Lyanne Alfaro founded her own company, Moneda Moves, to share stories about money and culture to empower people to create generational wealth. She’s also a Developer Relations Program Manager at Google, overseeing content strategy for developer stories across social platforms. She is an educated Latina, employed at a Fortune 100, fully engaged in “solopreneurship.” She seeks to bring her career closer to home to focus not just on professional growth but on personal growth as she works with her parents on their joint financial future.
Category: Opinion
Posted inOpinion
COMMENTARY: Our Latina Beyoncé is Karol G
Karol G helps people in need, especially in Latin America. In 2018, she decided to have all her concert profits in Guatemala go to the people affected by the Fuego volcano eruption. Then in 2020, she helped families affected by COVID-19 in Colombia. And thanks to her Con Cora Foundation (which is short for “con corazón,” “with heart”), women from all over South America have been given opportunities otherwise not available to them.
Posted inOpinion
Dolores Huerta urges Latinos to box office to see ‘Blue Beetle’
This weekend, the Warner Bros film is expected to be the first film to bump “Barbie,” another Warner Bros film, from the No. 1 spot at the box office. Hailed as a possible crowning moment for Latinos as “Black Panther” was to the Black community, DC’s first Latino-led superhero movie. Latinos make up almost a third of all box office tickets and represent 27% of online streaming audiences, according to the 2022 Latino Donor Collaborative Latinos in Media Report. They also are incredibly loyal. Follow Huerta’s advice, show up for “Blue Beetle.”
Posted inOpinion
COLUMN: Dolores Huerta reminds us democracy is on the line in 2024
Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers, spoke at the annual LULAC conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Aug. 5. Huerta, 93, was born in New Mexico but raised in California. She spoke about several key themes – abortion rights, gay rights, the importance of voting and dangers facing our democracy.
Posted inOpinion
COMMENTARY: Make Washington, D.C. trips accessible for all students
The Washington, D.C. metropolitan region is the most expensive air travel market because of the perimeter rule limits. Dulles International Airport (IAD), another Washington, D.C.-area airport that we’ve flown into many times, costs an average of $500 per ticket – the highest average ticket price in the nation. These prices matter – especially for students like mine where our student body is 95% Latino.
Posted inOpinion
COMMENTARY: Digital redlining hurts communities of color
Digital redlining also has profound implications for civic engagement. The internet has become an essential tool for accessing government services, participating in political discourse, and advocating for change. By depriving communities of color of reliable internet access, companies like AT&T undermine their ability to engage in the democratic process. This further marginalizes these communities, hindering their voices from being heard and their concerns from being addressed.
Posted inPolitics
COMMENTARY: The power of the Latino vote in California
There are 10 congressional districts with significant Latino populations and are considered the 10 biggest elections in the country – three of them are in California and happen to be in districts not only with a large Latino presence, but in districts won by Republicans on the congressional side and by Joe Biden on the presidential side. All three are part of 18 congressional districts nationwide that voted for Biden in 2020 while being won or held by a Republican in Congress.
Posted inOpinion
COMMENTARY: As a Latina, why I never saw myself in Barbie
I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with Barbie. She was blonde, thin, tall, the Americanized standard of beauty. As a young woman growing up in the early 1970s, Barbie made me feel ugly. I was nothing like her idealized beauty as a Brown, curvy, petite woman. I kinda hated Barbie because I knew I would never look like her. It took me into my 20s to see in myself that Brown is beautiful too.
Posted inEntertainment
COMMENTARY: I’m a Virgo is for Latinos too
The issues that impact Black communities in cities like Oakland also impact Latino communities in several different ways. Both communities, which intersect, are affected by various intersecting issues in ways that other populations aren’t together. It’s also been proven that Latinos tend to support policies that support Black people in general. The way I’m A Virgo is able to dissect these trends while having Latinos in several pivotal scenes helps normalize what these forms of alliances and coalitions feel like.
Posted inOpinion
COMMENTARY: Pay Our Interns
A recent study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that students of color are less likely to have paid internships. Researchers surveyed more than 22,000 students from 470 colleges and universities in their Student Survey Report and found that just 10% of all graduating Latino seniors have had internships, compared to 71% of non-Hispanic white students. The study also found that less than Latinos account for less than 8% of students in paid internships. While more than 90% of internships in the U.S. House and Senate are paid, just 10% of Assembly offices in Sacramento pay their interns, and none do in the state Senate.
Posted inOpinion
COMMENTARY: Latinos, let’s talk about our mental health
18.4% of Latinos struggled with mental health in 2020, but only 35% received treatment compared to the nearly half of white persons who received treatment. Culturally, seeking mental health services still carries a stigma within the Latinx community. Fears of reporting immigration status, being labeled as “loco,” and speaking about personal issues with a stranger contribute to this stigma.
Posted inOpinion
COLUMN: On Prosperity,Featuring Ariela Nerubay
I always knew that part of my American dream included home ownership as being the daughter of an architect, I grew up going to his “obras” and seeing the foundation with rubble grow and convert into magnificent structures. My dad always said one must invest in “Books and Bricks,”meaning, focus on education and invest in homeownership to succeed. He was right. Once in America, I worked hard being an immigrant who did not know anyone and did not speak English well. I went to school, completed two postgraduate degrees and eventually my MBA. I purchased my first condo at age 30 with the guidance of my Latina friends and a wonderful realtor who taught me what I know now. That was my first step of many that followed to get me where I am today.