We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mary Ann Garcia. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mary Ann below.

Mary Ann , appreciate you joining us today. Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?

If I could do it all over again, I would have started my non-profit, Raices Unidas, much sooner than six years ago. The desire to serve was always intense, yet I had no mentorship or guidance to channel that passion effectively. Growing up, my parents—my mother was 15 and undocumented, and my father came from a broken home—did their absolute best to provide for my sister and me, meaning I had to figure out my path on my own. This is why it’s so critical that through Raices Unidas, we now offer mentorship programs to help young adults like my younger self navigate their careers and purpose. However, I am incredibly grateful for the 20 years I spent in healthcare; that long tenure was the essential training that led to my latest chapter. This year, I came to a crossroads, determined to find a way to join my passion to serve the community with my two decades of experience. That necessity drove me to launch Horizon Healthcare Advocates. The new company allows me to use my expertise on my own terms while generating sustainable support to provide free or low-cost healthcare navigation to the families we help through the non-profit. The timing was ultimately perfect, aligning my hard-won expertise with my long-standing mission to create a truly impactful, holistic ecosystem of care.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My deep-seated passion for civic engagement fuels my work as the Founder and Executive Director of Raices Unidas, a grassroots organization I established in the East End of Houston, TX. As a first-generation Mexican American, this community raised me, making its well-being profoundly personal. I’ve built Raices Unidas from the ground up, sustained by the unwavering belief of community leaders and funded solely through contributions from local small businesses and heartfelt community donations, truly embodying a “for the community, by the community” ethos. My drive to connect people with vital resources ignited my mission to create an organization that leaves lasting imprints on.

Since embarking on this journey nearly six years ago, Raices Unidas has provided critical aid to nearly 25,000 Houstonian families, offering a wide spectrum of services from senior support to essential food and emergency assistance.

One of Raices Unidas’ most recognized initiatives is its Annual Holiday Experience, which brightens the holiday season for over 2,500 children each year. This impactful program began 6 years ago when I learned about the significant population of Guatemalan refugee children at a local East End school, many arriving with only the clothes on their backs. What started as an effort to sponsor just 35 deserving children has grown exponentially; this year, I am poised to secure enough donations to support 5 entire schools, all through my year-round fundraising efforts.

My commitment extends further through Project Prom, a program that impacts over 400 high school seniors every graduation season. This initiative provides scholarships, organizes university tours, and even sponsors proms for underserved schools, opening doors to future opportunities.

My ability to mobilize rapid support was powerfully demonstrated last year during Hurricane Beryl. Within a mere 24-hour period, I spearheaded a fundraiser and organized free meals for 1,800 families left without power, offering immediate relief when it was needed most.

Beyond Raices Unidas, I wear multiple hats, each a testament to my diverse leadership and dedication. I am the CEO of Beauty Factory, an esthetic spa I founded five years ago in the East End, which I’ve innovatively transitioned into a mobile, concierge-style service. My professional journey also includes a distinguished 20-year career in healthcare, having started as a trauma nurse and at the peak of my career serving as Vice President of Emergency Medicine for multiple hospitals across the Texas Region. Furthermore, I act as a Spokesperson for a highly respected nonprofit that has made an impact for over 54 years within the state of Texas. In my personal time, I find joy in singing, having even released a single on Spotify and Apple Music—a song I created for my daughter’s quinceañera that has since become a global mother-daughter dance anthem.

I believe in continually investing in the community that shaped me, actively serving on multiple boards affiliated with the Arts, Small Business, and Community Services. Raices Unidas, driven by this profound belief, will continue its journey of civic engagement, responding to community needs and fostering a resilient, empowered Houston.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

The strong reputation and deep trust Raices Unidas has cultivated over the last six years are rooted in radical transparency and personal commitment. From the start, our approach was simple: I was genuine with my purpose, ensuring we were community-funded for our community and not reliant on corporate dollars. To validate that trust, we always invited donors to be active partners in our work, seeing their contributions directly translated into impact during our giveaway experiences. This hands-on, shared joy was critical. Furthermore, our sincerity was proven by personal sacrifice in the early years; I consistently used my own money to ensure we fulfilled our commitments. This demonstrated to our community that our mission was non-negotiable and dictated by local need, not by external funding—a true testament to our lasting integrity.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

For 20 years in the healthcare system, especially in the Emergency Room, the culture demanded relentless personal effort. I truly believed that if I worked harder, cried more over a patient, or gave up more of my own time and resources, I could fix the broken parts of the system. In the early days of Raices Unidas, this belief continued. When we faced a funding gap, I would immediately reach into my own pocket, which built trust but wasn’t sustainable.

I was operating under the assumption that a good advocate and a good leader had to be the one taking on the most pain and carrying the heaviest burden. My parents, who worked tirelessly and sacrificed everything to provide, instilled that deep value of personal sacrifice in me and it was a beautiful gift, but it had a limit.

I had to unlearn the idea that my exhaustion was proof of my effectiveness.

The real lesson was realizing that sustainable impact is greater than personal sacrifice. I needed to stop just carrying the burden and start building a better vehicle to distribute the burden and amplify the support.

This fundamental unlearning is why I launched Horizon Healthcare Advocates this year. The company is the strategic vehicle that takes the expertise I built over two decades and generates the revenue needed to sustainably fund the advocacy work of Raices Unidas and all our other programs. It allows me to provide for my own family without having to compromise my own mental and emotional stability.

I learned that true leadership isn’t about running yourself into the ground; it’s about building systems and training the next generation so that the mission doesn’t rely solely on one person’s tireless effort. We moved from simply trying to save individuals to actively empowering our entire community.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.weareraciesunidas.org
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RaicesUnidasHtx/