Spanish-Speaking America in STEM: A First-Gen Immigrant Latina Leadership Story with Bay Area Entrepreneur Rebeca Lopez Valerio

Lori Adams-Brown (00:01.742)
Hi, Rebecca. It's great to have you today here on the show. I'm looking forward to getting to know you a little bit better. We've met through Women XAI Community, which is our mutual friend, Jenny K. Pollock. Hi, Jenny. Thanks for bringing Rebecca into my world and my life. I'm really excited about having this conversation with you today. And for the World of Difference podcast, Difference Makers Listeners, to get to know you a little bit better, welcome to the show.

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (00:24.739)
Thank you so much!

Lori Adams-Brown (00:28.056)
Well, let's have a conversation today around all kinds of things about your incredible background, the story that formed who you are as a person, and the kind of leader you are today. When it comes to leadership, especially those of us who have multiple cultures in our backgrounds, we bring a different kind of global mindset to leadership that is truly needed in our world today. so I first off just want to say,

I have loved getting to know you and I'm really intrigued about who you are as a person and your background. And I want to know, and I think our audience is going to want to know, what are the cultures that have formed you as a person and as a leader? Would you share some of those with us before we kind of get into it?

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (01:11.375)
Yeah, awesome. So I was actually born in Mexico. I would like to say I trace back not too far in my lineage to Indigenous blood because my parents and I were born off of the state of Oaxaca in Mexico. So technically Puebla.

But as we say in Spanish, it was a pueblito. So it's very indigenous to the point where my dad actually grew up still speaking his dialect. And if you know something about the Mexican heritage, dialects aren't really spoken or preserved. So the fact that he and his parents actually still spoke their dialect showed how

Lori Adams-Brown (01:47.405)
Yeah.

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (02:10.136)
removed they were from civilization even. So definitely Mexican, but Indigenous I would say as well.

Lori Adams-Brown (02:25.037)
It's incredible. It's an incredible heritage. And in my travels in Mexico, even last November being in San Miguel de Allende, I met several indigenous women who also spoke their local languages. And it just makes me really happy when those get preserved, because all the beautiful cultures of the world have so much to teach us. So do you perhaps speak any? Has your dad had a chance to teach you any of that? Or have you only grown up speaking Spanish?

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (02:55.106)
Yeah, so I grew up speaking Spanish. And as you probably know and are probably aware, as the listeners, dialects are wonderful for us in terms of looking back in history and preserving it, but for actual people still trying to go into the cities. Dialects are actually

looked down. no, my dad was very actively trying to forget his dialect as I was growing up. And so unfortunately, that didn't get passed down. Spanish is what I still speak with my parents till this day. And I hope to continue. But yeah, as for the dialects, you know, I don't even know what dialect he spoke. And I'm very curious if I could ever find that out.

Lori Adams-Brown (03:51.862)
Yeah, it's such an important thing to bring up that because of various factors geopolitically, people have been either taught to feel ashamed of the languages they spoke growing up or the cultures that they bring. And I certainly hear a lot here in California.

both from immigrant families as well as from families who've lived here for many generations back when this used to be Mexico as well and colonized by Spain and all the things. But even for some kids speaking Spanish several generations ago, their grandmothers would tell them, don't do that. And we still see a bit of that even here in the Bay Area from some generations that have done that. And no judgment, people make hard decisions.

impossible decisions when systems are not made for them. And so, you know, I certainly have experienced that myself and have had many friends both from my growing up in Venezuela and her decisions that are being made now and have been made over the last 27 years, as well as certainly for indigenous populations. And so, yeah, I'd be really curious, you know, kind of what dialect he speaks and what beautiful heritage you have in your background that can teach us more. So.

really excited for you and how it's formed you as a person, both your DNA and your ancestry and the incredible people that have helped formed you and the cultures that have formed you. But you...

you have a story of immigration in your family, which is a really important story. And it can be somewhat adjacent to an expat story, but altogether very different in a lot of ways. And so you're first generation. so tell us a little bit about what that has meant for you in terms of you finding your way here and also celebrating the family and the heritage that you've brought with you.

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (05:44.333)
Yeah, so I definitely resemble with first generation immigration stories. So I myself came to the States when I was around four years old. English was technically my second language, but I was fortunate enough to have come at a very young age.

picking up and adapting to language and culture and education, right? I got right, you know, at a good spot. And so I know that it's difficult for assimilation depending on ages of immigration, right? Because I have an older brother who is right now 32. And so he was

Lori Adams-Brown (06:35.019)
Yeah.

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (06:42.872)
probably at the tail end of eighth grade when we immigrated together. And so for him, know, it was a challenge seeking higher education because of that. Whereas for myself, I was lucky enough, you know, I went through the traditional K through 12 system that I praised the US for.

Lori Adams-Brown (06:55.361)
That's a hard year. Yeah.

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (07:08.056)
I was fortunate enough to pursue higher education, get my bachelor's in electrical engineering. It's honestly a different point where we all start. I definitely give a lot of praise and credit for the system taking young students like me.

and assimilating us in a very thorough way.

Lori Adams-Brown (07:43.35)
I'm thrilled to hear that's your experience.

know that many expats or immigrants who've had that story here are listening, understand that there are certain ages for children which make it harder just because of human development. Eighth grade is a particularly hard time. Really anything after 12 has a whole different way. Even how you learn language sort of changes in brain development and things like that. But social relationships shift certainly from like 12, 13 onward. then especially if you're getting into high school, all of it matters in terms of we're comparing apples and oranges a lot of times too.

kids who have moved abroad with their families, either as immigrants or as expats. And that certainly sounds like it's reflected in your story. And I'm really grateful that you've had a good experience in the education system here.

you know, being a Latina and STEM is a really significant thing. And we're always excited to hear your perspectives that we absolutely need in this field. But you kind of mentioned you've been on you've been on both sides. You know, once you were this middle school student having, you know, access programs and the leader as a sponsor and a board leader even. What are what are the most overlooked resources first generation students should know about? And how can institutions and companies do a better job connecting students to those earlier?

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (08:59.071)
Yeah, so I would say first generation students, down to the essentials, do need mentoring, but I think a sense of community is the best way to approach this mentoring because even students are handling a work-life balance of school, academics, personal life.

And what I've seen is that these industry mentorship programs are a lot of times already in the systems with corporate partners, right? However, I don't think it's necessarily fostering the support that these students need because I've been a mentor on the industry side as well and

Sometimes the students don't even have those 30 minutes within like a nine to five hour that the mentor is trying to squeeze in, right? But again, for me as a first generation down to the essentials, I didn't even know what resources were available for me in college. I didn't know financial aid was a thing, right?

Lori Adams-Brown (10:05.57)
Mm-hmm.

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (10:22.675)
So it wasn't until I just went out and started speaking to other students who I thought were in a similar situation, or maybe they just had a sibling who went to college. Like that's how far removed I was from any of the academics system and mentorship, right? So I think...

students are doing a great job right now helping each other. And I was just having this conversation with another nonprofit partner of mine. And she was laughing at the fact that we as students were helping each other get a job when we ourselves didn't have a job yet or a career. And

Yeah, we were helping each other on resumes, were helping each other with interview prep questions, right? And none of us were experienced or in careers already, right? But it's that sense of support of not like...

for seeing these relationships, but rather fostering a sense of community. And I definitely feel like industry partners can help more in the term of having these communities already built, right? Have resources to tap in, whether it be funding, whether it be not a one-to-one mentorship.

but them having an availability of speaking with the group as a whole and understanding where the group stands as a whole. Because again, we feed off each other as first generation students. I cannot stress that enough. As first generation students, we make our own documents and...

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (12:20.853)
Try to outline everything, whether it be how to apply to financial aid, whether it be these different resources. We list out all the clubs that you can join. We can't stress enough, you have to talk to this person who's also a fellow student who happened to find a way around this challenge in academia. again, it's already that.

community that's built that just needs that support from our industry partners.

Lori Adams-Brown (12:59.437)
That is so on the one hand I'm thrilled to hear how

supportive this first generation community is with each other. I think it's remarkable. And there's so much we can learn just from the leadership that you all are bringing to the table, which is so human centered and collective. And one of this, the, you know, the rising tide raises all boats kind of metaphor is what comes to mind. And so that's incredibly impactful to hear that story. And so I want to hold that truth and then add another truth that I'm also holding when I listen to you.

which is that it shouldn't have to be, in my perspective, that the first generation students that have had to work so hard just to be those first generation students are also having to do this workload that it really isn't, shouldn't have to be theirs to do. Like that system shouldn't have to rely on the free labor of these students to do that. I'm holding the truth that I'm so grateful you are and that you're supporting each other. And also, I guess, bringing a challenge to that community to say,

you know, can we fix this? Can this be more of an organizational effectiveness situation where that isn't so gate kept that the information is more readily available, that you don't have to know some secret sauce and some insider to get access to what exists and that it shouldn't be hidden and only accessible to those who somehow you can rely on the good graces of the community. Those are the two truths I'm holding as I hear that. So, but you do some work in like personal

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (14:27.997)
Yeah.

Lori Adams-Brown (14:33.825)
branding, we want to talk about that with you for a little bit because I think that's so important, not only your personal story, but how you're showing up. There's a lot of narratives out there in our culture that can be very, some helpful, some very unhelpful. And so as you're tapping in and you describe practicing personal branding, you know, long before you ever had the language for it. So how did you learn to really lead with ambition and capability without oversharing hardship, which can be very tricky also for me.

And what advice do you give young professionals who feel defined by their constraints rather than their potential?

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (15:11.218)
I love how you phrased this. What led me to it? I would say it was repeatedly hearing no's to a lot of opportunities. So again, I came as an undocumented student to the United States and a lot of

opportunities down to trying to apply for an internship were something that I was not able to do, even if I was offered these internships, which I was offered many times. And so I kept hearing no after no for a lot of opportunities. And I knew that eventually I would come up with a solution or I would

I would have some system to help me. Like now I have a fixed immigration status. But at the time, I was repeatedly getting annoyed, upset, heartbroken with the nose. And so I cried it out, as we all should. But I think...

After so many times, I understood that there really was no point in crying because of the fact that it was just more exhausting and using up more energy than could be helpful. And so then I started trying to tap into that, if you will, rejection and

understanding that, well, you know, if opportunities won't be open for me, then I'll just have to find a way to open them for myself. So I would still try to find opportunities, but no longer, if you will, in the mainstream forms of internships, but rather

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (17:35.155)
building businesses myself, rather building projects outside of work. And at the time, I didn't realize, but now, having understood, I was building my personal brand. I was building this personal brand of leaning into this rejection as a form of fuel rather than a form of a challenge that, you know,

for many of us understandably can put us down. So yeah, I definitely think that I'm a person and I would say I think Latinas would resemble, right, with as we say in Spanish, coraje, and that could translate to courage or that could translate to like your own like inner strength, right?

So that's where my personal brand started developing and that's where I knew that's what I wanted to define me.

Lori Adams-Brown (18:38.091)
Love it. I think many people listening, whether they've had a, not your exact same experience, but they've had something adjacent in their lives. I so love the word coraje, you this whole idea of courage. It's very heart driven and.

often being courageous, means that our heart is going to get involved because there's often fear and we're doing something courageous even with fear. We're finding our own inner strength. Maybe relying on that incredible DNA from your ancestors that you carry in your blood and your bones that make you who you are as a person and your own family's personal story. I think

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (19:13.392)
Yes.

Lori Adams-Brown (19:20.947)
One of the things about being raised in Venezuela and people will often say about Venezuelans is they're very resilient as a people. And yet resilience also can bring its own level of exhaustion because your heart is getting involved. And so people who've had to build resilience for either going through incredible hardships as a collective or even individually and especially even both can often on the outside look a certain way that might.

be confusing to people. think one of the examples of that is Venezuelans celebrating around the world when Maduro was captured on January, early morning of January 3rd in Caracas. People were confused by that because they thought, aren't they worried about what's next or aren't they fearful? And the reality is, yeah, but also taking the moment to celebrate, to dance, to be excited that this person who's done so many human rights.

Abuses and crimes against humanity was finally at least he was stopped It didn't mean there wasn't a snake around the corner or another hydra head But I think sometimes that people can be confused that resilience building only looks like this very Outwardly warrior type courage, but what you're also showing us is there's this inner strength. There's this heart involved in it How does that resonate with you and your journey?

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (20:36.655)
Yeah, I would say I love the resilience that you mentioned, right? I think culturally, and I may be speaking a little bias here, but I feel that immigrants are tasked with having to build their resilience, coming into a foreign

country and having a lot of challenges. So I would say that I think I've learned and again with this personal branding and as you mentioned, Having heart can be a little off putting to certain people and

Even in careers sometimes they say professionalism doesn't involve emotions. I think because I built my personal brand around the fact that I was going to lead from these moments that were

Lori Adams-Brown (21:44.598)
Mm.

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (22:04.176)
probably like rock bottom moments of facing rejection or feeling like, you know, I would never get opportunities. When I went into career, I said, well, you know, it was my emotions and my heart that got me to where I am right now, right? Just because.

Lori Adams-Brown (22:30.017)
Hmm.

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (22:32.612)
to some career and professionalism, just mean leaving your emotions at home. That's not what it's gonna mean to me because obviously that is what got me here. if it weren't for my passion, if it weren't for me sometimes putting my heart in front of people, strangers, I wouldn't have.

been in those places to begin with. So I always try to try to keep center on who I am because, right, just because I might be in a better position now, right? I know where those struggles led me to and I'm thankful for them and I will never ever feel

As if, you know, I wish they never happened because I know that that's where the strength comes from and that's where I want to lead and that is true to me.

Lori Adams-Brown (23:45.836)
I love it. I love how you word it. As I think many of us listening, myself included, know that some of the best leaders are ones who have faced adversity and figured out a way to.

overcome that obstacle with their humanity intact with their values intact and that is no small thing for a leader and You strike me as the kind of person who's done that yourself your lived experience But also bringing others alongside you both with your family and first-generation student and all of that and the work that you do So, I mean you mentioned that you face rejection, you know jobs colleges immigration pathways and yet you kept moving forward and so when we talk about this

whole experience, know, what internal mindset or maybe practical strategy helped you keep showing up with the confidence in who you are, especially when the stakes were so high.

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (24:39.247)
just like anything, right? The more practice you put into it, the more you're bound to be successful at it, right? So I led with my heart and I put those rejections aside and I started branding myself as, okay, cannot seek these current opportunities and doing else.

creating my own opportunities, creating my own projects, creating my own businesses, my own ideas. And what kept me going was the fact that it resonated. I would go up to recruiters knowing very well at the time that I could not rightfully take an opportunity from them and would not necessarily deter me.

I'd go up with the intention of just meeting someone in industry, getting to know them for who they are. And sure enough, that's all they wanted. That's all that in a career fair, really, you can take sometimes. And unfortunately, right, for students or anyone in a career fair looking for opportunities, you know that.

might be little disheartening, but take it from someone who at the time couldn't take those opportunities. That was all I was given and that was everything to me. And the fact that the recruiters or professionals I was starting to meet were receptive to that kept me going as in, okay, I'm putting my story out there. I'm obviously, you know,

not oversharing in any way, trying to get to know them and sharing a little bit about me as well and being honest. I have my own challenges and my own struggles, but I made it very clear that's not going to stop me and I'm not going to just stand and wait for a solution to come my way. And that I think is a universal thing across the board, even with non-immigrants, right? Are you going to

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (27:02.15)
be just stepped on and kind of stay on the ground? Or are you going to decide, no, no, I'm going to find a way around, right? Whether it be immigration status, whether it be your own personal hardships, right? And that resonates with people and you'd be surprised how many people will

open up and be more than happy to just get to know each other when we establish that simple line of understanding.

Lori Adams-Brown (27:45.262)
Uh, you know, I do like just continually when I hear you speak, I think of courage and I think of Kodachi and I think of the heart you're bringing. And I think, you know, Brené Brown is one of my favorite authors. Many people love her speaking and her writing. And, um, she does write quite a bit about this and then also her research on shame and vulnerability that, you know, the fear of exposing the thing you're ashamed of. And I think especially right now in this current United States of America in 2026 and

all the geopolitical things that are happening here, there's a lot of fear. There's even some very intentional power by fear happening. And I think that courage, once again, is pushing through while you still have that fear to the thing that you know is right for you, according to your values. And I hear that so much in your story, and it's very inspiring. And I agree that some of that grit and resilience that you were tasked with, right or wrong?

that it is formed, you have taken that opportunity to really focus on your locus of control. Here's what I can control and then here's what I can't. And maybe one day your locus of control will expand. once your immigration status changed, that gave you opportunities to have access to maybe your locus of control expanding, but really being very focused on here's what I can control. And you really took that seriously and you move forward. And I think that is true leadership and incredibly inspiring.

You've also alluded to the businesses that you started and I think that's one of the things that impressed me most about you when I was first getting to know you through our WomenX AI when we all were going through the certification course in San Jose and you did your presentation and you talked about one of the businesses that you started when you were really young. And so I would love to hear a little more about that particular part. So from cleaning services to I guess sustainable fashion plus AI, you have apparel assist, is that right?

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (29:41.3)
Yes!

Lori Adams-Brown (29:41.729)
you know, tell us more about that. And I guess what problem did you see in everyday life that inspired this startup for you? And how do you see AI playing a role in reducing fashion waste while empowering consumers?

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (29:56.522)
Okay, yeah, so my passion project is, I will, and as you can tell, right, I lead with my heart. So this is my passion project. This is everything to me. So yeah, I started off as probably many immigrants can relate, right, with, you know, humble janitor jobs, housemaid jobs.

Lori Adams-Brown (30:02.167)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (30:25.612)
But the good thing I would say for me early on is I didn't fully grasp the concept of capitalism, but I was aware that at least here in the United States, you can make money yourself.

Lori Adams-Brown (30:42.989)
you

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (30:51.691)
and you can formulate that legally into a self-serving business. The resources are vast on this. It took a little bit of Google searching, but really it was that level of accessibility. I'm going to tie this back to first generation students as well.

Imagine if the level of entrepreneurship that are out there for first generation students navigating college, It's that level of if you measure how much resources there are for certain things, you can really see the difference and the lack of in other areas. going back to resources and entrepreneurship, right?

what age 16. I literally printed out business cards, Etsy has all these business card templates, printed some locally on my Walgreens for like, I don't know, 10 cents each card, figured out how to maneuver the coupon on the Walgreens website as well to even

Lori Adams-Brown (32:11.053)
you

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (32:18.599)
Even more so, money tight at that point. Just getting every little cent out of our savings and went to college at the time. I was 16, so I just literally walked to college, putting business cards on every residential home that was on my way to school that morning.

got my first customer. Google's had her start a sole proprietorship. Started it under my mom since obviously I wasn't even a page at the time. And I quickly had one call and then another and started going further down the rabbit hole of Google search.

Lori Adams-Brown (33:01.773)
You

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (33:15.582)
how to start a Yelp campaign, how to administer bookkeeping, how to keep everything on file. And eventually my mom was obviously the real, I would say, owner in terms of working.

and completing and getting all this done. But I built this and I built it for her. But I tapped into my actual career at the time. I graduated with electrical engineering, but computer science was also in my workload for school. I

I said, perfect, this is the opportunity, this is the bridge I'm gonna create for myself. And I did, I created the website during COVID, wrote it from scratch with a JavaScript, HTML, YouTube videos. And spent the three months or so we were locked down, just waking up and...

watching video after video, typing away, not a great website, but one that I published myself. Later I actually interviewed for a position at Apple in their website development team and they saw that website and I was very embarrassed at the time.

Lori Adams-Brown (35:07.394)
Yeah.

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (35:08.83)
They were actually considering me for that position. That was crazy. But again, I built a business, tried to bridge my career in some way or another, but then obviously got the entrepreneur niche in me and realized that...

this right here. In person, communication was just something I was pretty good at. Whether it be tapping into being relatable or whether it be just trying to make a customer, I really got an interest in

not specifically home service, but you know, customer interfacing. So I went on and pursued my electrical engineering full time. I became hardware engineer full time and left my mom with the house cleaning business that I had built.

But now, I live in the Silicon Valley, and the Silicon Valley is one of the most expensive places to live. So now it's no longer this need of entrepreneurship for survival, which that was at the time. It's this actual desire to become an entrepreneur.

for the project and the real meaning behind it. So sustainable fashion has been something on my forefront mind for a while now, right? Like we're turning the world into a somewhat inhabitable place because of all the clothing waste.

Lori Adams-Brown (37:31.565)
you

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (37:34.504)
that we unfortunately are consuming. And so I, as many others, will resonate, right? I personally love clothing because of understanding that, you know, it's not just a piece of fabric. It makes you feel good.

It's what you need sometimes, comfort. It can be so much that we sometimes take for granted. That tied in with the global problem of generating this waste that then goes to other countries. It's really sad because I think us

like clothing can tell a story. And that $50 sweater that ends up in a landfill was probably someone's pride and joy at one point or another. so tapping into that, here I go again trying to bridge the two. My career in tech and my passion for reducing

this clothing waste. So I have obviously great network, great group of friends who started Apparel Assist. So that is our startup company. And obviously we want to develop an AI platform, a mobile app, if you will, to create a database for what we already have in our closets. So

We probably have, most of us, a good big closet with stuff that we wear daily, stuff that we don't. And I think it really doesn't matter quantity, it matters more so what we try to reuse and

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (39:58.382)
try to pursue as much. So for example, clothing wise, There's many people who will probably pull out something in the back of their closet that they didn't even remember they had, right? And so I think to tackle this big problem of clothing waste in the first place, we gotta look first in our homes. And I think we gotta look first within us and our mentality of consumerism,

Don't get me wrong, I will go shopping probably within the next month as well. But what can we do? And it's literally just that. It's just being more conscious of what we have, what we currently own, and creating a tool to remind us of that, generate ideas, and just get the conversation started about this conscious spine, if you will.

but also a sustainable passion keeping and preserving what we already have.

Lori Adams-Brown (41:03.167)
I love that. And it feels very consistent with who you are and what you're building, where you've come from, where you're going. And, you know, just thank you for bringing your skill set, your grit, your resilience, your story, your heart, your courage.

to technology in a way that helps it be sustainable and human centered for ourselves and for this planet we all love and live on. also just acknowledging, you know, clothing can have a story of its own. think that's really beautiful. It's everybody probably has an example of like a hoodie that feels good on a hard day or maybe when you were a kid, a favorite shirt you love to wear that your mom was like, why do you keep wearing that shirt or whatever clothing can have its own story, right? Or something you wore when you were on a trip or

You know what I mean? Like that's true. So I think acknowledging the emotional attachments is important and sometimes people who try to lead with a technology.

you know, in a climate impact, not acknowledging some of the emotions behind it can be where people miss a blind spot. But you seem to really be embracing that. think you're such a fascinating person. Your story is just absolutely intriguing and remarkable. Who you are is so inspiring and value centered and authentic. And thank you for showing up just with yourself and your story so vulnerably today. It's really touched me on a deep level. And I will have you go to our Difference Makers in a bit with our Patreon community there and ask you a little

but more about the impact of where you're going and stuff like that. But thank you so much for being here with us today. If people wanna reach out to you and find more about your businesses or you as a person, how can people find you and what you're doing?

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (42:39.226)
Yes, please follow us on Instagram. We're very active. We're developing again our platform currently. But right now we just want to share the story with everyone. And again, here's your own takes, right? What is it that you think would in this unfortunate consumer?

filled a world right now and what we can do to help you.

Lori Adams-Brown (43:13.355)
Awesome. Thank you so much for being on and keep making a difference. I hope to have you back on the show and some amount of time to kind of get an update on how things are going. Thank you for being with us today, Rebecca.

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (43:26.095)
Sure, for sure. Thank you.
Lori Adams-Brown (00:01.742)
Hi, Rebecca. It's great to have you today here on the show. I'm looking forward to getting to know you a little bit better. We've met through Women XAI Community, which is our mutual friend, Jenny K. Pollock. Hi, Jenny. Thanks for bringing Rebecca into my world and my life. I'm really excited about having this conversation with you today. And for the World of Difference podcast, Difference Makers Listeners, to get to know you a little bit better, welcome to the show.

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (00:24.739)
Thank you so much!

Lori Adams-Brown (00:28.056)
Well, let's have a conversation today around all kinds of things about your incredible background, the story that formed who you are as a person, and the kind of leader you are today. When it comes to leadership, especially those of us who have multiple cultures in our backgrounds, we bring a different kind of global mindset to leadership that is truly needed in our world today. so I first off just want to say,

I have loved getting to know you and I'm really intrigued about who you are as a person and your background. And I want to know, and I think our audience is going to want to know, what are the cultures that have formed you as a person and as a leader? Would you share some of those with us before we kind of get into it?

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (01:11.375)
Yeah, awesome. So I was actually born in Mexico. I would like to say I trace back not too far in my lineage to Indigenous blood because my parents and I were born off of the state of Oaxaca in Mexico. So technically Puebla.

But as we say in Spanish, it was a pueblito. So it's very indigenous to the point where my dad actually grew up still speaking his dialect. And if you know something about the Mexican heritage, dialects aren't really spoken or preserved. So the fact that he and his parents actually still spoke their dialect showed how

Lori Adams-Brown (01:47.405)
Yeah.

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (02:10.136)
removed they were from civilization even. So definitely Mexican, but Indigenous I would say as well.

Lori Adams-Brown (02:25.037)
It's incredible. It's an incredible heritage. And in my travels in Mexico, even last November being in San Miguel de Allende, I met several indigenous women who also spoke their local languages. And it just makes me really happy when those get preserved, because all the beautiful cultures of the world have so much to teach us. So do you perhaps speak any? Has your dad had a chance to teach you any of that? Or have you only grown up speaking Spanish?

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (02:55.106)
Yeah, so I grew up speaking Spanish. And as you probably know and are probably aware, as the listeners, dialects are wonderful for us in terms of looking back in history and preserving it, but for actual people still trying to go into the cities. Dialects are actually

looked down. no, my dad was very actively trying to forget his dialect as I was growing up. And so unfortunately, that didn't get passed down. Spanish is what I still speak with my parents till this day. And I hope to continue. But yeah, as for the dialects, you know, I don't even know what dialect he spoke. And I'm very curious if I could ever find that out.

Lori Adams-Brown (03:51.862)
Yeah, it's such an important thing to bring up that because of various factors geopolitically, people have been either taught to feel ashamed of the languages they spoke growing up or the cultures that they bring. And I certainly hear a lot here in California.

both from immigrant families as well as from families who've lived here for many generations back when this used to be Mexico as well and colonized by Spain and all the things. But even for some kids speaking Spanish several generations ago, their grandmothers would tell them, don't do that. And we still see a bit of that even here in the Bay Area from some generations that have done that. And no judgment, people make hard decisions.

impossible decisions when systems are not made for them. And so, you know, I certainly have experienced that myself and have had many friends both from my growing up in Venezuela and her decisions that are being made now and have been made over the last 27 years, as well as certainly for indigenous populations. And so, yeah, I'd be really curious, you know, kind of what dialect he speaks and what beautiful heritage you have in your background that can teach us more. So.

really excited for you and how it's formed you as a person, both your DNA and your ancestry and the incredible people that have helped formed you and the cultures that have formed you. But you...

you have a story of immigration in your family, which is a really important story. And it can be somewhat adjacent to an expat story, but altogether very different in a lot of ways. And so you're first generation. so tell us a little bit about what that has meant for you in terms of you finding your way here and also celebrating the family and the heritage that you've brought with you.

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (05:44.333)
Yeah, so I definitely resemble with first generation immigration stories. So I myself came to the States when I was around four years old. English was technically my second language, but I was fortunate enough to have come at a very young age.

picking up and adapting to language and culture and education, right? I got right, you know, at a good spot. And so I know that it's difficult for assimilation depending on ages of immigration, right? Because I have an older brother who is right now 32. And so he was

Lori Adams-Brown (06:35.019)
Yeah.

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (06:42.872)
probably at the tail end of eighth grade when we immigrated together. And so for him, know, it was a challenge seeking higher education because of that. Whereas for myself, I was lucky enough, you know, I went through the traditional K through 12 system that I praised the US for.

Lori Adams-Brown (06:55.361)
That's a hard year. Yeah.

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (07:08.056)
I was fortunate enough to pursue higher education, get my bachelor's in electrical engineering. It's honestly a different point where we all start. I definitely give a lot of praise and credit for the system taking young students like me.

and assimilating us in a very thorough way.

Lori Adams-Brown (07:43.35)
I'm thrilled to hear that's your experience.

know that many expats or immigrants who've had that story here are listening, understand that there are certain ages for children which make it harder just because of human development. Eighth grade is a particularly hard time. Really anything after 12 has a whole different way. Even how you learn language sort of changes in brain development and things like that. But social relationships shift certainly from like 12, 13 onward. then especially if you're getting into high school, all of it matters in terms of we're comparing apples and oranges a lot of times too.

kids who have moved abroad with their families, either as immigrants or as expats. And that certainly sounds like it's reflected in your story. And I'm really grateful that you've had a good experience in the education system here.

you know, being a Latina and STEM is a really significant thing. And we're always excited to hear your perspectives that we absolutely need in this field. But you kind of mentioned you've been on you've been on both sides. You know, once you were this middle school student having, you know, access programs and the leader as a sponsor and a board leader even. What are what are the most overlooked resources first generation students should know about? And how can institutions and companies do a better job connecting students to those earlier?

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (08:59.071)
Yeah, so I would say first generation students, down to the essentials, do need mentoring, but I think a sense of community is the best way to approach this mentoring because even students are handling a work-life balance of school, academics, personal life.

And what I've seen is that these industry mentorship programs are a lot of times already in the systems with corporate partners, right? However, I don't think it's necessarily fostering the support that these students need because I've been a mentor on the industry side as well and

Sometimes the students don't even have those 30 minutes within like a nine to five hour that the mentor is trying to squeeze in, right? But again, for me as a first generation down to the essentials, I didn't even know what resources were available for me in college. I didn't know financial aid was a thing, right?

Lori Adams-Brown (10:05.57)
Mm-hmm.

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (10:22.675)
So it wasn't until I just went out and started speaking to other students who I thought were in a similar situation, or maybe they just had a sibling who went to college. Like that's how far removed I was from any of the academics system and mentorship, right? So I think...

students are doing a great job right now helping each other. And I was just having this conversation with another nonprofit partner of mine. And she was laughing at the fact that we as students were helping each other get a job when we ourselves didn't have a job yet or a career. And

Yeah, we were helping each other on resumes, were helping each other with interview prep questions, right? And none of us were experienced or in careers already, right? But it's that sense of support of not like...

for seeing these relationships, but rather fostering a sense of community. And I definitely feel like industry partners can help more in the term of having these communities already built, right? Have resources to tap in, whether it be funding, whether it be not a one-to-one mentorship.

but them having an availability of speaking with the group as a whole and understanding where the group stands as a whole. Because again, we feed off each other as first generation students. I cannot stress that enough. As first generation students, we make our own documents and...

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (12:20.853)
Try to outline everything, whether it be how to apply to financial aid, whether it be these different resources. We list out all the clubs that you can join. We can't stress enough, you have to talk to this person who's also a fellow student who happened to find a way around this challenge in academia. again, it's already that.

community that's built that just needs that support from our industry partners.

Lori Adams-Brown (12:59.437)
That is so on the one hand I'm thrilled to hear how

supportive this first generation community is with each other. I think it's remarkable. And there's so much we can learn just from the leadership that you all are bringing to the table, which is so human centered and collective. And one of this, the, you know, the rising tide raises all boats kind of metaphor is what comes to mind. And so that's incredibly impactful to hear that story. And so I want to hold that truth and then add another truth that I'm also holding when I listen to you.

which is that it shouldn't have to be, in my perspective, that the first generation students that have had to work so hard just to be those first generation students are also having to do this workload that it really isn't, shouldn't have to be theirs to do. Like that system shouldn't have to rely on the free labor of these students to do that. I'm holding the truth that I'm so grateful you are and that you're supporting each other. And also, I guess, bringing a challenge to that community to say,

you know, can we fix this? Can this be more of an organizational effectiveness situation where that isn't so gate kept that the information is more readily available, that you don't have to know some secret sauce and some insider to get access to what exists and that it shouldn't be hidden and only accessible to those who somehow you can rely on the good graces of the community. Those are the two truths I'm holding as I hear that. So, but you do some work in like personal

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (14:27.997)
Yeah.

Lori Adams-Brown (14:33.825)
branding, we want to talk about that with you for a little bit because I think that's so important, not only your personal story, but how you're showing up. There's a lot of narratives out there in our culture that can be very, some helpful, some very unhelpful. And so as you're tapping in and you describe practicing personal branding, you know, long before you ever had the language for it. So how did you learn to really lead with ambition and capability without oversharing hardship, which can be very tricky also for me.

And what advice do you give young professionals who feel defined by their constraints rather than their potential?

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (15:11.218)
I love how you phrased this. What led me to it? I would say it was repeatedly hearing no's to a lot of opportunities. So again, I came as an undocumented student to the United States and a lot of

opportunities down to trying to apply for an internship were something that I was not able to do, even if I was offered these internships, which I was offered many times. And so I kept hearing no after no for a lot of opportunities. And I knew that eventually I would come up with a solution or I would

I would have some system to help me. Like now I have a fixed immigration status. But at the time, I was repeatedly getting annoyed, upset, heartbroken with the nose. And so I cried it out, as we all should. But I think...

After so many times, I understood that there really was no point in crying because of the fact that it was just more exhausting and using up more energy than could be helpful. And so then I started trying to tap into that, if you will, rejection and

understanding that, well, you know, if opportunities won't be open for me, then I'll just have to find a way to open them for myself. So I would still try to find opportunities, but no longer, if you will, in the mainstream forms of internships, but rather

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (17:35.155)
building businesses myself, rather building projects outside of work. And at the time, I didn't realize, but now, having understood, I was building my personal brand. I was building this personal brand of leaning into this rejection as a form of fuel rather than a form of a challenge that, you know,

for many of us understandably can put us down. So yeah, I definitely think that I'm a person and I would say I think Latinas would resemble, right, with as we say in Spanish, coraje, and that could translate to courage or that could translate to like your own like inner strength, right?

So that's where my personal brand started developing and that's where I knew that's what I wanted to define me.

Lori Adams-Brown (18:38.091)
Love it. I think many people listening, whether they've had a, not your exact same experience, but they've had something adjacent in their lives. I so love the word coraje, you this whole idea of courage. It's very heart driven and.

often being courageous, means that our heart is going to get involved because there's often fear and we're doing something courageous even with fear. We're finding our own inner strength. Maybe relying on that incredible DNA from your ancestors that you carry in your blood and your bones that make you who you are as a person and your own family's personal story. I think

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (19:13.392)
Yes.

Lori Adams-Brown (19:20.947)
One of the things about being raised in Venezuela and people will often say about Venezuelans is they're very resilient as a people. And yet resilience also can bring its own level of exhaustion because your heart is getting involved. And so people who've had to build resilience for either going through incredible hardships as a collective or even individually and especially even both can often on the outside look a certain way that might.

be confusing to people. think one of the examples of that is Venezuelans celebrating around the world when Maduro was captured on January, early morning of January 3rd in Caracas. People were confused by that because they thought, aren't they worried about what's next or aren't they fearful? And the reality is, yeah, but also taking the moment to celebrate, to dance, to be excited that this person who's done so many human rights.

Abuses and crimes against humanity was finally at least he was stopped It didn't mean there wasn't a snake around the corner or another hydra head But I think sometimes that people can be confused that resilience building only looks like this very Outwardly warrior type courage, but what you're also showing us is there's this inner strength. There's this heart involved in it How does that resonate with you and your journey?

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (20:36.655)
Yeah, I would say I love the resilience that you mentioned, right? I think culturally, and I may be speaking a little bias here, but I feel that immigrants are tasked with having to build their resilience, coming into a foreign

country and having a lot of challenges. So I would say that I think I've learned and again with this personal branding and as you mentioned, Having heart can be a little off putting to certain people and

Even in careers sometimes they say professionalism doesn't involve emotions. I think because I built my personal brand around the fact that I was going to lead from these moments that were

Lori Adams-Brown (21:44.598)
Mm.

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (22:04.176)
probably like rock bottom moments of facing rejection or feeling like, you know, I would never get opportunities. When I went into career, I said, well, you know, it was my emotions and my heart that got me to where I am right now, right? Just because.

Lori Adams-Brown (22:30.017)
Hmm.

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (22:32.612)
to some career and professionalism, just mean leaving your emotions at home. That's not what it's gonna mean to me because obviously that is what got me here. if it weren't for my passion, if it weren't for me sometimes putting my heart in front of people, strangers, I wouldn't have.

been in those places to begin with. So I always try to try to keep center on who I am because, right, just because I might be in a better position now, right? I know where those struggles led me to and I'm thankful for them and I will never ever feel

As if, you know, I wish they never happened because I know that that's where the strength comes from and that's where I want to lead and that is true to me.

Lori Adams-Brown (23:45.836)
I love it. I love how you word it. As I think many of us listening, myself included, know that some of the best leaders are ones who have faced adversity and figured out a way to.

overcome that obstacle with their humanity intact with their values intact and that is no small thing for a leader and You strike me as the kind of person who's done that yourself your lived experience But also bringing others alongside you both with your family and first-generation student and all of that and the work that you do So, I mean you mentioned that you face rejection, you know jobs colleges immigration pathways and yet you kept moving forward and so when we talk about this

whole experience, know, what internal mindset or maybe practical strategy helped you keep showing up with the confidence in who you are, especially when the stakes were so high.

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (24:39.247)
just like anything, right? The more practice you put into it, the more you're bound to be successful at it, right? So I led with my heart and I put those rejections aside and I started branding myself as, okay, cannot seek these current opportunities and doing else.

creating my own opportunities, creating my own projects, creating my own businesses, my own ideas. And what kept me going was the fact that it resonated. I would go up to recruiters knowing very well at the time that I could not rightfully take an opportunity from them and would not necessarily deter me.

I'd go up with the intention of just meeting someone in industry, getting to know them for who they are. And sure enough, that's all they wanted. That's all that in a career fair, really, you can take sometimes. And unfortunately, right, for students or anyone in a career fair looking for opportunities, you know that.

might be little disheartening, but take it from someone who at the time couldn't take those opportunities. That was all I was given and that was everything to me. And the fact that the recruiters or professionals I was starting to meet were receptive to that kept me going as in, okay, I'm putting my story out there. I'm obviously, you know,

not oversharing in any way, trying to get to know them and sharing a little bit about me as well and being honest. I have my own challenges and my own struggles, but I made it very clear that's not going to stop me and I'm not going to just stand and wait for a solution to come my way. And that I think is a universal thing across the board, even with non-immigrants, right? Are you going to

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (27:02.15)
be just stepped on and kind of stay on the ground? Or are you going to decide, no, no, I'm going to find a way around, right? Whether it be immigration status, whether it be your own personal hardships, right? And that resonates with people and you'd be surprised how many people will

open up and be more than happy to just get to know each other when we establish that simple line of understanding.

Lori Adams-Brown (27:45.262)
Uh, you know, I do like just continually when I hear you speak, I think of courage and I think of Kodachi and I think of the heart you're bringing. And I think, you know, Brené Brown is one of my favorite authors. Many people love her speaking and her writing. And, um, she does write quite a bit about this and then also her research on shame and vulnerability that, you know, the fear of exposing the thing you're ashamed of. And I think especially right now in this current United States of America in 2026 and

all the geopolitical things that are happening here, there's a lot of fear. There's even some very intentional power by fear happening. And I think that courage, once again, is pushing through while you still have that fear to the thing that you know is right for you, according to your values. And I hear that so much in your story, and it's very inspiring. And I agree that some of that grit and resilience that you were tasked with, right or wrong?

that it is formed, you have taken that opportunity to really focus on your locus of control. Here's what I can control and then here's what I can't. And maybe one day your locus of control will expand. once your immigration status changed, that gave you opportunities to have access to maybe your locus of control expanding, but really being very focused on here's what I can control. And you really took that seriously and you move forward. And I think that is true leadership and incredibly inspiring.

You've also alluded to the businesses that you started and I think that's one of the things that impressed me most about you when I was first getting to know you through our WomenX AI when we all were going through the certification course in San Jose and you did your presentation and you talked about one of the businesses that you started when you were really young. And so I would love to hear a little more about that particular part. So from cleaning services to I guess sustainable fashion plus AI, you have apparel assist, is that right?

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (29:41.3)
Yes!

Lori Adams-Brown (29:41.729)
you know, tell us more about that. And I guess what problem did you see in everyday life that inspired this startup for you? And how do you see AI playing a role in reducing fashion waste while empowering consumers?

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (29:56.522)
Okay, yeah, so my passion project is, I will, and as you can tell, right, I lead with my heart. So this is my passion project. This is everything to me. So yeah, I started off as probably many immigrants can relate, right, with, you know, humble janitor jobs, housemaid jobs.

Lori Adams-Brown (30:02.167)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (30:25.612)
But the good thing I would say for me early on is I didn't fully grasp the concept of capitalism, but I was aware that at least here in the United States, you can make money yourself.

Lori Adams-Brown (30:42.989)
you

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (30:51.691)
and you can formulate that legally into a self-serving business. The resources are vast on this. It took a little bit of Google searching, but really it was that level of accessibility. I'm going to tie this back to first generation students as well.

Imagine if the level of entrepreneurship that are out there for first generation students navigating college, It's that level of if you measure how much resources there are for certain things, you can really see the difference and the lack of in other areas. going back to resources and entrepreneurship, right?

what age 16. I literally printed out business cards, Etsy has all these business card templates, printed some locally on my Walgreens for like, I don't know, 10 cents each card, figured out how to maneuver the coupon on the Walgreens website as well to even

Lori Adams-Brown (32:11.053)
you

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (32:18.599)
Even more so, money tight at that point. Just getting every little cent out of our savings and went to college at the time. I was 16, so I just literally walked to college, putting business cards on every residential home that was on my way to school that morning.

got my first customer. Google's had her start a sole proprietorship. Started it under my mom since obviously I wasn't even a page at the time. And I quickly had one call and then another and started going further down the rabbit hole of Google search.

Lori Adams-Brown (33:01.773)
You

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (33:15.582)
how to start a Yelp campaign, how to administer bookkeeping, how to keep everything on file. And eventually my mom was obviously the real, I would say, owner in terms of working.

and completing and getting all this done. But I built this and I built it for her. But I tapped into my actual career at the time. I graduated with electrical engineering, but computer science was also in my workload for school. I

I said, perfect, this is the opportunity, this is the bridge I'm gonna create for myself. And I did, I created the website during COVID, wrote it from scratch with a JavaScript, HTML, YouTube videos. And spent the three months or so we were locked down, just waking up and...

watching video after video, typing away, not a great website, but one that I published myself. Later I actually interviewed for a position at Apple in their website development team and they saw that website and I was very embarrassed at the time.

Lori Adams-Brown (35:07.394)
Yeah.

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (35:08.83)
They were actually considering me for that position. That was crazy. But again, I built a business, tried to bridge my career in some way or another, but then obviously got the entrepreneur niche in me and realized that...

this right here. In person, communication was just something I was pretty good at. Whether it be tapping into being relatable or whether it be just trying to make a customer, I really got an interest in

not specifically home service, but you know, customer interfacing. So I went on and pursued my electrical engineering full time. I became hardware engineer full time and left my mom with the house cleaning business that I had built.

But now, I live in the Silicon Valley, and the Silicon Valley is one of the most expensive places to live. So now it's no longer this need of entrepreneurship for survival, which that was at the time. It's this actual desire to become an entrepreneur.

for the project and the real meaning behind it. So sustainable fashion has been something on my forefront mind for a while now, right? Like we're turning the world into a somewhat inhabitable place because of all the clothing waste.

Lori Adams-Brown (37:31.565)
you

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (37:34.504)
that we unfortunately are consuming. And so I, as many others, will resonate, right? I personally love clothing because of understanding that, you know, it's not just a piece of fabric. It makes you feel good.

It's what you need sometimes, comfort. It can be so much that we sometimes take for granted. That tied in with the global problem of generating this waste that then goes to other countries. It's really sad because I think us

like clothing can tell a story. And that $50 sweater that ends up in a landfill was probably someone's pride and joy at one point or another. so tapping into that, here I go again trying to bridge the two. My career in tech and my passion for reducing

this clothing waste. So I have obviously great network, great group of friends who started Apparel Assist. So that is our startup company. And obviously we want to develop an AI platform, a mobile app, if you will, to create a database for what we already have in our closets. So

We probably have, most of us, a good big closet with stuff that we wear daily, stuff that we don't. And I think it really doesn't matter quantity, it matters more so what we try to reuse and

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (39:58.382)
try to pursue as much. So for example, clothing wise, There's many people who will probably pull out something in the back of their closet that they didn't even remember they had, right? And so I think to tackle this big problem of clothing waste in the first place, we gotta look first in our homes. And I think we gotta look first within us and our mentality of consumerism,

Don't get me wrong, I will go shopping probably within the next month as well. But what can we do? And it's literally just that. It's just being more conscious of what we have, what we currently own, and creating a tool to remind us of that, generate ideas, and just get the conversation started about this conscious spine, if you will.

but also a sustainable passion keeping and preserving what we already have.

Lori Adams-Brown (41:03.167)
I love that. And it feels very consistent with who you are and what you're building, where you've come from, where you're going. And, you know, just thank you for bringing your skill set, your grit, your resilience, your story, your heart, your courage.

to technology in a way that helps it be sustainable and human centered for ourselves and for this planet we all love and live on. also just acknowledging, you know, clothing can have a story of its own. think that's really beautiful. It's everybody probably has an example of like a hoodie that feels good on a hard day or maybe when you were a kid, a favorite shirt you love to wear that your mom was like, why do you keep wearing that shirt or whatever clothing can have its own story, right? Or something you wore when you were on a trip or

You know what I mean? Like that's true. So I think acknowledging the emotional attachments is important and sometimes people who try to lead with a technology.

you know, in a climate impact, not acknowledging some of the emotions behind it can be where people miss a blind spot. But you seem to really be embracing that. think you're such a fascinating person. Your story is just absolutely intriguing and remarkable. Who you are is so inspiring and value centered and authentic. And thank you for showing up just with yourself and your story so vulnerably today. It's really touched me on a deep level. And I will have you go to our Difference Makers in a bit with our Patreon community there and ask you a little

but more about the impact of where you're going and stuff like that. But thank you so much for being here with us today. If people wanna reach out to you and find more about your businesses or you as a person, how can people find you and what you're doing?

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (42:39.226)
Yes, please follow us on Instagram. We're very active. We're developing again our platform currently. But right now we just want to share the story with everyone. And again, here's your own takes, right? What is it that you think would in this unfortunate consumer?

filled a world right now and what we can do to help you.

Lori Adams-Brown (43:13.355)
Awesome. Thank you so much for being on and keep making a difference. I hope to have you back on the show and some amount of time to kind of get an update on how things are going. Thank you for being with us today, Rebecca.

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (43:26.095)
Sure, for sure. Thank you.
Lori Adams-Brown (00:01.836)
Rebecca, welcome to Difference Makers, where we go a little bit deeper with our guests. You've really carried, as you shared in your story just now on the podcast, you really carried responsibility far earlier than most people your age have to. When you slow down and think about that and also look ahead, what kind of legacy do you hope your work creates, either for immigrant families, first generation students, women building at the intersection of technology and impact? What do you think you want your legacy to be?

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (00:31.211)
God. First, I think we all think about this. And I'm going to tap into, I would say, the women mentality as well of, know, oftentimes culturally, our legacy is thought of continuing with our offsprings. And that's very pushed, right?

culturally, right? You know, I've had parents tell me, right, if you don't have children, then who's carrying on your legacy? And so I would say to that, I myself would like a legacy that isn't tied to someone and you know,

Lori Adams-Brown (01:11.19)
Yeah.

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (01:28.14)
If I have children, that's great. But not even a business. I would feel fulfilled if my legacy carried on by having supported as many people as I can. And again, not even having them remember who I was.

Not necessary for me. Just feeling the sunset because I talked to so many people. I said one thing to someone that helped them at the time and it got them to think of something new. Think of possibly a solution to something they're facing. know, I am in so many...

Lori Adams-Brown (01:57.71)
Right.

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (02:24.978)
Different organizations, shout out to Latina Geeks, shout out to SHIP, to my community colleges, I'm an active speaker, and in career, different companies. But at the end of the day, sometimes just giving someone a smile is all they need.

what I want my life to be. I really want it to be literally just talking to as many people as I can and having them take away something that is unique to our interaction.

Lori Adams-Brown (03:15.566)
That's beautiful. And I would just say, I've been impacted by you today. So if that was your goal for your legacy, it's affected me. It's made me think differently and in a really good way. And it's inspired me to continue to be more human centered in the work that I do myself and to have hope that there's people like you out there that we're all doing our part, making a difference wherever we are.

you know, treating each interaction with the human dignity and respect that we all deserve. So thank you for bringing that to this conversation today. I'm sure all our difference makers are experiencing a version of that with you too. And everybody go find her. She's on her business is on Instagram. She mentioned it and we're going to link things in the show notes for her. But yes, thank you again, Rebecca, for being on the show and for making a difference.

Rebeca Lopez Valerio (04:03.29)
Thank you so much.