Interview with EveryoneOn’s Paulina Chavez, Director of Programs
At EveryoneOn, Paulina Chavez leads national and local programs, and advances digital inclusion policy.
Jessica Scadron, Vice President of Communications at EveryoneOn, spent time with Paulina to learn more about her, her commitment to the Latino community and digital inclusion, and what Hispanic Heritage Month means to her.
(This interview was consolidated for readability.)
Please share a bit about yourself.
I’m a daughter, a sister and a friend. A leader, a professional and a nerd. I’m a huge baseball fan and Los Angeles Dodgers fan. I’m working on visiting all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums in the next few years!
I grew up in Bakersfield, CA and was raised in community. As the daughter of farmworkers, I saw firsthand how collective community support helped our family during the tough and good times, and how we could do the same for others. For example, the kindness other farmworkers showed my dad when they offered him a seat in the carpool when our car broke down so he could get to work, the ease with which my mom cooked meals large enough for our neighbor who was a single mom with two jobs and didn’t have time to cook, or when mom invited another neighbor to join her at a school parent group to share feedback with teachers on how to best support families. It’s ingrained in me to be in service to my community and to the greater good. Being in service is normal for me and continues to be a defining value in everything I do.
You’re very active in the Latino community. Can you give specific examples of your involvement and why it’s important to you to represent Latinos?
Seeing people who look like me on paths I couldn’t have imagined on my own changed the trajectory of my life. Representation matters - it’s a cliche, but it’s true. When I was in high school, I applied to a high school student leadership program called the Chicano Latino Youth Leadership Project (CLYLP). Its mission is to develop California’s future leaders. As one of the few Latina students in my advanced placement and honors classes, I knew I needed to take advantage of these types of programs. At first I was selected as an alternate, and had to hope a spot would open. The night before the conference was scheduled to begin, I got a call from a program volunteer, Jennie, that a position had opened and I could go! I excitedly accepted until I realized that I needed to ask my dad for permission. To my dismay, he said no. His reasoning was that as the oldest Latina daughter, why would I think that it would be okay for me to go on a week-long overnight trip? With strangers? Thankfully, Jennie was persistent and after addressing his concerns, my dad gave in. I was on the bus the next morning.
CLYLP changed my life and led me on the path I'm on now. It helped me believe that not only could I could go to college, but that I would graduate and have a successful career. At that point I knew I had the ability to achieve more than I thought I ever would. I knew I’d have to figure it out on my own, but I was going to make it happen.
Because of my transformational experience, I’ve given back to CLYLP by volunteering with the organization for 18 years, since 2006. I’ve supported in many roles over the years. Today, I’m proud to serve as the Vice President of Alumni Relations where my personal experience with CLYLP informs how I approach the role each day.
After graduating college, I didn’t know what to do with my life. I knew I wanted to work for a nonprofit, but was lost on how to figure out which one would be a good fit. During my job search, I was introduced to Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE), an organization that ensures political and economic parity for Latinas. I was an intern for six months doing data entry among other tasks and continued to volunteer during HOPE events for the next 10 years. Last fall, my experience came full circle, as I was accepted into the HOPE Leadership Institute (HLI). The goal of the Institute is to train Latinas in vital leadership and advocacy skills to create fundamental change in their communities. In fact, today, on the first day of Hispanic Heritage Month, I’m excited to share that I’ve officially graduated from the 9-month program, and join a network of over 700 alumni. I’m already using the program skills, tools and knowledge to advance digital equity in my role at EveryoneOn.
From left to right: LA County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, Paulina Chavez of EveryoneOn and Natalie González of California Community Foundation at HOPE Latina History Day
What does Hispanic Heritage Month mean to you?
To be honest, I don’t identify with the term Hispanic. I’m okay with every label except that one. I won’t correct people who call me that - I understand why people choose it, but it’s the one label that feels the most “othering” to me. Depending on the space I’m in, I will refer to myself as Mexican, Latina, Chicana, or all of the above, but it’s often easier to describe myself as Latina because most people understand what that means.
The month is an opportunity for Latinos to be unapologetically proud and loud about our heritage. I’m glad there’s an opportunity to be ourselves, I just wish we didn’t need a dedicated month to acknowledge the impact of Latinos in the U.S. and the beauty of our entire community. I wish there was more attention on the many Latin American countries within the broader Hispanic/Latino community which is a kaleidoscope of ethnicities, though many still associate the month only with Mexicans. While much progress has been made, there’s still much more to be done.
Why do you work at EveryoneOn?
Because of the Chicano Latino Youth Leadership Program (CLYLP)! I met Norma, the current CEO of EveryoneOn, in 2008 while volunteering for CLYLP. I was support staff for the Los Angeles Institute, which she was coordinating at the time in her role as a board member for the organization. Because of that connection, I reached out to her a few years later when I was on the hunt for my next career move to reintroduce myself and ask her for career advice.
Anyone who knows Norma won’t be surprised that she was kind, generous with her time, and supportive as I contemplated what my next steps would be. I didn’t end up transitioning out of my role at the time, but I ran into her a few years later again and she had just been promoted at EveryoneOn, leaving her former position as the Los Angeles Regional Manager open. She encouraged me to apply and I joined EveryoneOn in that role in March of 2016.
Coincidentally, or maybe not, I’d written about the digital divide in the Latino community for one of my application essays to CLYLP. It seems I’ve always been aware of how important computers are to our lives. I was advocating for digital equity before I knew what it was.
What is one thing you want people to know about the digital divide and the Latino community?
People don’t know just how pervasive the digital divide is in Latino communities. I think that for the Latino community specifically, the digital divide will continue to persist if we don’t have culturally competent practitioners and service providers who have the lived experience and familiarity with cultural nuances inherent to our community.
The digital divide is prominent even when internet service and devices are available, often due to a lack of digital skills and/or tech support. Access to materials in a language other than English for those who need it is also critically important to help close the digital skill and tech support gap. That’s why practitioners and providers must prioritize translation of materials and curriculum to Spanish, at a minimum, and be prepared to translate to other languages. Programming must also be available to be delivered in multiple languages.
It’s up to society to help find, create and access solutions that fit into people’s lives to address the intersection of digital equity with their everyday needs, like resources to find jobs posted only online and signing up for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) to get subsidized faster home internet speeds at affordable rates. EveryoneOn’s Digital Connections training helps people do all these things, and much more.
I’m excited to continue to learn more from my community about what solutions can be implemented both on the ground and at the policy level to finally close the digital divide.