AZHCC’s VP Monica Villalobos: ‘I’m Encouraged by the Next Generation of Young Latinas’

By: Cindy G. Castillo

Monica Villalobos says she feels encouraged and inspired by the next generation of young Latinas in Arizona.

However, it only takes one look at her extensive profile to know that she’s one of the leaders in our community who’s actually paving the way for our Arizona Latinas to flourish as entrepreneurs and professionals.

Among many things, Villalobos is currently the Vice President of the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (AZHCC), editor of several publications including the annual “DATOS: State of Arizona’s Hispanic Market,” and the founding principal at the marketing research firm, ResearchByDesign.

“I feel so privileged to be able to do what I love,” she says, “the fact that I can be part of providing fact-based information not only to community leaders but to legislators in Arizona — that’s critical, and I take that role and that responsibility very seriously.”

Born and raised in East Los Angeles, Villalobos jumped on board AZHCC in 2013 where she’s since taken full advantage of the power of information that the chamber provides to small businesses and professionals in the state.

While having multiple leadership roles in her career might be consuming at times, Monica doesn’t hesitate to admit that her main source of drive is being mom to her two beautiful sons.

“What really motivates me is the legacy that I’m leaving for my children,” she says, “for me, there is a need to change the path in education for Latino children.”

Needless to say, she holds high expectations for her own children. She says she doesn’t want education to be an opportunity for her kids, but rather an expectation and something that’s “assumed” from them.

She’s leading those expectations through example by kicking off her journey towards a Doctorate’s Degree in May.

“My children are part of the next generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders, and I want to make sure that we’re setting them up for success early,” she said.

And it’s precisely her role as a parent that leads her passion of motivating young Latinos. As a successful woman, she has a message for young Latinas in particular: “never take no for an answer.”

“It’s worked to my favor,” she laughs, “if you really want something, just don’t take no for an answer. Don’t give your fate, your destiny, or your opportunities to anybody else.”

She added how she feels particularly encouraged by the next generation for letting go of the issues that women faced before in a male-dominated field.

“I think it’s very important for women to understand that we’ve got our own power, our own strengths and skills,” she said, “we need to leverage those and not put ourselves against anybody else — help each other, lift each other up.”

Villalobos prides herself in achieving many of the career goals she had set for herself; and, with angst, says she’s looking forward to what’s ahead.

“Being able to complete that Doctorate’s Degree achieves a lot of my goals, [but] I want to be able to contribute more to the community and ultimately just being the best version of me that I can possibly be, [so] I’m very excited about the future.”