We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Pia Lara Namdar a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Pia, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s kick things off with a hypothetical question – if it were up to you, what would you change about the school or education system to better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career?

We need to start preparing our students for their adult life while in high school by teaching the basics of personal finance – budgeting, debt and credit, filing taxes, retirement accounts, investing, etc. We have generations of Americans that lack the basic knowledge of personal finance concepts, and although we’re seeing a shift in society towards removing the taboo out of money talks, we still see a gap in knowledge. This lack of knowledge has also allowed for predatory practices in our community – there are businesses that take advantage of people that don’t know any better and, for example, charge fees to do basic services that are free otherwise. Knowledge is power, and the earlier we teach our kids about money, the better off society will be.

Pia, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Adelante Texas is an organization designed to research, implement and advocate for opportunities that highlight the growth and importance of the Latino community in the State of Texas. Latinas are leading the decision making, purchasing power, and small business creation in the State of Texas. At Adelante Texas, we focus primarily on advocating, increasing awareness, and providing opportunities to tell our stories and empower Latinas. Our focus areas are financial literacy, professional mentorship and networking, and promoting and preserving our culture.
I started this company out of the need to represent and support Latinas in Texas, while encouraging and advocating for: 1) access to financial education to increase financial literacy and generational wealth in our community; 2) a powerful and quality network of businesses and leaders to provide opportunities and mentor the next generation of leaders in this country, and 3)awareness and celebration of our Latino roots and culture, in all its forms and colors.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I moved to the US from Mexico with my family my junior year of high school, so I would say that was my first and biggest pivot in what I thought my career would be. In Mexico, you’re asked to choose your professional career at an early age because you start to take career-focused classes your last year of high school to better prepare you for college. I had chosen to study Nutrition because I wanted to open my own practice after college and help people get healthier through their food choices. When I moved to the US, the local college I chose didn’t have a Nutrition program. I instead studied business management, with the intent to work in Human Resources, where I would still interact with people and support them professionally. My second career pivot occurred after college, when I worked a couple of years outside of my chosen HR profession, and then decided to pursue a PhD in French Literature with an emphasis on post-colonialism, with the intent to become a full time professor and teach students about the effects of colonialism in modern society.
When I realized that French programs across the country were dwindling in numbers, and wanted more control over my career, I went through my third pivot and took my first HR job. I have been progressing in my HR career since then.

A common theme in my professional endeavors has been wanting to help people.
I’m beginning to tell my story more because sometimes we feel that we can’t make big changes in life, that we must have everything figured out from an early stage, but change is good. Young people need to follow their instincts, make good and informed decisions, and not be afraid to make changes.

I started Adelante Texas with the same mission: to help people, my community.

Any advice for managing a team?

Business owners need to keep their team members engaged, excited about their jobs, and looking towards the future. Engagement comes through open interaction, trust and autonomy (no micromanaging!). In our current world where work-from-home is becoming the norm, we need to keep our team members engaged with one another, with the company’s mission, and with their leaders. Engaged employees will be excited about their jobs and daily activities.
Burnout is real, so be mindful about that and learn to spot burned out team members.
Looking towards the future is two-fold: keep your team informed on where the company is going, and talk to your team members about their professional futures.

Contact Info:

• Website: adelantetexas.org
• Instagram: @adelantetexas