Rosa Baez, CPM, LCPAA, LCCA

I attribute my success to my family, who have been my greatest support system. My husband was my rock through everything. We've been together 30 years, and when I was working on my degree while working as an investigator, which was a job that took a lot from me, my degree and everything I did was a family thing. If I couldn't make dinner, he would make dinner. If I couldn't pick up the kiddos from school, he would. I would make sure that when I got home I made dinner and we did homework with the kids, and when they went to bed, I went to school because I had to do some classes online and some on campus, and I would just do my work when they went to sleep. It was a lot, but I look back now and I don't even know how I did it. I must have been young and really driven, but I couldn't do it today for sure. My family support system was really good. I also had a drive within me because I didn't want to just be the Head Start teacher forever. I came to this country at 16, didn't speak English, and I had to do everything backwards. I had to start over. Every other 16-year-old was going to high school, but I wasn't, so I had to do something. The first step was learning English, and I knew I had to continue. Even though I got married and had two kids and sort of put a pause on it, I said no, I need to continue. I think it's the combination of experiences, like the sauce that made me who I am and allowed me to do the things that I'm doing.

The most impactful guidance I received wasn't traditional career advice, but came from a teacher I had when I first came to the United States as a teenager without speaking English. I went to school just to learn English, and the professor or teacher that I had there was really great. I'll never forget, she made the classroom like a courtroom. Probably that's where my passion for children and everything else came from, because she made it like a courtroom and we all had to take turns to be the prosecutor or play different roles and enroll in different things. That's sort of like how she was teaching us, and I really, really loved that. She would always tell me that I had to continue going to school. I always looked up to her. Believe it or not, I never saw her again, but she made a very important impact when I was not only learning English but just fresh in the country. She treated the classroom with such respect and empowered all of us, which made a huge impact because she empowered me and the entire class to really take ownership and treat it like a courtroom.

I encourage young women entering this industry to lead with passion and stay deeply connected to the impact they want to make. I believe that staying purpose-driven helps guide my decisions and allows me to create meaningful, lasting contributions. I also advise them to trust their voice, embrace challenges, and recognize the value they bring to every space they enter. By combining passion with intention, I know they can build careers that not only succeed, but truly make a difference.

There are so many challenges, especially for nonprofit organizations. Today it's just hard to keep going. Every day is a new thing that you have to deal with, and you have to be really, really creative every single day, not just with the families and the things that you're doing or the work that you're doing, but also with funding and resources. The challenges bring the opportunities, because we have to keep fighting every single day to continue serving. We have a footprint in Texas, the whole state of Texas, and Louisiana, so when you look at those that we're serving, we get the encouragement to seek the opportunity and innovation that we can continue doing what we do. There is an increasing need to support vulnerable populations, including children, families, and individuals facing crisis situations. At the same time, this presents an opportunity to expand impact through innovative programs, strategic partnerships, and community collaboration.

Family is at the core of my values and serves as the foundation for both my personal and professional life. I lead with integrity and honesty in all of my actions and decisions. Compassion guides how I connect with others and approach my work. My resilience allows me to navigate challenges with strength and perseverance. I am driven by determination to achieve my goals and continue growing. A strong sense of purpose fuels my commitment to making a meaningful impact. It was important to me for my children to see that no matter what, you can do what you want, you don't have to be somebody or go somewhere in a particular way. I just wanted to teach them that lesson. I'm not a person who is about titles, because to me a title is not what's most important, even though I know it is important because a lot comes with it, not just responsibility, but also people look up to you. But to me, the most important piece is how you make others feel when you're in that position. These values collectively shape how I live, lead, and serve others.