We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Charlotte Castillo. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Charlotte below.
Charlotte, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
My most meaningful project of the last year has been the PRESENTE Town Hall series, where Poderistas visited 5 cities across the country to amplify Latina voices in politics and beyond. Along with Podistas co-founder Eva Langoria and our media partner Telemundo – we visited key cities to hear directly from Latinas what issues are most pressing for them, their families, and their communities. The ‘listening tour’ was conducted in a ‘townhall meets talk show’ style to shine a light and amplify our community’s voice and experiences. Our hope was to explore the narratives shaping Latina voters’ priorities in key battleground states. We captured content at each event and ultimately produced a 22min special that aired on Telemundo’s digital platforms, as well as ours. Our goal was to inspire, empower and motivate Latinas to trust their voice and harness their power for positive impact.
I believe deeply in the power of our stories and the impact that they can have. The end result was beyond my wildest dreams… it was so powerful to hear and amplify these stories from around the country.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My name is Charlotte Castillo– I am the Managing Director of Poderistas, a vibrant digital community dedicated to inspiring and motivating Latinas to embrace their voice, take action, and thrive. My background is rooted in branding and brand-building, marketing, community building, and storytelling, inspired by a deep commitment to equity and representation.
At Poderistas, I lead initiatives that uplift Latina stories, promote civic engagement, and provide tools for personal and professional growth. I take pride in Poderistas’ impact, from mobilizing voters to inspiring the next generation of Latina leaders. Above all, I hope that people see Poderistas as a trusted space for inspiration, belonging, and action—a place where every Latina feels at home and knows her voice matters.
Have you ever had to pivot?
My career has been mostly in media and entertainment, I spent 2 years in music at a production/record company, 8 years as the founding Marketing Director of Latina Magazine, and then 15 years at Viacom (now Paramount Global) and Brand Development and Marketing roles across the entire portfolio of brands – MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, Paramount Studio, etc.
Five years ago, a ‘downsizing’ and a series of personal losses forced me to rethink how I define ‘success’, ‘achievement’ and ‘happiness’. I concluded that I want to use my ‘super powers’ for good… combining my experience and expertise in media/content with brand- and community-building to leverage it in the social impact space. Poderistas is a perfect melding of these areas.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://poderistas.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/poderistas/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/poderistas/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlottecastillo/
- Twitter: https://x.com/poderistas?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
Image Credits
Poderistas