We already have the power within, we just have to see it for ourselves.
I’m Glad You’re Here.
I'm Bárbara (you can also call me B), Certified Professional Coach (CPC) with a mission to support first-generation women of color on their journey towards liberation and living their lives BOLDLY and authentically.
I partner with you to help you break free from the fear, self-doubt, and conditioning that's holding you back and gain the clarity and confidence you need so that you can fulfill your highest potential and leave a legacy through your life and leadership.
It’s no mistake that you are.
Hey Sis,
So why aren’t we playing full out, living our dreams, and showing up as our beautiful, brilliant, whole, authentic selves?? As first-generation women of color, we have the honor and privilege to be the first in our families to DO and BE SO MUCH more than our families have had the opportunity to do. We stand on the shoulders of those that came before us. It is a privilege and responsibility to honor our families’ sacrifices. And that’s what we’ve set out to do, right? Right.
Why? Because, we didn’t come this far to only come this far! We are our ancestors’ wildest dreams.
We feel like there’s more for us to do, be, and experience… and that’s because there is!
somewhere along the way, we have unconsciously (or consciously) internalized the expectations of others and what society has told us we should want to do and be, without ever really having the opportunity to get in tune with what we actually need and want for ourselves.
We can get caught up in pursuing the “American Dream,” but might be asking ourselves - is this really my dream?
This reality often leads us to a place in our lives where we've “checked all the boxes'' yet still feel like something is off or missing. Or, we might know exactly what our dream is - but something is holding us back from going after it.
yet,
cultivating love and wholeness from the inside out, validating and approving of ourselves first, and rediscovering and reconnecting with our true, authentic self.
Because when we embrace our inherent brilliance, beauty and power, when we lead and live our lives boldly and authentically, and step boldly into our fullest potential and the life that we are meant to have, we honor ourselves AND our ancestors. THIS is how we leave a legacy through our life and leadership.
Sis, our liberation is already within.
To support my sisters on a journey
is to support my sisters on a journey of liberation and empowerment from within -
MY MISSION
I know firsthand how transformational this journey is.
I also understand how overwhelming it is to become aware of these desires and blocks and not know where to start.
It is an ongoing process that we are continuously on.
Read more about my personal journey
I was born in Brooklyn and raised in the Bronx (NYC - stand up!!!) by my beautiful, resilient mother who clipped her wings so that my brother and I could fly. I grew up living below the poverty line, not realizing until later in life how little we had materially, but how much we had spiritually and communally. I quickly learned that education was the “ticket to a better life,” and became determined to make my mother proud and ensure her sacrifices were not wasted.
I was the first in my family to go to college, and in 2001 I graduated from Cornell University with a B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies (a degree I pursued because of my deep interest in who we are as people and our development at such an early age). Being the first in my family to graduate from college was a huge accomplishment that my entire family celebrated - they all rolled DEEP on graduation day!! This was one of the proudest moments of my life. It was also the beginning of MANY proud and beautiful (and hard and scary) “firsts” as the daughter of immigrants.
We Are Our Ancestors' Wildest Dreams
I am a proud first-generation Latina.
We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.
Determined to give back to my community and make a difference, I moved back to the Bronx to serve as a bilingual teacher. My students inspired me and grounded me every single day and were mirrors for me of this unequivocal truth:
We are inherently brilliant, whole and complete - no matter how much the world tries to convince us otherwise.
I fell in love with my students and the art of teaching. After 12 years in the classroom, I started a new chapter in my life’s work leading the national training and development of teachers and teacher coaches serving in historically marginalized communities across the country. I was incredibly passionate about the work I was doing, AND there was so much more in my leadership and life that I felt I was being called to BE and DO.
“The wound is the place where the light enters you.”
I had a great job, I got married, I bought a house, and started traveling the world. My family was so proud of me and knowing this brought me so much satisfaction and pride. In retrospect, I was climbing the ladder of success and doing all the things I had been taught to be "accomplished" - lessons I'd internalized about what success and power looks like. I was “living the dream,” and yet, there was a part of me that fell asleep inside. But, it didn’t make sense. I had everything I had ever wanted - my life looked perfect on paper - and yet, something was missing. My life quickly started to feel like a to-do list; like I was a human doing and not a human being. While it took me a while to see and understand this, it felt like I was living someone else’s dream.
Divorce was never part of my plan and yet, after 11 years of marriage, it’s the path I found myself on. It was the most painful and scariest thing I had ever done. I listened to my heart even though I didn’t understand it or recognize the part of me that was choosing it. I later learned - and am still learning - that following our hearts doesn’t always have to make sense. In fact, following our hearts - where God/the Universe/our inner wisdom is leading us- often doesn't.
This time in my life broke me (but I now know that I was being broken open). I felt like I was letting my family down. I felt like I didn’t know who I was anymore. I felt so lost and confused. I was heart-broken, embarrassed, angry, and hopeless. I had actively participated in the creation of this life and I had accomplished everything I had set out to do - how could I possibly walk away from that? With time I realized that a large part of my identity was wrapped up in being what others/the world expected me to be -expectations that I had subconsciously internalized. So, who was I… really?
In so many ways, I pursued what many call the typical “American Dream.”
-Rumi
Can you remember who you were before the world told you who you should be?
After several years of mourning and in a deep state of depression, I slowly started to feel life breathing in me again. It was a painfully slow process, but gradually I started healing. There was a tiny, growing flame burning inside of me and a still, small voice that said, “this is not the end of you - this is actually the beginning."
“...once you’ve heard your chains rattle, you cannot unhear them.” -Prisca Dorca Mojica Rodriguez
I started to explore - “who is Bárbara?” NOT the Bárbara others told her and expected her to be - or the Bárbara she thought she should be - but the Bárbara SHE CHOSE to be? What did I value? What did I believe? What were my deepest desires? What was I curious about? What would my life look like if I was living for ME? If I was following my OWN roadmap? My own compass? What unique gifts and seeds of dreams had been planted in my heart that I was being called to release into the world?
And so, I began a personal internal journey to discover the answers to these questions. And, along the way, I realized that in order to get to those answers, I had to uncover how my lived experiences and social conditioning were influencing how I was seeing myself, the decisions I was making, how I was showing up in the world, and what I thought was possible for me and my life. I had to learn, unlearn, and heal those internalized beliefs and messages that were creating fear and self-doubt and that were getting in the way of having the clarity and confidence I needed to live my life authentically and boldly.
(Re)discover
I had to
my values, my passions, the vision I had for my life
and I how I wanted to live it/show up in it
(Re)claim
my narrative, my inner power, my strengths, my resilience
(Re)connect
with my Truth, my inner wisdom, the Higher Power within me, my ancestors - ME
As I worked through these things, I started listening to the little whispers of my heart and set out to live the length and the width of my life. I started traveling solo, took on a new job that allowed me to expand the scope of my impact in a field I was passionate about, moved to a new city, did some things that scared the crap out of me, and found women that understood me and supported me in this journey. I forgave myself (over and over again).
And, I started to love the woman I was and the woman I was in the process of becoming.
Let’s do this!
My personal journey and all the experiences I’ve had while on it led me to train as a Certified Professional Coach (CPC/ACC) with the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (IPEC), and start my own coaching practice. I became passionate about supporting others and myself on the journey of learning, unlearning, and healing in order to liberate ourselves (and therefore one another). My lived experiences and professional training have equipped me to support women just like me in the process of deconstructing their conditioning and socialization in service of their own self-actualization, liberation, and empowerment.
I absolutely love what I do as a coach. It is an honor and privilege to get to witness and walk this journey with you. I believe we are here to pursue what sets our souls on fire and fully embrace our magic and power. I am here to support you in that process.
So, are you ready to listen to that pull, that whisper that’s telling you you are meant to be, live, and experience more?
If you are, know that you’ve got this - and God/the Universe/our ancestors have YOU.
You are ground-breaking. You are unstoppable.
"Fall if I must, the woman I’m becoming will catch me."
All along there was an undeniable pull that was telling me there was more available to me - if only I could see it, believe it and choose it. There was something stirring inside of me whispering…
- Maya Angelou
"You’ve always had the power my dear - you just had to learn it for yourself."
Love,
Bárbara
“Still, I rise.”
You are the result of the love of thousands.
Walking.
I am listening to a deeper way
Suddenly all my ancestors are behind me
Be still they say
Watch and listen
You are the result of the love of thousands
- Linda Hogan
Freedom
Joy
Love
Truth
Connection
My values
Our values are like a compass; a navigational tool we can use to guide us and our decisions in life. Knowing our values and leveraging them as guides allows us to feel more aligned in every aspect of our lives to who are at our core and what we deeply care about. I’ll never forget when I worked with my coach to identify my core values for the first time many years ago- it was like I had achieved a deeper level of knowing and connection to myself and my life. It was beautiful and powerful! Till this day, I leverage my values as a compass for my life. In fact, I believe this is such a powerful and essential tool that supporting my clients in identifying their own core values is an inherent part of my coaching process.
I love music and dancing.
More about me
When I can’t find my way to a dance floor (or randomly create one wherever I am), you can catch me converting my car into a club on wheels.
I’m terrified of heights,
but in 2019, I faced that fear head-on and climbed the side of the Atlas mountains of Morocco, up 800 ft. #ididntdie
The ocean is my happy place.
Add a cocktail and I’m set.
I’m a collector of words, moments, and images.
My phone is filled with quotes I’ve read or heard and pictures of people, moments, and places that have taken my breath away.
I am a proud Tía.
I absolutely adore my two nieces. I love adventuring with them and watching them follow their dreams.
Traveling is my passion.
One of my life’s goals is to see as much of the world as possible. #letsgo
I'm a teacher at heart.
I love to design and facilitate learning experiences and to be a part of the growth and development process. Aside from my coaching work, I also do education liberatory work in partnership with schools, districts, and organizations through my consulting services.
Baleadas y cafecitos are my love language.
I could probably live off of this for the rest of my life and be perfectly happy. #iykyk
Interested in learning more?
book a complimentary connection call
The greatest lesson a woman should learn?
What’s the greatest lesson a woman should learn?
That since day one
She’s already had everything she needs
Within herself
It's the world that convinced her
She did not.
- Rupi Kaur
In this interview, I talk about my personal experiences around learning to tune-in and trust your inner knowing.
Watch video
Check out this interview
Interested in learning more about my work in the field of education?
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Browse My Consulting Services
In this blog post I talk about the beauty, power and real difficulty in being “the first” in your family.
Read Post
Browse This Blogpost
Where to Next?
Like my vibe?
I love to design and facilitate learning experiences (read: workshops, courses, retreats) and to be a part of the growth and development process. Aside from my coaching work, I also do education liberatory work in partnership with schools, districts, and organizations through my consulting services.
Let’s get after the life you want to live and the legacy you want to leave!
Book a connection call
my passion
Let's do this!
Download this free visualization exercise now!
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