Written by Robert Bard and Lupita Colmenero

Anna Maria Arias, the founder of LATINA Style magazine, had unsuccessfully looked everywhere for support for her idea of creating a magazine for Latina professionals. Anna had been a producer for CNN and every time she had tried to interject a story, profile, or mention of a Latina success, she was rejected. She left the company and went to work for Hispanic magazine, one of the only Latino publications at the time. There, she found similar pushback: “men make the decisions in the Hispanic community,” she was told. “I need to change that,” she thought. How? She decided to launch LATINA Style. She visited the corporations that could support her idea, but the pushback was there as well. Headquartered in Washington, DC and being active in the  circuit of influential Latinas in the city, she decided to play her power card. She requested a meeting with the then only Latina Member of Congress to get advice on how to make the powers that be understand the importance and untapped power of Latinas.

Meant to be

In 1994, the Nation’s Hispanic population totaled 27 million and all the focus was on how to sell more to this community. There was nothing on developing leadership, let alone Latina leadership. The future seemed bleak and it wasn’t until she walked into the office of Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen that everything changed. As the first Latina Member of Congress, Ros-Lehtinen had experienced all the dismissive comments to her proposals and ideas in the House of Representatives. She knew what it was like to deal with disappointment but she also knew how to succeed in that environment. It was in her office that the concept of LATINA Style was created. The name was a subject of hard discussions. We told Anna that everybody was going to think we were a fashion magazine (a challenge we face even today after 28 years of publishing). But once Anna made up her mind, there was no changing it (she was a passionate Latina, after all). “It is going to be about the style that Latinas have in everything they do,” she said. So it stayed.

On a sunny day in Washington DC, in front of a packed audience, we had the honor of being hosted for our launching ceremony in the Rayburn Building in the US Capitol by the then three Latina Members of Congress, the Honorable Ileana Ros-Lehtinen from Florida, Nydia Velazquez from New York and Lucille Royball from California. It was an amazing affair, Latinas from every government agency, the White House, Congress, the Pentagon, civic organizations, were there. They all played a crucial role in creating the magazine, the only one at the time focusing on the achievements of the Latina professional working woman. The road ahead was a very difficult enterprise since none of the demographic studies at the time mentioned a Latina professional demographic sector in any of their research. But Latinas all over the Nation embraced the concept and began to open doors. Unfortunately, we lost Anna Maria in October 2001. Her passing left an enormous void in our company. We were fortunate to have Lupita Colmenero join the company as its COO and manage our different programs. This past October, we celebrated our 28th Anniversary and LATINA Style Magazine has become the most influential publication reaching the professional Hispanic woman in our country. We broke new ground in 1994 by launching the first national magazine dedicated to the needs and concerns of the Latina professional working woman, the Latina business owner, the college student and Latina members of our armed services in the United States. With a readership of over 600,000, LATINA Style is unique in its ability to reach both the seasoned professional and the young Latina entering the workforce for the first time. The culturally sensitive editorial showcases Latina achievements in all areas; including business, science, civic affairs, education, health, entertainment, sports, and the arts.

Bound for more

We are also proud to have created some of the most innovative and respected programs servicing the Latina community, including: The LATINA Style 50 Report, a comprehensive annual study of the fifty best companies for Latinas to work for in the United States. It is the most respected evaluation of corporate America’s policies and practices related to Latinas in this country. With over 800 companies surveyed, the report is the most serious attempt to identify the companies that provide the best career opportunities for Latinas. The LATINA Style Business Series, launched in 1998 with the assistance of the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Internal Revenue Service, is the most successful business development program for Latina business owners in the nation. This program has created a unique forum for Latina business owners to learn everything they need to start their own businesses or make their existing ones more successful. Over 40,000 Latina business owners in over 152 cities have participated in this program. The National LATINA Symposium, launched in 2004, in celebration of our 10th anniversary, brings together the largest gathering of Latina leaders in the nation. The goal of the National LATINA Symposium is to ascertain, through round-table and panel discussions, as well as in-depth surveys and commentaries, the status of the Latina workingwoman in the United States. The program’s highlight is the presentation of the Distinguished Military Service Awards. The LATINA Style HERO Initiative, launched in 2012, is designed to help military veterans and transitional active duty members reintegrate and assimilate into Corporate America and jobs in the civilian sector. The skills and talents developed in the military service are highly desirable in the civilian workplace.

Robert Bard is President and CEO of LATINA Style Inc., a position he has held since 2001, after the untimely passing of his wife Ana Maria Arias, who founded LATINA Style Magazine in 1994. Bard has been committed to building upon Arias’ vision of empowerment for Latinas, expanding the company’s influence in myriad ways over the past twenty years. He has strengthened the Latina Style Business Series, for example, which is now considered the most successful business development program for Latina business owners in the nation, and launched the Latina Hero Program, which focuses on the reintegration of Latina officers into the civilian workforce. He has achieved these new heights together with his wife of the past eleven years, Lupita Colmenero, who is Chief Operating Officer. A graduate of California State University at Northridge and the University of California Los Angeles (for undergraduate and postgraduate studies respectively), Bard has also completed the MALDEF Leadership Training Program. He is known for his deep involvement with the Hispanic community, and received the prestigious Admiral Farragut Hispanic Diversity Champion Award for his work to promote diversity in the military community. He also serves as Chairman of ANSO, the Association of Naval Service Officers.

Lupita Colmenero, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of LATINA Style Inc., began her prolific career as a social worker in her native Mexico. A graduate of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), she emigrated to the United States as a young adult, and co-founded El Hispano News in Dallas, Texas in 1986. She has been publisher of this newspaper since then, and in 2005 she became the first woman president of the National Association of Hispanic Publications Inc., where she prioritized training and mentoring of minority-owned businesses. She has been involved in the leadership of Latina Style since 2011, growing the company in various ways together with Robert Bard. In addition to her work in media, Colmenero has founded Parents Step Ahead (PSA), a non-profit organization aimed at helping parents from underserved communities to become proactive in their children’s education and overall development. By partnering with school districts and local community organizations, PSA has served more than 60,000 families. Throughout her journey from founding a media company to leading her own non-profit and serving on the boards of numerous organizations, Colmenero has worked tirelessly to empower people to reach their full potential.