Wine: Vesa O Reserva, 2020 Organic Rosé, D.O. Valle de Rapel ChileBIO: Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Julissa Prado is the Founder & CEO of Rizos Curls, a clean hair care line aimed at embracing and celebrating the beauty of curls, coils and waves everywhere! After years of making her own curly cocktail and being the “curl whisperer” within her community, Julissa decided to launch her own hair care line Rizos Curls. The result is a line of products made with quality natural ingredients that works across a variety of curly hair textures. The brand has amassed a global following of #RizosReinas, becoming a favorite among the curly hair community, shipped to over 57 countries and available at Target, Ulta Beauty and Sally Beauty Mexico! Julissa is a leading force in the beauty industry with award wins as one of Cosmopolitan’s 2021 The New C-Suite Winner and named Entrepreneur of the Year in 2020 by Beauty Independent. Julissa is also an active national speaker with speaking roles at Harvard University, The Girlboss Rally, Create & Cultivate, the U.S. Department of State for The United Nations, TED, among others. She also proudly organizes curated events and resources centered on entrepreneurship, including the Rizos Curls Small Business Summit and JEFACON, a collaboration with Smashbox Cosmetics. Julissa holds a Masters in Business from Wake Forest University, is an alumni of UCLA, and has held corporate leadership positions at Nestlé.WebsiteRizos InstagramJulissa Instagram

This episode is a first and doesn't feature a wine but Mocel Mezcal! BIO:Rosalinda Mendoza is CEO and Co-Founder of Mocel Mezcal, an e-commerce company that delivers ultra-premium artisanal mezcales to your home to create a shared tasting experience. Rosalinda was born and raised in rural Washington to farmworker immigrants from Michoacán, Mexico. Between growing up in the farmlands of Washington State and visiting her grandparents in rural Michoacán, she understood and appreciated the hard work of cultivating and making real food and beverages. Rosalinda and her sister co-founded Mocel Mezcal, which crafts mezcales from Michoacán using 400-year-old artisanal methods with two ingredients – agave and water. Prior to venturing into entrepreneurship, Rosalinda held roles in management and marketing for various organizations including IBM, Starbucks and the Washington State Farmworker Housing Trust, a non-profit working to improve housing conditions for families in rural Washington. Rosalinda also continues to play an active role as mentor in FOSTERing MBA Access, a program she co-founded as an MBA student to recruit students of color and women into UW’s highly ranked MBA program. Rosalinda has an MBA from the University of Washington and a B.A. in Economics from Whitman College. Rosalinda and her boot-wearing, bull-riding husband enjoy spending time in the Yakima Valley, hanging out at rodeos with family and expanding their mezcal collection.Instagram

Wine: Fathia Wines, 2019 Carneros Valley Pinot NoirBIO:Sergio Ortega is on a personal mission to help everybody be mindfully intune with not only themselves, but also with their surroundings. His purpose is to consult the minds of all those willing to take a load of stress off of their plates through breathing techniques, mindful exercises, & I AM affirmations. These mindful techniques will help you speak positivity into your existence and the existence of others! #WINEFULNESSWebsite: https://winefulness.orgInstagram

Wine: 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon, St. Helena, Vinos Unidos BIO:Vinos Unidos came together as a group of friends and neighbors who love wine. They believe in supporting their friends and family and go even further to support our community by creating scholarships for college students pursuing degrees in enology, viticulture and culinary arts.They choose the name, Vinos Unidos or United Wines, to show their connection with wine and each other and to highlight our diverse backgrounds. They hail from Chile, Mexico and the U.S.A.  

Wine: 2019 Pinot Noir, Fathia WinesBIO: Rebecca Contreras is the author of Lost Girl – From the Hood to the White House to Millionaire Entrepreneur, which recounts her journey from becoming a welfare-dependent teenage mother to advising a sitting president, to driving a successful 100-person company. Rebecca is a social and business entrepreneur who spent nearly twelve years with the George W. Bush legacy, first in Texas as his Director of HR then in DC in the White House as a Commissioned Officer supporting the Presidential transition. She started her fifteen-year service in government in a welfare-to-work program for Texas icon Ann Richards and achieved tremendous heights in her success.WebsiteInstagram 

Wine: 2018 Sauvignon Blanc, Herencia Del Valle BIO:Jorge Narvaez is a father of 3, fatherhood case manager and content creator. For the past couple of years he has been active on and offline to spread his message of Family, Community, Art, Music and most importantly Fatherhood!Instagram 

Wine: Armitage Wines, 2018 Pinot Noir BIO:Karina Mora is a professional photographer, speaker, and podcaster devoted to helping people reclaim their cultural legacies. She elevates her native Mexican culture through photography and recently launched guided trips with her to Mexico. Her podcast Elevating la Cultura features stories from first and second-generation Latinas who are working hard, pursuing their passions, and pouring their positive efforts and benefits into the next generations.

Wine: Scielo NY 2018 TintoBIO: Eva Melgarejo is a Latina Loan Officer dedicated to helping others from the Latiné community achieve the American dream! Her passion is to educate families and help them build wealth for the generations to come. She's been able to help over 200 families in the last 4 years, 98% Latinos!Instagram

Wine: Fathia Wines, 2019 RoséBIO:Maria Alquicira was born and raised in Mexico where her curiosity for art started. She then studied Arts and Culture in Rome and is currently living in Dallas. Passionate about art and businesses she has developed professionally in the arts and culture sphere through her art practice and in business through her job at one of the biggest movie theater companies in the world. This project is all about a determination to set her life purpose to make art part of our daily lives.WebsiteInstagram

Wine: Cramoisi Vineyards, Pinot Noir 2018
BIO:
Christine Vega-Perez was born in Pennsylvania and is of Mexican and Guatemalan decent. She is an RN and Life Coach who has worked in the healthcare setting since 2007 and holds a Master’s of Science in Nursing in Healthcare Systems Management.  
Being in the healthcare industry for nearly 15 years, she has gained a lot of experience in quality improvement, which is an integrated part of nursing and healthcare - an industry that is always striving to improve because they deal with people’s lives. That got her thinking – why not apply the strategies she's learned to the most important industry of them all – our personal lives? She found herself utilizing these tools more and more because let’s face it, being an adult requires taking risks. We have to make decisions. Important decisions. Stressful decisions. Difficult decisions. And then we can only hope that our choices bring us happiness – however that may look for you. 
Christine recently moved to Jacksonville, Florida with her Dominican husband and her two boys that keep her on her toes!

Wine: Lagunilla Optimus Rioja, Spain, 2016BIO: Bianca Alba is a proud first-generation Latina from Cochabamba, Bolivia. She currently resides in San Juan, Puerto Rico and works as a Public Health Analyst for HRSA (the Health Resources and Service Administration Branch). #TeamPublicHealth She is the voice and creator behind the podcast titled, “This Latina Travels!” A travel podcast through the eyes of a First Gen Latina sharing all her travel experiences first hand! As a little girl, living in a single family home, trips/vacations were just a dream so this podcast is more than Bianca just telling you about her experiences, but it’s dreams becoming a reality! Her goal with this podcast is to break barriers so more women who look like Bianca will travel the world too!

Wine: Jose Wine Caves 2015 Mourvedre BIO:Brandi is the Founder of the Operation Growth Institute, a Global Transformational Learning Center where people can accept, heal, grow, and transform into the next iteration of their personal and professional best. For over twenty years, Brandi has honed her skill as a strategist, wellness expert, and coach. She helps clients identify their own solutions and specializes in coaching clients through her signature 12 steps to realize transformational growth. She examines how the barriers of generational baggage, fatherlessness, sexual trauma, single mother/fatherhood, racial identity and bias, and failure keep her clients from living their best life and helps her clients determine the next step. Brandi is a natural coach who has mentored and guided young leaders, honing her skills by providing personal and professional strategic support while leading young professional teams. She is also a certified Holistic Health Counselor by the International Board of African Thinkers, Priest and Healers, a certified Fatherless Daughters Advocate, and a student of the MMS coaching method. Brandi has studied with the Aspen Institute, Kellogg Foundation, Zuckerberg Institute, Iyanla Vanzant and the God Squad, Queen Afua, and Dr. Llaila Afrika. She studied for the International Coaching Federation accreditation with Dr. Cherie Carter-Scott.Website: https://brandirichardthompson.com/InstagramFacebook LinkedIn 

AD: This Episode is Sponsored by Promised Land on ABC. This sexy, sun-drenched, Sonoma-set drama tells the story of two intertwined but warring Latine families vying for land, power and control over the ultra-competitive California wine business. It's the perfect blend of passion, seduction and ambition. Wine: Fathia Wines 2019 Rose of Pinot NoirBIO:Pedro Rodriguez is the Owner and Winemaker of Fathia Wines. He was born and raised in Michoacan, Mexico and immigrated to the United States with his family at the age of six. His dad worked nearly 30 years in the vineyards of Napa Valley and he, along with his three older brothers continue to be part of the wine industry in both Napa and Sonoma. After starting in the wine industry while he attended college, he decided to pursue other interests from 2008-2014 but returned to the industry with curiosity and wanted to better appreciate the industry that had allowed his and his family to thrive. In 2019, Pedro became fascinated with the idea of crafting his own wine and producing under his own label. When the opportunity came to acquire Fathia Wines, Pedro along with his wife, Jenny jumped at the opportunity and continue to carry the torch for first-generation Mexican-American winemakers.WebsiteInstagram 

Wine: RG|NY 2018 White MerlotBIO:Alejandra Rojas, is Finance professional, and Money Coach helping modern millenials to be confident with money and create a strong financial foundation with ease. After reaching bottom, when a money burnout re-activated an old sickness threatening her life again, Alejandra designed a method to manage personal finances from within that protects the person’s essence and helps them create wealth. She has since been dedicated to helping others see money in a whole different way, so it’s no longer a barrier to thrive and reach happiness through her coaching, podcast and various public speaking events.InstagramWebsite 

Wine: Seis Soles Sol Tierra 2019 Red BlendBIO:Jasmine Star is a photographer and business strategist from Newport Beach, California. She dropped out of law school and became an internationally recognized creative entrepreneur, later to become the founder of Social Curator, a social media marketing membership for business owners. Harnessing her chutzpah and hustle, Jasmine empowers entrepreneurs to build a brand, market it on social media, and create a life they love. Some days you'll find her featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur, and INC magazine, other days you'll find her going Live on Instagram, hosting Ask Me Anything sessions on Facebook, and empowering business owners to build a life they love on her podcast, The Jasmine Star Show.Website: jasminestar.comSocial Curator WebsiteInstagramFacebookTikTok