SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Nora Vargas is used to being the first Latina in her role. The trend started when she became an executive at Planned Parenthood Orange County.
Now, she’s the first Latina to chair the SANDAG board and the Board of Supervisors.
“I have been a first at a lot of different things but I commit myself to not being the last,” Vargas said.
Vargas spent the last thirty years serving her community. She says much of her work is centered around equity.
“We created the first binational program to provide vaccines across the border. We were able to make sure all youth under 18 in San Diego County were able to get no-cost transportation.”
But her journey to this point was not easy.
“As a woman of color you have to work ten times harder.”
“Were there any times you felt discriminated against for being a Latina woman?”
“There’s things that get questioned of me that don’t get questioned of others. To this day I still hear people say things like ‘you're very articulate.’ Well I'm not sure what people expected me to be but I'm actually articulate in English and Spanish, and a little bit of French.”
“What would you say to young Latina women who look to you as a role model but they’re doubting themselves?”
“If there’s somebody who doesn’t look like you in any of those roles, you can be that person who’s going to break that glass ceiling.”
Vargas says having authentic friends and mentors is an important part of being a good leader. She also encourages young women to do their homework before getting started.
“The more you know and the better you understand the system that wasn’t created by us or for us, the better you can create policy that will have long-term impact in our communities.”
