Corporate Cafecito

This week on Corporate Cafecito, I had the opportunity to sit down with Chicago native, leadership coach, and author Isaias Mercado to talk about his new book releasing today, March 10th: 📚 The 10 F Words of Feedback

During our conversation, he said something that really stayed with me:

“Feedback should be a roadmap, not a verdict.”

Think about that for a moment.

So many of us experience feedback as criticism or judgment. Something th...

🔥 FAMILIA… THIS ONE IS FOR YOU. 🔥

If you want to elevate in corporate spaces, preparation is your edge.

Not luck.
Not vibes.
Preparation.

In this episode, Carlos and I talk about why showing up prepared changes everything.

✨ It builds trust.
✨ It gives you calm confidence.
✨ It makes you flexible, not flustered.
✨ It shifts how people see you.

And let’s be honest… as Latinos, we do not always get unlimited chances ...

In moments like this, when immigration conversations feel heavy and uncertain, it becomes even more important to center lived experience.

This week on Corporate Cafecito, Nallely sits down with Reyna Grande, who crossed the border at nine years old as an undocumented child.

She shares what that journey felt like. Being caught twice. Hiding from helicopters. Running across a freeway in the dark. Arriving hungry. Living in survival mod...

Today’s Corporate Cafecito episode is live, and I’m bringing Marie Quintana back because her journey cannot be contained in a single conversation.

In this episode, we go deep into the corporate chapters that shaped her leadership. From choosing systems engineering at IBM before laptops were even a thing, to leading complex transformations at PepsiCo during major acquisitions, to building what became the Multicultural Center of Excel...

Chicago is frozen right now.

❄️☕ Chicago is frozen right now.
 Negative digits over the weekend, snow on the ground, and one of those mornings where everything feels a little slower. The kind of day where you wrap your hands around your mug and sit with your cafecito instead of rushing through it.

That kind of morning invites reflection.

Because in this episode, we talk about trust. Not the buzzword version. The lived version. Th...

We couldn’t imagine a more meaningful way to begin 2026.

Our first guest of the year on Corporate Cafecito is Marie Quintana.

Marie is a Cuban immigrant, CEO of Quintana Group, strategic advisor, executive coach, board director, and author. Long before ERGs, before representation became a strategy, she was building, leading, and opening doors in corporate America. From IBM to PepsiCo to serving as Chief Marketing Officer at Tenet Hea...

We made it through 2025.

That alone matters.

As we step into 2026, this episode of Corporate Cafecito is about choosing how we move forward. Not rushing. Not reacting. Choosing with intention.

This conversation is an honest look at what last year required from us and what it actually gave back.

What truly moved you forward in 2025?

What quietly drained your time, energy, or headspace?

Before we step into 2026, we wanted to pause and talk honestly about 2025. Not just what we survived, but what we learned, who showed up, and how our community kept moving forward even when things felt heavy.

In this episode, we reflect on the realities of 2025 for our community and our workplaces. We talk about fear and resilience, DEI shifts, AI changing the job market, cultural guilt, and the pressure so many of us felt...

When we first sat down with Sergio Suárez Jr., Founder and CEO of TackleAI, we were just beginning to understand artificial intelligence. We remember asking things like, “How does it even know what we like?” and wondering if AI could ever really replace human creativity.

Now, AI has evolved faster than any of us imagined, and having Sergio back on the podcast felt like coming full circle. 🔁

In this ☕ cafecito, we...

In this week’s episode of Corporate Cafecito, we welcome an inspiring guest whose story beautifully blends cultura, comunidad, and emprendimiento Patricia Aguilar, Founder and President of FourStar Branding, joins us to share how her journey led to the creation of El Poder de La Marca®, a branding program empowering small business owners to rise, thrive, and build lasting impact within their communities.

Patricia has spent...

This week’s cafecito hit deep. Refugio “Ref” Atilano joined us for a conversation that every professional, mentor, and dreamer in our comunidad needs to hear. We talked about what it really means to step into leadership and the courage it takes to quiet that inner voice that says, “you’re not ready.” 

Raf is a corporate executive, author of The Latino Leadership Playbook, and a powerful advocate for developing Latino and multicultur...

We’re back, familia 💛

After taking some time to pause, reflect, and refill our cups, Corporate Cafecito is back with an episode that reminds us why we started this journey in the first place.

This week, we’re joined once again by our amiga Olga Camargo, a leader who continues to inspire our comunidad to dream bigger and build a stronger foundation for the future. Olga was one of our most memorable guests a few seasons back when she ...

👉 “Quiet cutting is the corporate trend no one asked for, but too many are living through.”

Behind polished HR terms are real people facing shifting roles, unclear expectations, and the weight of uncertainty.

In this cafecito, we open up about:
 ☕ Why quiet cutting is gaining traction in today’s workplace
 ☕ The toll it takes on trust and professional identity
 ☕ How to reclaim your voz, build resilience, and stay empowe...

🎧 NEW EPISODE – S8 E11: “Why Me… and Not Them?"

Have you ever reached a milestone you once dreamed of, only to feel a knot in your stomach instead of pure joy? That quiet voice that whispers, “Why me… and not them?”

Success is supposed to feel joyful. But for many of us, it also feels complicated.

There is a quiet weight that comes when your first bonus equals your parents’ monthly income, when you ...

S8 E10:  Más Datos, Más Dinero – Why Every Latine Professional Should Understand Business Metrics

Mid-year is the perfect moment to pause and ask: Am I on track to hit my goals? Do I know the números that truly tell me the answer?

Hard work opens doors, but knowing your business numbers is what keeps you in the room. Many Latine professionals are over-mentored and under-sponsored, and that includes not being taugh...

Let’s be real. Most of us are not exhausted from one big decision. We are drained by the hundreds of small ones we make before noon.

From “What should I wear?” to “Can I squeeze in this meeting?”, decision overload is real. And for many in our Latine community, the mental load runs even deeper. We are holding space for our families, our teams, and our dreams at once.

In this cafecito, we open up about the daily we...

Jaime Viteri, President of Digital Latinos and founder of the Chicago Latino Network, said it best:

“You can’t just call the network when you need the network.”

Jaime’s right. A real network isn’t built overnight or only when things get tough. It’s built over time, with intention, presence, and love. You show up for your people, even when there’s nothing to ask for. You give, support, connect, and stay rooted...

The moment Danny Miró-Chinea showed up in our LinkedIn feed, we knew. He was not just another voice. He was building something powerful, doing it from every corner of Latin America.

He had a prestigious legal career lined up.
He walked away.

Why?
Because titles are not the purpose, and Danny chose a purpose.

Born in Puerto Rico. Raised between cultures.
🌎 Now living in Buenos Aires, sharing L...

We love our cultura but don’t want it to be reduced.

In this week’s episode of Corporate Cafecito, we have an honest conversation about what it really means to be Latino at work, especially when Hispanic Heritage Month rolls around.

Too often, visibility becomes a burden. You’re passionate, and suddenly, you're expected to plan the party, decorate the room, and represent an entire culture.

🎭 When “r...