Today, like a lot of Titis across the country, I’m looking forward to halftime—music, pride, and dancing in my sister’s sala. It’s a day to be proud out loud.

That pride exists alongside a harder truth.

Latino culture is being celebrated publicly, while Latino communities are being targeted or made vulnerable—both privately and publicly. Both realities are unfolding at the same time.

Having led frontline teams during the first Trump administration, I’ve learned that moments like this test more than policy or strategy—they test our humanity. What follows isn’t theory. It’s shaped by lived experience and by what leadership actually requires when fear, uncertainty, and collective trauma are present.

Now More Than Ever, Leadership Isn’t About Having All the Answers.

I’ve been sitting with this for a while.

Having led frontline teams during the first Trump administration, I’ve learned that moments like this test more than policy or strategy—they test our humanity. What follows isn’t theory. It’s shaped by lived experience and by what leadership actually requires when fear, uncertainty, and collective trauma are present.

Somos el corazón de este país, and despite the ideals of equality penned in the Declaration of Independence, we know that true equity remains aspirational.