37. Antonio Tijerino, CEO of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation, On Why It's Important to Be Naive and Impatient When Serving Your Constituents

How do you celebrate Hispanic heritage all year long? How do you respond when a baby is separated from her mother at the border? What do you do when you realize agricultural workers are being asked to work without personal protective equipment?In this episode of Associations Thrive, host Joanna Pineda interviews Antonio Tijerino, President & CEO at Hispanic Heritage Foundation. Antonio introduces the Foundation, talks about his journey to becoming CEO, then discusses how the Foundation is growing and thriving. He discusses:The origins of the Foundation and Hispanic Heritage MonthHis personal philosophy of big ears, big heart, and big gutsWhy it’s important to stay flexible, resourceful and optimistic when meeting the needs of your constituentsThe Hispanic Heritage Awards at the Kennedy Center each yearHow the Foundation responded to the call to provide agricultural workers with masks during the pandemicHow the Foundation worked with Microsoft to create the first Latino-themed Minecraft game, Latin ExplorersThe Foundation’s work at the border and why he’s impatient with sexism, racism, Islamophobia, and anti-semitismHow the Foundation is trying to close the digital divide that exists within in the Latino communitiesThe Foundation’s CharlasHis Fritanga podcastHow the Foundation has reached 30 million students in 30 different languages, and taught 100,000 kids how to codeReferences:Hispanic Heritage Foundation websiteFritanga Podcast