Rhonda Solis

I attribute my success to the people who came before me and opened doors even though they had never met me. When I think about the struggles they went through in order for me to be here, it really drives me. I also found strength through the Hispanic Women of Weld County organization, where these different women from different backgrounds and age groups literally became my tias and my fill-in moms. They took me under their wing and taught me so much about the history of people that looked like us. I got to a point where I literally felt like someone was telling me there were all these amazing people that came before you to open doors, here is the torch, and we're now passing it to you. What are you going to do with it? In those moments, I really got serious about adding to my tool belt, doing different things, exposing myself to different boards, and learning how boards work. I also had a strong female dentist I worked for who showed me what a strong woman looks like, but I also had to figure out how to maneuver as a woman of color because we face different things.

Don't second guess any situation that you walk into. You're supposed to be there. If there's a mentor that you could find, if there is any kind of books out there to add to make sure that you have the confidence that you deserve, use them, because the people that came before you just wanted to make sure that this opportunity was there and to make sure that you walked through that door. I think it's really hard to find that confidence. There's even moments that I second-guess myself, and then I remember all those people that came before me and they didn't have all these opportunities and they created it themselves. So that is what we owe each other, and especially this next generation. These young women are so smart. If what you need doesn't exist, then you need to create it.

I think right now we really do need women in leadership because we're facing such huge challenges and we're so capable of empathy in a time that really needs empathy. We have that ability to look at the forest and not just a tree, and right now that's really what we need. We need more women leaders. There's still a lot of glass ceilings that we need to break through. We've never had a female president, and there's still a world that is predominantly run by men. I also think we do a disservice by not talking about history enough, by not talking about how things have been a challenge for women, like when we got voting rights, when we could get a credit card in our name. We don't talk about that enough to where I think a lot of girls fully understand that what they have now is on the backs and shoulders of women that came before them.

The most important values to me are honoring the legacy of those who came before me, reaching back to pull up the next person, and investing in young women who will be the future. It's this continuum of what came before me, what I'm doing now, who I bring in to fill that seat next, and how do I invest in the future of women doing amazing things as we go forward in a world that is still predominantly run by men. I also deeply value making sure that everyone's voice matters and that people understand their particular experience in the community matters. We need everyone at the table when we look at these different boards and commissions that make really big decisions, because it will affect people that look like you, and we need to be there telling them what our experience has been.