Meet Shayla Rodriguez | Executive Director of Nuestras Voces GA

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

Hi Shayla, career-wise, where do you want to be in the end?
The end goal of to make sure that there is no ending in the work I do and the work other leaders do meaning, to make sure that I share as much knowledge and skills with others that want to continue the work I do. It is important for this to happen because as a nonprofit executive director I, unfortunately, came to the conclusion that there will always be a social and political problem that I will not always be able to solve, it takes a team full of different leaders with different background, expertise, and experiences, and to make this happen I have to continue making sure our mission and vision is in everything we do in our nonprofits. Eventually, by the end of my career, I want to leave with leaders ready to take on the fight that I am battling myself for vulnerable communities right now.

What should our readers know about your business?
Nuestras Voces Georgia was founded in 2018, we are a 501 c 3 nonprofit with a membership of Latinx-led, Latinx-governed and Latinx-serving community organizations. We are a direct-service organization working for/ with Latinx communities to educate them about the importance of civic engagement, higher education, and human rights creating a democratic change in our communities. We advocate to uplift and address the voices of Latinx families that have been neglected due to language barriers in Georgia. Our mission is to discuss strategies to help Latinx develop and promote the involvement and empowerment of people with the purpose of creating safer, healthier, and more educated communities. The most exciting part of our organization is that we are in the middle of rebranding everything, new logo, new programs, new projects but the same mission. It has taken us a long way to get where we are right now because as previously mentioned I started this organization my sophomore year of high school so my logo was not the best, my strategies were also not the best impacting the way individuals viewed the org. The most challenging part was getting an entire community to trust you and it is a still-ongoing process that we are all learning from. When I say we I mean the community members and people who volunteer and work for us because at the end of the day we are all in this together fighting for similar struggle we have gone through.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I love ATL, this city has a love no other city will have from me therefore, this will be the following itinerary.

– Monday we would take it nice and chill by eating at Hattie B Hot Chicken then visiting the National Center for Civil and Human Rights to bring awareness of the importance of communities’ history.

– Tuesday: Make sure my friend knows we wake up early around here for some nice breakfast making a stop at Busy Bee Cafe with a stop by Trap Music Museum then for dinner we would eat some American Deli ( 6pc medium with lemon pepper sprinkles with a mix of all three drinks)

– Wednesday: Have to hit up North Georgia for some good Mexican food at El Rey Del Taco, and stop by Sweet Hut for some amazing boba then visit ATL world of Coca Cola or the Aquarium.

– Thursday: I would visit Krog street market, eat dinner and take a dessert to the Skyline Park

– Friday: Visit WORK ATL and support all the small business owners and restraunts located there.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
At a very young age, I grew up going to marches, community meetings and assuring that my communities voice was being heard bringing my passion for social justice into the light. However, I don’t think it was the fact of me being in those marches and being in the crowd yelling with people who looked like me, specifically it was the person leading that crowd, and organizing these marches to assure that people who were facing the same social and political struggle as us, this person was my sister, Berenice Rodriguez. Either indirectly or directly she was the guidance of where and how my different passions shifted leading to the start-up of my 501c3 nonprofit in Georgia my sophomore year of high school. I knew nothing about creating a logo, raising money, strategies for community members but at the end of the day, everything was okay because I had her for questions or for someone to just assure me to keep going.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nuestrasvocesga/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shayla-rodriguez-746701213/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NuestrasVocesGA

Image Credits
Sophia Hernandez