Cafe con Pam
by Pam Covarrubias
Cafe con Pam is the weekly podcast featuring fearless Latine/x and People of The Global Majority that break barriers, change lives and make the world a better place while living in the US. Cafe con Pam is the platform where Latine/x are able to share their stories and inspire one another through conversations about mindful productivity, business, and liberation. Of course, while enjoying a fabulous cup of coffee. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/cafe-con-pam--6348411/support.
Episodes
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Why Doing More Never Feels Like Enough
If you keep doing more because someone else didn’t do their part, the problem may not be your capacity. This episode names the conditioning that trains women to overwork, overdeliver, and carry other people’s responsibilities, even when the body is already saying, “nah, this is not it.” Thank you...
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The Plan Broke, But the Builder Didn’t
When life doesn’t follow the plan, it’s easy to treat every missed milestone like proof that you failed. This episode looks at what happens when the real issue is a missing map: the system didn’t hand you the information, resources, or context you needed, and what happens to that part of you that...
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An Oreo Joke Taught Me to Read the Room | Dr. Ally
If you’ve ever changed how you speak, dressed extra carefully, or stayed hyperaware of your surroundings just to move through the world safely, this episode with Dr. Ally will feel very familiar. The conversation looks at code-switching, beauty standards, inherited trauma, and perception, while...
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Why Your Body Pulls You Back to the Old You
Ever get criticized and suddenly feel your jaw tighten, your shoulders rise, and your old “peleonera” self show up? That pullback doesn’t mean your healing failed. It’s your body returning to an operating system built around familiar patterns, old authority, and survival. This episode breaks down...
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A Piano in a Broom Closet Built a Nonprofit | Sheila Fortson
If you’ve ever been told that art is nice but not practical, this episode will hit differently. Sheila Fortson talks about starting music lessons in a $30-a-month broom closet, growing them into a nonprofit, and navigating the pressure small organizations face when the need keeps growing but the...
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My Group Chat Died When I Started a Business
If you’ve ever looked at your group chat and thought, “I have people, but I don’t know who I can actually tell,” this episode puts language to that feeling. The conversation explores how climbing, changing, and outgrowing old dynamics can leave your walls thinner, and why moving someone to a...
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After 22 Years in Corporate, She Chose Clean Beauty | Oni Auer
The 12-step beauty routine isn’t proof that you’re doing self-care wrong. It’s an industry system built to sell more products, while opaque ingredients, weak regulation, and corporate sustainability theater keep consumers working harder to protect themselves. This conversation follows the…
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The Proof Reflex: Why Your Word Never Feels Like Enough Evidence
The urge to prove yourself when someone doubts you isn’t insecurity or people-pleasing. It’s the proof reflex, a survival adaptation shaped by Calladita Culture and the expectation that your word won’t count as sufficient evidence. This episode names how the same system can make you over-document...
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When You Reclaim What You Survived, Your People Can Find You
What if the challenges you were taught to hide are actually leadership assets? In this conversation, Leslie Tagorda reframes astrology as a language for change, connecting the Sun, Moon, Rising, and Descendant to how we lead, regulate our nervous systems, and find the people we’re here to serve....
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Stop Waiting for a List to Certify What You Already Are
The list you’re waiting for may never arrive because the system taught you to measure your life with someone else’s rubric. This episode of Cafe con Pam recognizes the quieter accomplishments that often go uncounted, from leaving a life that wasn’t yours to building something over ten years, and...
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When you stop asking for permission, you start leading your own life
Lucy King is back on the show, this time as an author—real evidence that dreams take root in messy, real-life soil, not just positive thinking. This conversation pulls back the curtain on what it really takes to break through old family rules, juggle privilege and guilt, and find a writing voice...
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What You Call Self-Sabotage Is Actually Your Body Protecting You
Pam opens up about how the things we call self-sabotage or procrastination are actually ways we've learned to protect ourselves in tough environments. Instead of blaming ourselves for holding back, Pam lays out the “Six Doors” framework, showing how our habits and hesitations are shaped by bigger...
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Naming What Hurt Us Opens the Door to Power and Belonging
This episode sits with the weird, messy middle that shows up when you finally stop hiding parts of yourself and let old family rules or corporate “shoulds” melt away. Instead of blaming anyone for staying quiet, the conversation looks at how silence and keeping things in are baked into…
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You’re Overloaded Because You’re the Most Capable, Not Because You Lack Boundaries
Pam recognizes the hidden cost of being the “most competent woman in the room”—not as a personal flaw, but as a predictable result of systems that over-rely on reliability. This episode names the ways competence fuels silent overload, unpacking how workplace cultures reward self-sacrifice and...
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Surviving Scarcity Can Teach You to Thrive, Not Just Survive
This episode sits with the quiet ways survival mode shapes generations — not from personal failure, but from the systems that turn scarcity and silence into a way of life. Charly Stoever opens up about navigating identity, money, and belonging as a queer, formerly undocumented kid, noticing how…
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The loudest voice in the room still carries silence
Ever notice how even the most confident people suddenly second-guess themselves when it counts? Pam unpacks the sneaky “whisper” that makes us search for proof or outside validation—showing how it’s not about lacking confidence, but about coping with systems that taught us to doubt. It’s not your...
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Collaboration Isn’t Compromise: How Bridging Political Divides Protects Community Power
Councilmember Imelda Padilla knows the unique pressure—and privilege—of coming home as the leader for her own community. In this episode of Cafe con Pam, she flips the usual story: it’s not just about the challenges of being a Latina in politics, but about how hard it is for whole neighborhoods…
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You’re Not Failing Your Family: You’re Rebuilding Your Dignidad
This week, Pam gets real about how hard it is to set boundaries with family when our culture tells us those boundaries shouldn’t exist. Instead of blaming ourselves for feeling guilty or overwhelmed, she points out how these pressures are part of a bigger system—a system that expects us to always...
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When You Name the System, Agency and Belonging Show Up with Emilia Huerta-Sanchez
In this episode of Cafe con Pam, Pam notices how true freedom feels different when you’ve had to build it for yourself—especially when you grow up balancing family expectations, cultural traditions, and new systems in a new country. Emilia Huerta-Sanchez shares what it’s like to find independence...
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The Certainty Gap Explained: It’s Not You, It’s the Missing Manual
In this solo episode of Cafe con Pam, Pam gets real about why so many first-gen Latinas feel like they have a “confidence problem”—and flips the script by calling out what it really is: an instruction problem. Through her own stories of navigating life in the U.S., writing essays without a…
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The Power of Doing Small Things in the Fight for Reproductive Justice with Zaena Zamora
On this week's episode of Cafe con Pam Zaena Zamora, executive director of Frontera Fund, dig into the critical fight for reproductive justice. Zaena shares her experiences on the frontlines in South Texas, where systemic barriers and aggressive laws challenge access to healthcare. Discover how...
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Why Peace Can Feel Threatening and How to Embrace Goodness
This week's episode of Cafe con Pam iss a solo deep dive into what makes leadership feel out of sync, even when everything looks perfect on paper. Centered around first-gen experiences and eldest daughter realities, the episode breaks down why feeling disconnected isn’t a leadership fail—it’s a...
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The Power of Ancestral Eating with Neha Shah
In this episode of Cafe con Pam, Pam sit down with Neha Shah, a former engineer turned nutritionist, to explore the intersection of heritage, immigrant experience, and traditional nutrition. Neha shares her journey from India to the United States, the challenges she faced adapting to Western food...
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Why Achieving Success Might Leave You Feeling Empty
In this solo episode of Cafe con Pam, Pam dives deep into the often unnamed feeling experienced by high-achieving first-gen leaders: the "certainty gap." —that weird in-between space where your mind knows you’ve made it, but you don’t feel it yet. With plenty of honest personal stories and super...
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Post-Achievement Depression in the Creative Industry with Valeria Maldonado Jackson
In honor of Mental Health Month, this episode of Cafe con Pam gets extra honest and vulnerable. Pam welcomes actress and writer Valeria Maldonado Jackson for a deep dive into what mental health really looks like behind the scenes—especially for Latinas and creatives. Valeria shares her personal...
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The Myth of the Constellation Who Raised You
What no one says out loud on Mother's Day weekend, about the women who held us, the ones who didn't, and the thread we're left to weave. Here is the Mother's Day tapping sequence we promised during the episode. Thank you to Savvy Ladies for supporting Cafe con Pam. Savvy Ladies is a non-profit...
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You Don't Have to Do This Alone with Dr. Christine Coleman
In this heartfelt episode of Cafe con Pam, Pam sits down with Dr. Christine Coleman to discuss her powerful journey navigating a dual Mexican-Iranian heritage, her experiences with grief and anticipatory loss, and building resilience as a therapist, mother, and founder of Sol Sisters nonprofit....
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Closing the Certainty Gap: Build Real Self-Belief
In this episode of Cafe con Pam, Pam goes solo to break down what keeps so many of us holding back: the visibility wound and the certainty gap. Pam gets real about how these two “sisters” show up for women—especially women of color—at work and beyond. You’ll walk away with practical tips, a…
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The Financial Floor: What Latinas Carry That Nobody Sees
On this episode of Cafe con Pam, Pam chats with Edna Mariñelarena, a powerhouse in finance with deep roots in Chihuahua, Mexico. Edna opens up about what it’s like growing up as a first-generation Latina in the U.S., how she became the family “financial floor,” and the emotional rollercoaster of...
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Braid Your Roots: Building Leadership From Lived Experience
In this solo episode of Cafe con Pam, Pam kicks off quarter two with an empowering deep dive into the concept of "rooted authority" for first-generation Latina leaders. Using real survey responses and her own career stories, Pam breaks down the four roots Latinas have been quietly building:...
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Building Relationships for Multi-Million Dollar Success With Alexis Evans
On this episode of Cafe con Pam, Pam chats with Alexis Evans—aka the “Contract Queen”—about how she made the jump from corporate life to landing multi-million dollar government contracts and building her own business empire in Florida. Alexis opens up about what it’s really like being a Black…
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Loyalty and Silence: Dolores Huerta, Cesar Chavez, and the Cost of Speaking Out
In this solo episode of Cafe con Pam, Pam addresses the recent revelations from civil rights icon Dolores Huerta, who at 95 came forward to disclose Cesar Chavez’s sexual assault against her in the 1960s. With honesty and heart, Pam unpacks what Huerta’s story means for the Latinx community, the...
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From Surviving to Thriving: Healing Money Wounds with Sahirenys Pierce
On this episode of Café con Pam, Pam sits down with Sahirenys Pierce, a powerhouse financial educator and the mind behind the High Five Banking Method. Sahirenys opens up about her experience growing up as a first-gen Dominican-American in San Diego, going through her family’s financial ups and...
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The Certainty Gap: How to Find Grounding in Your Identity
In this solo episode of Café con Pam, Pam talks about what it actually means to feel certain—and why so many first-gen Latinas constantly feel like they're not enough for any room. We break down the difference between confidence (which we can fake) and certainty (which has to come from deep...
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Building Rosca: Latino Money Circles in a Modern App with Cindy Chavez Swenson
This week on Cafe con Pam, Pam sits down with the incredible Cindy Chavez Swenson—a Mexican-American PhD, educator, and founder behind the Rosca app. They dive into Cindy’s journey growing up as the child of Mexican immigrants, what it’s like being overlooked (and underestimated) in both academia...
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Calling In Spring: Activating Your Leadership Archetype
Ready to shake things up this spring? In this episode of Cafe con Pam, Pam tackles what the new season means for first-gen Latinas, especially those who've been running on survival mode. She revisits the five Calladita Culture leadership archetypes and shares simple, practical spring activation...
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Teaching Puerto Rican History Through Bad Bunny’s Music with Vanessa Díaz & Petra Rivera-Rideau
This week on Cafe con Pam, Pam sits down with scholars Petra Rivera-Rideau and Vanessa Díaz to dive into all things Bad Bunny, Puerto Rico, and what it really means to be Latinas in academia. The episode is equal parts inspiring and real as they open up about the struggles (and joys!) of being...
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Leadership Styles Rooted in Survival: Discovering Your Calladita Culture Archetype
In this solo episode of Café con Pam, Pam explores the complex relationship between rest, productivity, and leadership for first-generation Latinas and women navigating Calladita Culture. Drawing from her own experiences, client stories, and years of coaching, Pam unpacks why our bodies can...
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Healing Burnout and Rediscovering Childhood with Dr. Ana Yáñez-Correa
In this episode of Cafe con Pam, Pam sits down with Ana Yáñez-Correa, Ph.D for an honest, moving conversation about her journey from Mexico to the US, childhood challenges, and finding freedom by reconnecting with her roots. Ana shares what it was like surviving work trafficking as a kid, how she...
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What to Do When You Don’t Know What to Do: Finding Clarity in Uncertain Times
In this solo episode of Cafe con Pam, Pam gets real about those tough moments when you just don’t know what to do next—especially when everything in the world feels heavy. Pam opens up about what it means to rest with intention and reminds us that taking care of ourselves isn’t selfish, it’s...
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Building a Life Beyond Family Expectations with Ana Lilia
In this episode of Cafe con Pam, Pam welcomes breathwork expert and coach Ana Lilia for a heartfelt conversation about healing, personal growth, and breaking generational cycles. Ana Lilia shares her story of growing up as a first-generation Mexican-American in Napa, navigating family…
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The Truth About Manifestation (When You're Navigating Calladita Culture®)
In this episode of Cafe con Pam, Pam gets real about why typical manifestation advice just doesn’t cut it for first-gen Latinas and anyone navigating “Calladita culture.” She breaks down the actual science behind why just dreaming about your goals isn’t enough—plus, she shows how the brain’s...
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Embracing Disability Identity: From Masking to Main Stage with Lachi
In this inspiring episode of Café con Pam, Pam welcomes musician, author, and disability advocate Lachi for a real talk about life, creativity, and breaking barriers. Lachi opens up about her Nigerian roots, what it was like growing up as the youngest of seven in an immigrant family, and her...
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Before You Set 2026 Goals: The One Thing Your Life Wheel Can't Measure
On this solo episode of Cafe con Pam, Pam sits down for a heart-to-heart about the real steps to personal growth and lasting change. She breaks down why simply becoming aware of your life’s gaps isn’t enough—and how feeling safe and certain in your journey is what really helps you move forward.…
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Balancing Business, Motherhood, and Identity with Taylor Tieman
In this candid episode of Cafe con Pam, Pam welcomes back attorney, entrepreneur, and content creator Taylor Tieman for her second appearance—now as a mother, multi-business owner, and advocate for neurodiversity and authenticity. They dive deep into how Taylor has evolved since her first...
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Stop Planning in December: Reclaim Your Energy Before the New Year
In this cozy solo episode of Café con Pam, Pam invites you to slow down, take a breath, and embrace the wisdom that winter brings. Feeling pressure to end the year strong, set new goals, or obsess over vision boards? Pam gently reminds us that true liberation starts with rest, not hustle—sharing...
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Making Coffee Ethical with Etelle Higonnet
In this powerful episode of Cafe con Pam, Pam welcomes renowned activist and lawyer Etelle Higonnet to discuss the hidden costs of coffee and the urgent need for sustainability and human rights in the coffee industry. Etelle shares her multicultural upbringing, transformative experiences in...
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When Being Seen Feels Like a Threat (Part 2)
Get cozy with this solo episode of Cafe con Pam, where Pam breaks down what the "visibility wound" really means and why feeling seen can be so intimidating—especially for those of us shaped by Calladita Culture and generational patterns. Pam gets really real about how confidence isn’t about…
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Four Decades Shaping Latino Journalism in America with Maria Elena Salinas
On this episode of Café con Pam, Pam gets real with legendary news anchor María Elena Salinas—and it's a conversation you don't want to miss! María Elena Salinas opens up about her nearly 40-year career reporting for Spanish-language television, her partnership with Jorge Ramos, and why putting...
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When Being Seen Feels Like a Threat (Part 1)
In this solo episode of Cafe con Pam, Pam gets real about why speaking up can feel so hard, even when you know you have something important to say. She unpacks the idea of the visibility wound of Calladita Culture, explaining how it goes way deeper than just lacking confidence. From family…
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About this show
Cafe con Pam is the weekly podcast featuring fearless Latine/x and People of The Global Majority that break barriers, change lives and make the world a better place while living in the US. Cafe con Pam is the platform where Latine/x are able to share their stories and inspire one another through conversations about mindful productivity, business, and liberation. Of course, while enjoying a fabulous cup of coffee.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/cafe-con-pam--6348411/support.
Hosted by
Pam Covarrubias