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Last month I had the pleasure of attending the #WeAllGrow Latina Summit in Long Beach, CA. As silly as it sounds, I felt a bit nervous attending as a non-latina but my good friend Rocio Mora of RisasRizos.com assured me that everyone was welcome. The summit was an amazing 3 days of listening to influential speakers, networking, courses, and one incredible field trip.
What is the #WeAllGrow Summit?
According to their website, the #WeAllGrow summit is the go-to professional conference for Latinas in the digital space. As the audience was primarily women (with just a sprinkle of men), it was comforting to be surrounded by so many powerful, inspiring people. At any point, you could be rubbing elbows with top executives and entrepreneurs as well as your favorite blogger and influencer.
Photo Credit: Robson Muzel. My Curl-Friends Jeshua Vivieros, Rocio Mora, Ada Rojas
What made this entire experience special was that everyone was there to experience growth whether that was within their own business, blog, or relationships. It was genuine, uplifting, and not once did it feel catty. I overheard someone use a phrase that really resonated with me, “There’s enough sunshine for everyone”. It’s safe to say that, that phrase set the tone for the weekend.
Day 1: Field Trip with Mazda
Our first day was spent on a field trip. There were several field trip options but WAG (#WeAllGrow) purposely pairs you up with the brand that best fits your lifestyle. They might be mind readers because the Mazda field trip was exactly what I was hoping for considering my husband and I just purchased a Mazda CX-5!
The day was spent testing out several of the Mazda 2017 models including the spacious CX-9, CX-3, Mazda 6, Mazda 3 and the sporty MX-5 (Miata). We began our trip from Hotel Maya in Long Beach and explored the coastal region of California down to Palos Verdes. After visiting each destination, we switched cars to truly feel the way each car handled along some of the innovative technology the new models offered.
Photo Credit: Carley Hummel. Coastal Views on the Mazda Field Trip
Some of our stops included the South Coast Botanical Gardens, Roessler Point in Palos Verdes and finished at the beautiful Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes. We were swept away at the Terranea Resort to a private dining area to have lunch and meet Teresa Spafford. At Mazda’s North American Operations she is the design manager for colors, materials and finishes, and advanced design planning. We learned her history and her inspiring story of evolution within Mazda.
The Glamorous Entrance of the Terranea Resort
After lunch, we went ocean side to paint…something I hadn’t done since I was a child. It was pleasantly therapeutic and I didn’t do half-bad! The grand finale was a wine and chocolate pairing that looked amazing but I could only half partake in as I was 6 months pregnant (Find out more about my pregnancy here). The chocolate was amazing though! Fortunately, after such a long day our DriveShop operators drove us safely back to our resort.
Days 2 & 3: Keynote Panels, Courses & Networking
The next two days were spent at Hotel Maya filled with keynote panels, breakout sessions, and networking events. Throughout each day we experienced inspiring keynote panels hosted by several speakers, entrepreneurs, bloggers, influencers, and celebrities. In addition, there were plenty of breakout sessions that offered specialty courses for growth. The topics included building professional websites for your business, DSLR and photography tips, expert blogging tips, generating income, building your brand and much more.
In between the keynote panels and specialty courses, there were networking breaks that gave us a chance to visit with many of the sponsors in their individual suites. I was able to visit several of the suites including Neutrogena, Aveeno, Johnson’s Baby, Stitch Fix, Narciso Rodriguez, Chase Slate, Wordpress, Mazda, and TurboTax. These visits gave us a chance to finally meet some of the contacts for these brands and develop relationships for future collaborations.
Most importantly, these days introduced us all to like-minded individuals all working hard to attain growth within ourselves. Even though I had my initial concerns about not being Latina…everyone was so welcoming and never made me feel out of place. It truly harnessed the energy of the sisterhood that connected us all.
Watch my vlog from #WeAllGrow Latina Summit 2017:
Have you ever attended the #WeAllGrow Summit? What are some of your other favorite digital conferences for women? Let me know down below in the comments.
