We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Aideé Granados a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Aideé, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?
One of the defining moments in my professional career was leaving Mexico and moving to the U.S. in 2012.
The following year, in 2013, I was diagnosed with breast cancer, which inspired me to become a social entrepreneur and found Rosa Es Rojo, Inc., a nonprofit organization providing health and well-being education to Hispanic women and their families across the United States. Our mission is to create Positive Health Communities centered on culturally tailored and accessible chronic disease prevention programs.
ROSAesROJO focuses on four pillars to drive equitable whole-health behavioral change: Nutrition, Mental Health, Physical Activity, and Empowered Health.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I was born and raised in Tampico, Mexico, where my family instilled in me the value of dreaming big and working tirelessly to bring those dreams to life. With a B.A. in Business Administration and a Master’s in Education, my career began in the corporate and education sectors, but my path evolved into social innovation, impacting both Mexico and the U.S.
In 2012, my life took a transformative turn when I moved to the United States. Just a year later, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. My personal journey with cancer in 2013 marked a turning point. Having recently immigrated, I observed the struggles of fellow Hispanic women facing late diagnoses, language barriers, and limited health literacy. These women were often missing crucial preventive care or facing worse outcomes due to a healthcare system that wasn’t culturally attuned to their needs. It became clear to me that a significant gap existed, and I was determined to help bridge it.
In 2014, I became a certified Health Coach, and two years later, I founded the nonprofit ROSAesROJO, Inc. Our mission is to provide culturally tailored health and wellness education to Hispanic women and their families, with a focus on preventing chronic diseases. At ROSAesROJO, we build Positive Health Communities by driving equitable behavior change through four key pillars: Nutrition, Mental Health, Physical Activity, and Empowered Health.
My experiences as both a cancer survivor and an immigrant have fueled my passion for improving health outcomes and preventing chronic diseases in Hispanic communities across the U.S. I am dedicated to advocating for collective health and promoting racial and health equity.
Our work at ROSAesROJO has been widely recognized, and I am honored to have received several awards, including the 2019 Minority Business Leader Award for Community Advocacy and the 2019 SXSW Community Service Award. I’ve also had the privilege of being a Fellow with the Social Innovation Accelerator of United Way Dallas (2018), Dallas Public Voices (2019), the Roddenberry Foundation (2021), Echoing Green (2022), and Mira (2023).
Today, I continue to focus on empowering Spanish-speaking communities toward healthier, more vibrant lives and advocating for collective health improvements within our society.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
My words from: https://www.taketheleadwomen.com/stories/power-of-making-social-change-cancer-prevention-reaity-for-latinas
As a Latina living in the U.S. for the first time, with a basic knowledge of English and American culture, I didn’t understand much of what the doctors talked about or how they were treating me—or my cancer.
I was writing everything down after my doctors’ visits. I used to inquire about medical terms and asked my doctors to spell them out for me to make sure I could learn about them in my own language.
My medical team seemed cold and uninterested in who I was.
For my first chemo, I arrived with the attitude that characterizes me: determination, and more determination to learn something and see “light” amid this madness.
There was a lady in front of me, in the infusion room. Possibly my same age. Maybe Latina, just like me. I was tremendously affected upon seeing her. Somehow I could feel her soul deeply disturbed, as if it was covered by a veil, communicating heartache.
She was yelling; throwing magazines, books. She sent her companion out of the room.
I told my husband, “Please, whatever happens, I don’t want my soul to feel like hers.”
I wanted to do everything that was necessary to strengthen my spirit, and ask for help. A lot of help. She needed help. I needed help. Others needed help too.
Embracing my cancer, and not only surviving it, opened a window to radically improve my well-being, the way I love and the reverence I have for life. An improvement that has not required money as the main input, but willpower and a firm belief in myself.
How to share that willpower? How to make others believe they can decide for a better outcome? The answer: it’s not the fight that drains, but the love that heals and renews everything.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
I believe what has helped build our reputation in the health and wellness and health equity field is a combination of discipline, consistency, and honesty in everything we do. We have a genuine calling to serve our Hispanic community, and that love for the people we support truly shines through. Another essential factor is knowing when to ask for help and expressing sincere gratitude for the support we receive from mentors, funders, and community partners.
It’s clear to us that we’re not solving crucial social issues alone—each of us is part of the solution. By working together professionally and generously, we can create meaningful improvements in health, well-being, economic stability, education, and the overall quality of life for our community.
We don’t do things halfway! We fully commit to our mission, and that’s how we respond to our community and supporters—with complete dedication and responsibility.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://en.rosaesrojo.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rosaesrojo
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosaesrojo/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rosaesrojo/?viewAsMember=true
- Twitter: @rosaesrojo
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@rosaesrojo
