|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
In honor of National Women’s History Month, throughout March, we will be shining a spotlight on four prominent women in the Redwood City community. Four diverse women, from different fields, with unique experiences – these are their stories. This week’s spotlight is on Ashley Quintana, Vice Chair of the Redwood City Arts Commission and Public Policy Manager at Meta.
After earning her Bachelor’s Degree in Diplomacy World Affairs from Occidental College, Quintana did not originally have plans to come back to her hometown of Redwood City. From spending her childhood in Redwood City libraries and benefitting from the Spark (apprenticeship) Program in middle school herself, she has come full circle to now being on the boards of both organizations. Most recently, she led the Racial Equity Mural project at the Jefferson underpass as the Chair of the Redwood City Arts Commission.
At Meta, Quintana is on the State Policy Team, where her role is ensuring that the company maintains positive relationships with the local community, chambers and policymakers in which they have a physical presence (office).
The Redwood City Pulse sat down with Quintana to discuss her journey through the fields of public policy and tech and the importance of continuing to inspire women wavemakers in our community.
Redwood City Pulse: Do you feel there’s a lack of female leadership in your field? What's the most important thing we can do to help change that?
Quintana: I think there’s always more we can do. One thing I’ve learned is that connections and building your network is something so important for women across the board. You never know who you’re talking to, and you never know what resources and connections they may have.
Also, if you’re in a position of power and you’re able to make those references, or hire, make sure that you give other women new opportunities and the ability to grow in their careers. Supporting each other is really key.
I love my current manager in tech, who is not a woman, but a Latino man, and a clear example of an ally who has empowered me to be the best I can be and given me those opportunities. When I came to Meta, he encouraged me to get involved in the Employee Resource Group. Through that, I was able to become the Global Lead of this organization, which really opened a lot of doors for me to later become more of a leader within the company itself.
Redwood City Pulse: How did you get here, and is this something you always knew you wanted to do? In other words, how did your upbringing, education or early career lead you to this point, and what’s your advice to other women who may be interested in a similar path?
Quintana: I grew up with a very strong woman as a role model. I’m an only child and was raised by a single mother, and I have so much respect for her.
I was also really lucky because I did internships prior to college. I always tell people: always do internships in areas you think you’re interested in and want to try out. I did an internship in cardiology and realized I didn’t see myself in that career. I did another internship in law and didn’t really like that either. Then, I interned for the Obama campaign junior year of high school and loved it. I loved the fast pace of fundraising and event planning and realized this is what I think I want to do.
If you don’t know what you want to be, that’s ok. It’s just as important, or even more important, to know what you don’t want to do. Through all my internships, I learned early on what I didn’t want to do. I did the Spark Program (internships) in middle school, and I thank them every day for helping me realize that medical school was not the path for me. Knowing what you don’t want in life is a great start.
I went to Occidental having a path in my mind. I applied for the UN Program as a senior and didn’t get it. In hindsight, thank goodness I didn’t get it because it could have totally changed my career path. Things happen for a reason, and when a door closes, another opens.
I always say to people: you never know what’s going to happen. I thought I was going to end up in DC or New York after college, not my hometown. I remember graduating college and having no clue what I was going to do. Luckily, one of my professors offered me a summer internship with an environmental sustainability firm, and it was a great way to help me build my network even though I knew that wasn’t going to be my career path.
After that, I came back to Redwood City and reached out to a mentor of mine, who was my former supervisor when I interned for San Mateo County in high school, and she encouraged me to apply for a job there. Her name was Peggy Jensen, and I was so lucky to have such an amazing, strong woman as my first manager out of college. I didn’t realize how rare that was, to see a female deputy county manager leading all these departments.
I minored in Sociology and Spanish, and, in hindsight, I realized that I gravitate towards interacting with people, and I wanted my career to revolve around community and connections. So, that was my pivot from local government to tech while still maintaining a policy and local roots perspective.
Redwood City Pulse: Given that the majority of jobs left, or lost, during the pandemic were by women, how do you see us start to recover from this? What can we do to help?
Quintana: The data is heartbreaking, but not surprising. Women can do it all – they are caregivers and mothers and amazing multi-taskers. I think women who are currently in the workforce can help by recognizing that a gap in someone’s resume contains a lot of transferable skills. We should empower women to make sure they can tell their stories well and highlight the skill sets they’ve used, even when not in an office, and create a narrative around how those things are transferable to the jobs they’re applying for.
Redwood City Pulse: Although we've come a ways historically, what’s one of the main obstacles you feel women still face? To dig deeper, do you feel minority women/women of color continue to face hurdles and pay gaps, and how can we help address this?
Quintana: In general, I think women should not overthink or question themselves –- whether it be because of your age, race, or experience. If you come across a job you’re interested in, and you see that you don’t “have a year’s experience of ‘blah’…,” apply anyway. Imposter syndrome is a real thing. I think women, specifically, have these questions even more in their minds. Don’t question your ability to do the job because of one thing. As a female, remember your worth and your value. You have nothing to lose; just apply. I’ve seen this happen internally: where you might not be a good fit for one role, but you can get put in the roster as a better fit for another role.
A friend of mine tells me, “Have your naysayers be your motivators,” and it is so true. Don’t let people tell you what you can’t do. People often say, “if you’re not good at something, work on it,” but knowing your strengths is also really important. There’s value in saying, what am I good at, and really honing in on that. When you’re younger, you do so many activities but eventually gravitate towards what you’re good at and what you enjoy most.
Work is a lot of your life, so hopefully, you do what you love to do, and I feel so fortunate that this has been the case for me. I feel really blessed to be able to give back to the community that gave me so much.
Redwood City Pulse: To wrap up, more of a fun question… Is there a book, film, organization or person you find especially empowering that you want others to know about?
Quintana: That’s such a good question. I’m a big movie buff. At the beginning of the year, I watched “Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris.” It’s set in 1950s London and is about a woman (housekeeper) who falls in love with this amazing Dior gown. It’s really a story of this woman’s perseverance and kindness that brings her to the point where she gets the dress she wanted. And all these people underestimate her saying, no, you can’t do this. It really shows you how a woman’s determination is key to getting what she wants. You can put the dress in perspective to a job you want or a goal you’re trying to achieve and how you go about setting those milestones and figuring out what’s next. It’s just a beautifully told story.
