Meet Gina Espinosa | Partner and Diversity, Inclusion and Equity Specialist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Gina Espinosa and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Gina, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I started my business out of the necessity to reinvent myself. The passion that led me to become a journalist had evolved, and I was thinking about doing something different, but still in the same vein, when the 2008 Great Recession came along. I was and am still a communicator and storyteller, and the natural evolution of that is public relations. I started working in public relations for a nonprofit and later on, decided to start my own business.
I love what I do. I still have the same passion and luckily, I have met great professionals who have joined me and have helped me to grow the business.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
GPR Global (now Hope-Beckham Inc.) was born 11 years ago, aimed at providing Hispanic and non-Hispanic companies the communication tools to thrive and grow in a multicultural world.
Starting a business during the worst economic crisis in many years taught me a great lesson. In order to survive I created a niche business. My agency provides the tools to its clients to understand and communicate with the fast-growing Hispanic market.

Also, thanks to the great resources available for small businesses, I got the help that my agency needed to grow.

It has been a long, and not always easy, road but all the hard work — the unusual hours, always looking to go the extra mile to help our clients to achieve their goals — has paid off.

Today, my business is well-positioned locally, nationally and internationally. The next chapter of the agency has come via an extraordinary merger with Hope-Beckham Inc., the company co-founded 26 years ago by one of the biggest names in the communications and PR industry, the legendary Bob Hope.

Working together, Bob and I and our talented team will bring our corporate clients new insights into the Hispanic market, and we will connect Hispanic companies and organizations with the resources they need to grow and prosper.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
1. Walk around Grant Park and take Cherokee Avenue to enjoy this Victorian neighborhood established in the late 1800s. Oakland Cemetery will be waiting for you at the end of the road. This site is the resting place of some of Atlanta’s most notable people, “Gone With The Wind” author Margaret Mitchell and golf great Bobby Jones, among others. The oldest Jewish burial site, the segregated Black area and the monument to the Unkown Soldier tell the history of Atlanta. Finish the visit with a cocktail on the rooftop at Six Feet Under.
2. The former Sears catalog facility in Atlanta hosts Ponce city Market, a mixed-use development that is a favorite of those of us who love contemporary industrial architecture. Have a cocktail on the garden roof top and take a walk on Atlanta’s unique Beltine … enjoy the urban art and if you have the energy make it all the way to the Krog Street tunnel — the ultimate Atlanta graffiti canvas! Of course, don’t miss the Krog market — another contemporary industrial site with great restaurants.

3. Atlanta Botanical Garden. Always beautiful but never the same, it is a tranquil oasis in the middle of a bustling city.

4. Georgia Aquarium. I suggested that my niece go by herself to visit the world’s largest aquarium, and the experience was so powerful that she cried. A walk through the tunnel, a look at the inhabitants of the big tank, including the giant whale sharks, plus the playful otters and the magical jellyfish.

5. The Buford Highway corridor is one of my favorites. There’s something about the store and restaurant signs in multiple languages that reminds people of the melting pot that Atlanta has become. And of course, the food! You can have tacos at an unassuming hole-in-the-wall called La Pastorcita or the best Peruvian ceviche at Costa Verde. For the Asian food lovers, like myself, Pho Dai Loi 2 offers the best vermicelli with grilled lemongrass chicken and fresh rolls. The Food Terminal serves street food from different countries. It’s all delicious. Try a green tea latte with a red bean pastry at Paris Baguette or White Windmill — the best Korean bakeries

I still have on my list for 2021 a visit to Lips, the famous Drag bar on Buford whose cocktails have the best names you could imagine, including the Drag-O-Rita and the Kick the Bitch to the Curb.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Mark Meltzer, my best friend, biggest cheerleader, my rock, my partner in life and business….and once in a while my psychotherapist too.

Carolina Ramon, director of the Office of Minority Business Development Center at UGA Small Business Development Center Office of Minorities, my business coach and dearest friend.

Website: http://hopebeckham.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gina-espinosa-meltzer-65947112/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ginaespinosa

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gina.espinosa.7