Well, those
Charlotte Castillo:are two great questions, very different. I I I would be lying if I said that that was a planned plat process. Mhmm. I I would be that was not kind of the plan. Yeah.
Charlotte Castillo:I yeah. After fifteen years, I remember in the fall of twenty nineteen, I was like, I'm ready. Like, I was so tired. Long you know, it's very political. The higher up you go, the less work you're doing, it's more about managing up.
Charlotte Castillo:And I was tired. I was really tired. I had a great team, 30 people around the world. It was wonderful, and I traveled the world, but I was tired. And I was ready for something new.
Charlotte Castillo:Again, I was like, okay, Jean Quinceano, enough. I have to go somewhere else Mhmm. Because I get comfortable. So I started looking around, but then two months later, that was the fall, the end of the and and and Viacom re remerged, remarried with CBS. Because at the time, when I first started, it was ViacomCBS and TV network.
Charlotte Castillo:Then they they broke up a year into the time when I started in 2005 and forever. It was, like, separate two separate companies. And then in the fall of twenty nineteen, they got remarried. Right? That's the media, you know, gums and goes and merges and remerges.
Charlotte Castillo:So they remerge. And when that happens, there's so many redundancies. So in the in February of in the first quarter of twenty twenty, they laid off thousands of people. And my job was one of them. You know, I I it Right?
Charlotte Castillo:Because I had been through nine reorgs and survived them all and was able to do whatever. This one was my it was my time, and it was perfect timing. Right? It was perfect timing for me. I got a lovely, you know, package.
Charlotte Castillo:It was great because I had a contract. And my last day was February 2020, the February 2020, and two weeks later, the world shut down. I mean, literally. Right? The world and and or New York shut down and the country shut down because parts outside of this country, there were things already happening.
Charlotte Castillo:So that was like a pause. Like, you know, I remember when I was laid up. I was like, yay. I'm gonna have money and time. I'm gonna do things that I wanna do.
Charlotte Castillo:I'm gonna take some time off because I had never you know, you go from job to job. Two weeks maybe. I'm gonna visit my parents, lives in Florida. You know, I'm just gonna do me, spend time with my kids, spend time with my family. Two weeks later, the world shut down, and I was like, oh, okay.
Charlotte Castillo:I guess not. I'm gonna really be, like, still and really have to think about what to do. And I spent the time with my kid and my husband and whatever. And then I got a call from, guess who? Because relationships matter, Christy.
Charlotte Castillo:Christy Hallberger. She called me and said, hey. I know you have some time on your hands. Like, I'm launching this thing with nine other Latinas, really amazing women, and I I we need help launching it. We have a team.
Charlotte Castillo:It's a small team, but we need your help. We know you can come in here. You know, there's a marketing piece to this that we're missing. Come in and help. I was like, sure.
Charlotte Castillo:Anything you say. She said, well, I'll send you the deck. I was like, anything for you, but send me the deck. And then I look at the deck, and I'm like, oh my god. It's Christie, it's Monica Ramirez who, you know, look her up if you don't know her, she's amazing organizer, advocate, lawyer, Time 100 person, Carmen Perez Jordan, America Ferrera, Eva Longoria, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, plus Christie who I love and it's like family.
Charlotte Castillo:I was like, absolutely, I'll come and help. And she said, well, have no money. It's a volunteer. We're launching a nonprofit. Was like, look, say whatever you need, this sounds great.
Charlotte Castillo:And and the the idea of the nonprofit was, you know, we want women to to be more civically engaged. We want them to get civically engaged, and there's a whole backstory to it. We don't probably have time for it, but and there's a plan, and we wanna get women excited. And I don't know if you remember, the fall of twenty twenty was a very big presidential election at the time of COVID. And when there was there was fear that COVID people were not gonna vote.
Charlotte Castillo:Right? Because people didn't wanna go outside, stay online, wear masks, the whole thing. And there was suppression potentially gonna happen as well. So it was it was a big push to we have to make sure Latinas go out and vote. Latinas and Latinos, but the focus of this was Latinas due to some research.
Charlotte Castillo:So, again, it was Christie calling. I looked at the deck and said, this is amazing. I could use my skills. Right? Like, my superpowers of coming in and figuring it out and helping them launch this thing.
Charlotte Castillo:It was meant to be temporary. It was meant to be volunteer. So we launched, and it it was a pilot program, really, and it took off. Like, the women responded. And, obviously, we had the backing of amazing, you know, talented women at part of our the net you know, the founders.
Charlotte Castillo:But I think women really connected with the message. Mhmm. So it took off quickly, built. It was kinda like, oh, wait. You know, that was we launched in August 2020.
Charlotte Castillo:By December, we're like, okay. This is a thing beyond the election. What are we gonna do? The woman who was managing director at the time, she wanted to lead she decided to go, and they were like, well, we Charlotte, will you be our leader? You know, help us figure out what's next for the organization, build a strategy.
Charlotte Castillo:We know you're gonna be looking for you know, you're looking for a corporate thing. But, you know, do this. Just keep us posted. And I've never left. Mhmm.
Charlotte Castillo:And I had personal loss. My father passed away. My mother passed away. My husband passed away all within a very short amount of time, seventeen months. And and I interviewed with all the people, the Netflixes, the Amazons, the Warner like, all the people because I thought I was gonna do corporate.
Charlotte Castillo:But the more life was happening and the more I was getting into Poderistas and the more I just thought about it, I was like, I don't wanna go back there. Like, I just didn't the thought of having those, like, conversations in those boardrooms that I just was like, I can't go back to that. You know? After everything we've seen, after everything I had gone through, after so much important work that I felt needed to be done, you know, this impact work, I I felt like, no. No.
Charlotte Castillo:No. I love this work, and I love this community, I wanna stay as long as we can, as long as they'll have me. And it's been in August, it'll be six years that we launched. In July, it'll be six years that I started, and, hopefully, we'll do another six more. We'll see.
Charlotte Castillo:Because, you know, it's a nonprofit. It's a tough time. But but, yeah, that's my story. So it wasn't planned Mhmm. But I listened to, you know, kinda what my heart was saying.
Charlotte Castillo:I listened to what, like, my life was telling me that I needed. Mhmm. And then I had this network of women that kind of supported it and and and asked me to do this and supported me through it. And Christy, who again, in terms of lessons, career lessons, she was somebody that I've known. She's not I've known her for thirty years.
Charlotte Castillo:Right? And she called me. Right? And we're we have a good familiar relationship. So I think that's always a big lesson that I tell young people.
Charlotte Castillo:It's like, don't burn any bridges, you know, nurture those relationships because they're all important. Right? And now, even though Poderistas is a nonprofit, there's a lot of people that I've known from my old kind of media days that I pulled back and I'm like, hey. Because we, you know, we do a lot of content and storytelling, so I kind of lean into that, which is one of the reasons I really love Poderistas. We do this impact work in a really, I think, interesting way that those relationships still, you know, still stand.
Jessica Santana:Yeah. Absolutely. You know you know, 2020 August 2020, that was a moment also of social unrest. A lot of people were living in fear and obviously we wanted to get Latinas civically engaged through Poderistas. Can you tell me a little bit about what was the hypothesis
Charlotte Castillo:Mhmm.
Jessica Santana:On focusing on Latinas? Like, what was the need? Mhmm. And what were we hoping Latinas to accomplish during this time frame and with this movement? And has that theory now evolved since you've been there for six years, which I imagine you've seen a lot?
Charlotte Castillo:It's a great question. I think the theory and and it went goes back to what we said earlier, like, that if you get the women, you get the family. Mhmm. I mean, really, like, if you can touch the woman and you can reach the woman, she will kind of bring her family along. I think at the at the very core of it, that's why Latinas.
Charlotte Castillo:I think the way we do our work you know, a little bit of the origin story, and, again, there are 10 founders, so there are different pieces of it. But one of the origin story pieces that I think is really relevant to this is, you know, America and Eva and, you know, a few others that actually aren't founders of Poderistas, but are still kind of close to the family. And Christy used to work at CAA, so they used to be called, you know, every election, you know, for the last few, by candidates and parties to say, hey, help us get out the Latino vote. And we still see that. Right?
Charlotte Castillo:But, like, two weeks before an election or, like, a month before an election. Help us get up to Latina vote. So they would do these, like, tours, Super Mujeres tour that would go city to city. And they would rally the the women and say, hey. Come on.
Charlotte Castillo:We you know, hear about this candidate. Your voice is important, etcetera. And what was interesting is that there were some questions about the policy in the Kennedys, but a lot of times there were just questions about, really, my vote matters? You think my vote matters? Really?
Charlotte Castillo:Sometimes I'm not I'm not clear about how to vote or where to vote. They make it so confusing. Like, sometimes it was really simple questions that people were just like, they didn't feel like their voice mattered, their vote mattered, that they didn't wanna make make a mistake, that they felt like they didn't have enough information, too much information, information they could trust. So it was this this idea that it wasn't necessarily an apathy issue, it was an issue of confidence and motivation. So that's at the at the heart of the work that we do, that is this confidence and motivation gap that we're trying to fill.
Charlotte Castillo:There's lots of civic engagement groups on the ground that do amazing work, they do voter registration, and they're knocking on doors, and and that's great and they register folks to vote. And then there's other groups that do like balloting and to, you know, and and then getting them out to vote. But there's there's no work there's not few peep very few people that are doing the work in between. We see ourselves doing this work in between that's a little bit less tangible, but it's this idea of like, okay, you're registered, but why don't you vote consistently and why, you know, and why don't you get your friends to vote and what more do you need and how and oh, and you're stressed because you don't take time for yourself and you're working and you're nurturing or caregiving your kid and your older you know, your parent and your and your partner and you're going to school and you're starting businesses. So we see and and but but Latinas are expected to, like, support the community.
Charlotte Castillo:Yeah. Right? Yeah. Because on our backs. Right?
Charlotte Castillo:Support the community and build businesses and be positive and take it all in. I mean, we've seen. I'm not gonna get into that, but we you know, and sacrifice. So in our minds, we are resourcing Latinas.
Jessica Santana:Mhmm.
Charlotte Castillo:We are giving them, pouring into them so that that so they feel supported, they feel resourced, and they feel ready and and motivated and excited to then support the community with their voices, with their votes, with their kind of networks, and getting other people around them. Because, you know, I'm sure you have this experience that you're probably the first or one of the few in your family. And when things happen, your mommy, your abuela, your prima, your tia, call you mija. What is this going on? Tell me what I should do.
Charlotte Castillo:Or Mhmm. You're the one you're the go to person. Mhmm. So a lot of our community, that's who they are. They're go to person.
Charlotte Castillo:So we are like, well, let's they're like micro influencers within their networks. Mhmm. Let's make sure they have the right information. Let's make sure they feel resourced. Let's make sure they feel jazz and ready and able and armed with words and and love and and all the things to to kind of to take action to take action.
Charlotte Castillo:And, again, we're nonpartisan. We don't tell you who to vote for. We would just want you to go do it. Mhmm. Really.
Charlotte Castillo:Like, at the end of the day, the for me, it'd be like, Latinas broke records and they voted and look at the numbers. It's not even about who, it's about that they went out. Because the more we don't do it, people are not gonna pay attention to us. Absolutely. Right?
Charlotte Castillo:So that does that does that answer your question?
Jessica Santana:So Yes. Because I
Charlotte Castillo:go off and I don't answer.
Jessica Santana:No. No. No. No. No.
Jessica Santana:I love it. No. You did answer the question. And I believe that people don't know this, but Latinas are the fastest growing voting block. Mhmm.
Jessica Santana:And we're also extremely diverse in our thoughts and our experiences. We're not a monolith. We are not. And people try to talk to us very directionally. Mhmm.
Jessica Santana:And so when you think about the work of Poderistas, what do you think are the things you're learning about, like, catering to all of our different backgrounds and experiences? And are there things that work for all of us, and are there things that don't work for all of us?
Charlotte Castillo:That's a lot of questions. Yes. I will say one of the things, and some one of our founders says this, and I think it's a good quote, is like that Latinos, not just Latinas, Latinos are like, consider us a huge mega swing state. Mhmm. You talk to us, You know, you come, you knock on our doors, you you listen.
Charlotte Castillo:We are gonna vote for you. Mhmm. That we but but right now, not enough people are doing that on either party, any party. Right? The people are not doing that enough.
Charlotte Castillo:Yeah. I think, you know, this time, it is very difficult to be a c three. I mean, it is because there's a lot of stuff happening that for me as an individual, it's it's about values. It's not about parties, it's about politics, it's about values. But things are so politicized that it's tough sometimes to even make statements about things.
Charlotte Castillo:Even though you're like, wait, this has nothing to do with party. It's hard. It's really difficult. So trying to figure out the messaging is is always an ongoing challenge. Messaging that'll move people, messaging that people will understand and see clearly where we stand as an organization.
Charlotte Castillo:I think people know, but I think, you know, sometimes people are like, wait a minute, why aren't you saying this? And it's like there's education that we have to do sometimes to say, this is what it means to be a c three. Mhmm. And we have to be clear on that. Right?
Charlotte Castillo:And but I think c three work is really important because to your point, I think what works is when you are not, you know, beating somebody down with a particular party or person, you know, candidate message. When you're giving them information, when you're empowering them so they feel informed and ready and they can make their decisions because they know best. Right? They know best what's what's great for their families, for their communities. But but because there's so much information and people don't know what to trust, that's our work.
Charlotte Castillo:And I think that's, to me, the secret is this idea of becoming a trusted messenger, and then that's a huge responsibility. Right? Mhmm. To make sure that when we post things, that when we share information, when we share posts that we're vetting it, that we're getting it from trusted sources. And and by the way, we don't wanna be the ones kinda gatekeeping that.
Charlotte Castillo:We also wanna train our community and show them and do we do content about how to spot that you know, how do how do you check sources, etcetera. Because we want them, again, to give them tools so that they can do it themselves or so that we can do it ourselves and that they can kind of pass it on. But I think I agree with what you said. It's like it's about the it's about also understanding the whole the whole woman, which, again, which is why our lifestyle plus civic engagement formula is really key for us. Mhmm.
Charlotte Castillo:Because if we were to talk about voting, you know, policy, etcetera, every day, three sixty five or, you know, we wouldn't have the audience that we have. Like, we wouldn't because people don't live like that. People get tired of that. People want they have other things. They want joy in their lives.
Charlotte Castillo:They want support. They wanna know how to keep you know, build generational wealth. They wanna know what's best for their kids. So we try to be there and support as much of that. And then we slip in the civic engagement and we try to tie those together.
Charlotte Castillo:Absolutely. You really import like for example, hey mom, if you're really worried about the education that your kid is getting, here's some tools for you to get and here's what you should look for. Here's what, you know, and they're at this age. By the way, you can impact this being in your community school by doing this. Mhmm.
Charlotte Castillo:Mhmm. Have you ever been to a city council meeting? Have you ever considered running for a city council position or school board position? So this idea that every decision you make is actually tied to civic engagement. It's actually tied to your power, and that's the way that we try to approach it.
Charlotte Castillo:It's like everything. Where you shop, what what content you consume, what food you eat, you know, what restaurants you frequent, where you send your kids to school. Mhmm. All of that really is about you kind of doling out little pieces of your power and you don't even know it. Right?
Charlotte Castillo:So we're trying to get people to say, hey, think about it. Think about what you're spending. Think about how you're spending. Think about the questions you're asking or asking the teachers, the principals, etcetera, in your school. Because you have we have more power than we really realize.
Charlotte Castillo:Mhmm. And I get why. I get why because we've been taught, no, that we have these people kind of doing making all the decisions, but they work for
Jessica Santana:us. Yeah.
Charlotte Castillo:I mean, at the end of the day, they work for us. And, you know, I'm coming from New York, and you're you're in New York now where I'm, like, so excited about what's happening in New York. Whether you like him or not, the fact that he's bringing policy to the people and, like, gamifying it and, like, hey, we tell us what you want us to do and it's gonna be bracket and what wins. I'm gonna do it myself, and then we're gonna do the other 100 things. I'm like, that's it sounds crazy, it's fun.
Charlotte Castillo:People are into it. People are engaged and sending him notes and calling and emailing and saying, I want you to fix that pothole. That's engagement. That's how you want citizens to be. Absolutely.
Charlotte Castillo:You work for us. Mhmm. But you have to exercise that power, you know?
Jessica Santana:Yeah. No. I do know. Shout out to New York.
Charlotte Castillo:Shout out to New York.
Jessica Santana:I feel like we're getting it right right now. I know. But let me also say, like, you know, I think that one of the things that you mentioned was, you know, that five zero one c three work right now is really hard, you know, and Poderistas is a five zero one c three. I'm curious if listeners today had the ability to change the trajectory for you and what you're doing with Poderistas, what would you want them to know about why investing in this organization is important?
Charlotte Castillo:I mean, you know, we did our first crowdfunding campaign this for our fifth anniversary, and we've been hesitant because we're like, this is about the community. We don't wanna ask for the community. But but this is about the community, and this is your community. So for me, that's to me the important message is like we and we do an annual survey every year. We look at our content.
Charlotte Castillo:We listen to the feedback in the comments. You know, we try we do surveys before and after every event. Like, we really want to do the work and the programming for the community, for what we need, what we're hearing, what we're seeing. So an investment in us is an investment backing you. And investment in you know, for us, we're like if we, you know, if you're if you're asking me, would love for you know, we have for close to 200 and in aggregate across all our platforms, we have about 400, 500,000 women that follow us, subscribe, read our newsletters, etcetera.
Charlotte Castillo:I'm like, oh my god. If all those women gave a dollar a month, that's a lot of money. Yeah. Or $5 a month. And just, you know, people give.
Charlotte Castillo:Like, that would be a lot of money. That would support an organization like us. But people don't think that. They think, oh, I have to give a thousand. You know?
Charlotte Castillo:No. Like, if you think about giving and by the way, giving is a part of action as well. Like, you're choosing where you're supporting, what organizations you're supporting. That would make an impact in an organization like us. Then by the way, you choose not to do poderistas, that's fine, but there are other small organizations that that could really benefit from that kind of regular recurring giving because actually that sometimes helps you get funding as you know Mhmm.
Charlotte Castillo:From other funders because they ask. They'll look at that, hey, is your community engaged? We're not a member base in terms of like you have to pay to be a member. We consider ourselves member. People come, you know, come to us and say, I'm a member of Poderistas.
Charlotte Castillo:We're like, great. Mhmm. And people say, how can I become a member? Like, do you follow the content? You're a member.
Charlotte Castillo:You know? Like, it's not a pay to play kind of thing. We everybody, if you consider yourself a Poderistas, you are a Poderistas. That's you know? But that's how people can support us and why?
Charlotte Castillo:Because it's about them. It's about we wanna see Latinas at every seat at the table. Political, you know, economic, cultural, we want her behind the scenes, in front of the scenes, we want her running stuff, we wanna do whatever she wants to do, really. She wants to be have kids and stay home, great. You have the power to make that decision and do it.
Charlotte Castillo:Like, just own your power, and and our organization is about that, reflecting back that power. So, again, an investment in us would be that, like helping us do that more effectively, bigger, better, you know, because we we do what we can, but we're small. You know, people think we we have a huge team. We don't. Mhmm.
Charlotte Castillo:But, know, we have a lot of love. We have a small but mighty team.
Jessica Santana:Yes. And so then, you know, when you think about your own career, Charlotte, your career has just been so dynamic. And it's been very clear that you care about Latinas and you care about our well-being. In this stage of your life
Charlotte Castillo:Mhmm.
Jessica Santana:What does Latina power mean to you? And what do you hope your legacy for Latinas Wow. Is? Oh, that's a happy, existential question. No.
Jessica Santana:No. But what do you hope that you leave as your legacy for Latinas? Because you're it. You know, you don't wanna let's be clear. Like, when you think about, like, what, like, Latinas look like, like, I wish I knew you sooner.
Jessica Santana:Right? Like, I think it would have made a made a difference No. I wish you talking to me. High school looking for what I was looking for. It was very rare for me to see that as a New Yorker, as a Latina in corporate.
Jessica Santana:And so I want you to know, like, you you did the thing. You did the thing.
Charlotte Castillo:Thank you. You know, I and and I feel like I'm at this age. I'm 54. I'm very, like, whatever. That's how I you know, I'm a Gen Xer.
Charlotte Castillo:I'm proud Gen Xer because I think we're super resilient.
Jessica Santana:Mhmm. And push out to the skin because you don't look
Charlotte Castillo:54. No. Thank you. Thank you, mommy and abuelita. I feel like because people, know, like, what's your superpower?
Charlotte Castillo:What's your thing? Like, I I'm I'm about building community. Even on a personal level, like, that's what I do. Like, I love to build community. I love bringing people together.
Charlotte Castillo:I love somebody called me something. Was it you? Some somebody I was like, oh, I like that. They were like, you're a curator of what was it that they said? You're a curator of vibe.
Charlotte Castillo:I was like, I like that.
Jessica Santana:Because I usually say stuff like that,
Charlotte Castillo:so maybe you
Jessica Santana:mean said it. Don't remember
Charlotte Castillo:who it was,
Jessica Santana:but I was like, I really
Charlotte Castillo:love that. I I I do. Like, I love experiences. Mhmm. I love community.
Charlotte Castillo:I love people. And for me, I want my legacy to be for people to think to know they can do anything they want. Mhmm. I mean, literally. Like, you can do dream big.
Charlotte Castillo:I know that sounds so cliche, but, you know, as a Latina from Brooklyn, went to, you know, public school, whatever, from Dominican parents, like, who like, I think about that. I'm like, I don't know that I thought that I would do what I've done. And And and I, you know, every once in a while, I'm like, yeah, I've done a lot. You know, I've traveled the world. I've climbed bridges, which I did.
Charlotte Castillo:I climbed a bridge in in in Sydney. I've, you know, done a bunch of stuff that I'm super proud of. But the thing I'm most proud of is the communities that I've built and that I've nurtured and the women. And and I have to say I love women. Like, I just do.
Charlotte Castillo:I've realized as I've gotten older, like, I have these amazing female friends that are like my sisters. I don't have a real like, I don't have a blood sister. So I feel like I've kind of been always, like, looking for that, and I have built that. So I I've done that through my jobs Mhmm. Through work, but I also do it on a personal level.
Charlotte Castillo:And and for me, it's just about this idea of, like, we can do anything. Like, we're really like, the black girl magic, I mean, there's a Latiramahia. Right? Like, I really this resilience that, yes, has trauma associated with it, you have to deal with that. But I think there's something proud.
Charlotte Castillo:I'm proud of it. I'm proud of you know, I've gone through a lot. I you know, the last few years have been hellish. Mhmm. I'm a solo mom to a 16 year old brown boy, you know, like Mhmm.
Charlotte Castillo:You know, he he lost his dad at 12. Like, I didn't know that that was my story. Right? That that was how my story was gonna be written. And, you know, there's a lot of sadness, but there's also, like, joy.
Charlotte Castillo:Like, I'm I celebrate joy. You know? So I don't know. So this idea of building community, I think, is really important and touching people. But also, I also consider myself a radical optimist.
Charlotte Castillo:Like, I'm despite all of that, like, I've always been super optimistic. I think it's a little bit don't know. I I like to claim this as a Dominican thing. I feel like Dominicans are really optimistic. But in general, like, we're always, like, in a jovial kind of mood, and my dad was super optimistic always.
Charlotte Castillo:Mhmm. And I love that about myself that I I always am looking for, like, the positive. And, like, what did I learn? And and how can I grow from this? And what was the you know, what what can I take from this versus, like, oh, god?
Charlotte Castillo:Right? Like, you know, oh, my god. That's yeah. You do a little bit of that, and then you're like, okay. Come on.
Charlotte Castillo:Dust yourself off. You something good is gonna come from a spin it. Mhmm. You know, figure it out. Spin it.
Charlotte Castillo:Mhmm. And that's that's me.
Jessica Santana:Yeah. Yeah. You know, and the history behind the work, I've never act I've always told people, oh, I'm about to cry. I actually never really cried. Like, actually, I'm shedding like tears.
Jessica Santana:No. I made you cry. You did.
Charlotte Castillo:Well, that he says events are famous for making people cry. And positive tears.
Jessica Santana:No. You did. You did. I mean, part of it is like, you know, I think about the future version of me a lot. I think about the future version of me a lot, and I as you're talking, I, like, see myself.
Jessica Santana:You say so many of the same things that I say. Someone recently asked me what I want my own personal legacy to be, and I always talk about community. You know, I'm always inviting people into my house. I'm always cooking for them. I've instituted something called family dinner where I like, every Sunday, I'm inviting, like, friends and family to come Yes.
Jessica Santana:Yeah. And and hosting parties.
Charlotte Castillo:The best.
Jessica Santana:Yeah. And hosting parties and, like, you know, recently, did the Benito bowl party at my house, and I did, like, a New Year's Eve party. And so as you were talking, was just like imagining imagining myself like years from now and like what do I want also wanna say. So I feel like sometimes, you know, when you're young, you're trying to like figure things out and even trying to think about your future. You're often basing that and framing it in terms of what do you want your legacy to be.
Jessica Santana:And I've been trying to seek that question out myself. And sometimes I'm like, it is community, it is moving culture forward, and sometimes I don't know if that's a good answer. But as you talk, I'm like, oh, this is an amazing answer. I think I think
Charlotte Castillo:and I think it could evolve for you. Right? And I also think one thing that I've again, my lesson of in the last few years is, like, life is short. Mhmm. Mhmm.
Charlotte Castillo:So, yes, you wanna think about your legacy in the future, but be present. Like, enjoy what you're doing. You're doing amazing stuff right now. You you have a legacy you've already built and you don't have to think about twenty years from now, like, you're doing badass stuff. Right?
Charlotte Castillo:I don't know if I can say that. Badass stuff right now. So which is amazing. I mean, you know, you said I was recently at Harvard. Poderistas was honored by the lead group.
Charlotte Castillo:They have a Latina empowerment, some some I don't know what it stands for. It's l e a d. And they have a conference every year they've had for ten, eleven years. And I remember going in there and was like it was amazing. Like, I I almost cried.
Charlotte Castillo:I, know, I think I had tears because it was like and there weren't women just from Harvard mostly, but they come from all across the country. Women in college, these, like, young Latinas all dressed up in suits and, like, whatever. And I was like, wow. When I was in school, I graduated in 1994. Again, dating myself, but that I don't that wouldn't have happened.
Charlotte Castillo:And or if it would have happened, it would have been a small room. You know? We there were women around, obviously, in my college. It was small, like, small numbers. It was so beautiful.
Charlotte Castillo:I'm so happy that we've come this far. We need to go further, but we are have come far, and I think we need to celebrate now and think about legacy. Like, think you're you are building your legacy already. So all that to say is, like, don't don't discount what you're doing now and also live a little bit in the present because life is short, baby. Yeah.
Charlotte Castillo:I know. Because I mean, really, it can all be gone. I don't wanna be morbid, but it can. Like, enjoy. Enjoy.
Jessica Santana:Yeah. Thank you. Free game, y'all. Free game. Okay.
Jessica Santana:And so how do you see the role of Poderistas evolving over the next five years? You know, we're at a really big moment of inflection in our society. At the same time, there's also, like, the rapidly develop the rapid development of like AI and innovation. I'm just curious as a publication, like, what do you well, not just a publication. You know, you guys do so much more than that as a community.
Jessica Santana:You know, what do you see for the the brand over the next five years?
Charlotte Castillo:I mean, you know, in my true kind of brand mark brand strategy, was like, I love to have offshoots. Right? Like, I have this idea of like, wouldn't it be great if we had a series of books, if we had podcasts, if we had content, if all of that. But, you know, all of that requires infrastructure, support, resources, but I think I I it's possible. I see us as I my goal is that we are not just paying homage to the past, is that we're talking about the women that are doing things in in the present and that we're predicting about the future and the future of Latinas.
Charlotte Castillo:And that's the thing that I'm trying to do a little bit more about and talking to some folks about how can we do that? I don't wanna oh, I mean, we love Women's History history month and Latino history month. It's great. And and and there's a lot of lessons to be learned, but what's the future? How can we get ahead of it?
Charlotte Castillo:How can we be not let it happen to us, but be part of it happening? Mhmm. And I think in order for that to happen, our community needs to kinda have the tools to do that. You know, you spoke about AI, and we've been having conversations about that. Our community is behind.
Charlotte Castillo:I know I'm behind, but I'm an exor, so I have an excuse. I'm trying to get but how do we arm them? Is that what kinds of programs can we build so that our our leaders and our leaders in the making are equipped for what's coming? It's coming. Can't be afraid of it.
Charlotte Castillo:You just have to know how to use it and and how to navigate it and leverage it. So I see us having a role in that and hopefully informing that and informing communities and kind of also informing what we need, like doing some research. There's some research that I would love to do. I would love for us to kind of be at the forefront of doing some research in the community. There's not enough of it on our community, And especially if you slice just Latinas.
Charlotte Castillo:There's stuff on Latinos generally, but I think doing just Latinas is important because we have other challenges. Physically, emotionally, the pressures we talked about. Like, I think there's a whole other subset of stuff that requires and would benefit from some real laser sharp focus, so I would love to do that. And, yeah, just continue to grow the community and maybe, you know, becoming like we have chapters in every city or chapters in every state. And these are women that are doing their thing in each of these cities and organizing.
Charlotte Castillo:And we have a small version of that, we have our group called the Power Squad, and we have the Power Squad leaders we just named our 10 cohorts, and it's an amazing group of women ranging from a college student here in LA who's, like, 20 to, like, a 40 year old mom of two. And they're all, we wanna take action. We wanna organize our community. We wanna do something, you know, for this camp you know, this midterm and beyond. So we're excited about that in 10 cities, so they're gonna do city focused.
Charlotte Castillo:But we'd love to see scale that and have that kinda be a continuous program that we that we kind of inspired and the people just kind of continue to do. So I think the sky's the limit. It's just challenged. Yeah. I mean, it's just, know, resources and time.
Charlotte Castillo:I'm again, I'm a radical optimist. Yes. So I believe that we just need the right set of tools, the right kind of partnerships and collaborations, and I think the right plans, and I think we can we can get there.
Jessica Santana:Yeah. For sure. And so then what do you think the future of Latina Civic Engagement looks like?
Charlotte Castillo:I think that it it it extends beyond just talking about elections. Right? Because that's when because, you know, and when I first joined Poderistas, I remember, I was like, well, what happens after the election? We're joining we're I dropped my drinks. Okay.
Charlotte Castillo:We're we're building this community and doing I'm like, what happens after the election? Because we're so focused on that particular election. And I think this idea that civic engagement is just about elections is the thing that we always we've been trying to dispel for a long time. Like, every day is a moment for being participating, being an active participant in your community. That's really what civic engagement is.
Charlotte Castillo:Voting is one way. So for me, the future is that we're having these conversations regularly, and we do, but, you know, that more people are having the conversations regularly, that this is something that we're that Latinas are having at the dinner table, right, like they're talking about it and and imparting that to their to their kids. That, you know, and and ultimately that Latinas are like, you know, the number one elect voting block, Right? That they are, you know, voting to the numbers that we have. Mhmm.
Charlotte Castillo:But I think it takes time. And and by the way, there are a lot of great organizations out there. Always say that. Like, know, we're a lot of great organizations that have a lot of history, and they're doing good work. I just think we need all the different types of work.
Charlotte Castillo:Yeah. Right? I think historically there's been one or two kinds of work. We need I think they're they're just like women are nuanced Mhmm. The community is nuanced and it's not a monolith.
Charlotte Castillo:I think you need to speak to people differently and I think you need to engage them differently. And you know, lot of many non profits that are civic kind of have a lot of do a lot of the more traditional civic work. I hear in the conversations and, you know, we we collaborate and stuff there. Now they're like, oh, yeah. We need to build community.
Charlotte Castillo:Like, you know, it's coming back to that that at the end of the day, it's about community. People feel a tie, feel a responsibility to their community. And if you're building community and they look to the left and look to the right and those people are all doing things, and I'm not, oh, wait. I gotta do something. Like, there's something about that as well.
Charlotte Castillo:This idea of, like, being part of something beyond you for you and for others, I think, is really important. I think that that's the way that it should be, and not just in words, but in actually doing. You know?
Jessica Santana:Mhmm. Absolutely. So as we wrap up today's interview, what's one message you'd want to impart to Latinas who are listening today about their power and stepping into spaces that might feel uncomfortable, but they should absolutely feel the urge to take up space in?
Charlotte Castillo:I mean, do it. Like, don't listen to the little person on your left or whatever. Your little voice is saying, I can't. Don't listen to them. Go to your best friend, your partner sometimes, or, you know, the people around you, they're gonna be the ones being like, girl, you got this.
Charlotte Castillo:I mean, I I am honored and lucky that I had that multiple times throughout my career. That people would offer me opportunities and I would always be like, I'm not sure. It doesn't sound like something I can do. And I question myself. Well, for whatever reason, right, that fear or whatever, you question yourself or it's not part of the plan or whatever.
Charlotte Castillo:Take the lead, take the opportunity. It's okay if it deviates from your plan. It's okay if it's failure because it's not failure, you just learned. Mhmm. You learned a lesson, you know, you learned either what you're not good at, what you don't like, but now you know that's that's a data point.
Charlotte Castillo:Take the data point and keep it moving. Like, it's okay. I I you know, I have a 16 year old and I you know, he has friends and I have a goddaughter and I'm always like, guys, you don't have to know exactly what you wanna do right now. I I'm still trying to figure it out. I'm 54.
Charlotte Castillo:Right? Like, it's evolving. Like, if you would have told me I was I was gonna be running a nonprofit five years ago, I'd be like, what are you talking about? No. I'm corporate.
Charlotte Castillo:Mhmm. I wanna be CMO of blah blah blah. Like, you have to just be open to opportunities, be willing to take a leap, and trust that you have what it takes to do it because I'm 95% of you do. I mean, some don't. I mean, you know, because I but most people do.
Charlotte Castillo:They'll and they'll figure it out. And if and again, if you fail or if you don't get it quite right, at least you learn. Learn what you're capable of or what you're not into, what you need to work on more. I think those are important lessons and those kind of add up to life and a big career.
Jessica Santana:Absolutely. And for those who are listening that wanna keep in touch with you, how may they reach you?
Charlotte Castillo:Well, you can you can find me on Instagram, which is so weird. I'm like I mean, I'm at Chados Web because I'm Charlotte, so it's Chados Web. I'm on LinkedIn, you know, Charlotte Castillo on LinkedIn. I'm at yeah. I'll give my email, Charlotte@poderistas.com.
Charlotte Castillo:And I answer most, sometimes it takes me longer, and I'm always open for cafecito. So I'm like, let's do cafecito. Like, that's my thing because I'm, again, building community, and I've met so many amazing people that way. I'm happy to say you know when they say when you're older, they're probably not telling you this yet, but when you're older, it's harder to make friends, new friends. And I feel like in the last two years, I've made amazing new friends, and I I love it.
Charlotte Castillo:Like, every day, I've been meeting new people, and and it's through these cafecitos that we connect, and then you connect through stories. Right? The storytelling and you realize how much you have in common, and you just kinda take it from there. So charlotte at poderistas dot com. You can find me on Instagram, child's web, on LinkedIn, Charlotte Castillo.
Charlotte Castillo:I think that's it. I'm not
Jessica Santana:gonna give you my number. Don't be calling Charlotte, yo.
Charlotte Castillo:No. No. No. Please don't call me. Or you can text me and email me.
Charlotte Castillo:Oh, no. You can email me or DM me.
Jessica Santana:That's funny. Alright, everyone. Thanks for tuning in to this week's episode of Behind the Work. If you like today's episode, make sure to give it a thumbs up. Give it a rating on Apple Podcasts and on Spotify and subscribe on YouTube.
Jessica Santana:Follow us on social media as well. Until next week.