Sandy Martinez: Find Your People

JoinExtraordinary: Welcome to Extraordinary Stories. I'm your host, Forbes Shannon, with me today. Christine Butler. And in studio, we have such a phenomenal entrepreneur. ⁓ You just got back from the UN. There's so much that we're going to unpack. You're an author, you're a business owner, you are a self-described, best probably way to put it, community architect, Sandy Martinez. Sandy. Thank you for being here. Thank you so much for having me, Forrest. Thank you so much, Shea. Forrest. For the invitation. I'm honored and looking forward to the conversation and sharing a little bit about my roots and ⁓ my lifetime at ASU and also what I'm doing now in emerging technology. Well, you are definitely extraordinary. Our pre-call conversation was awesome. You were nominated by Yasmin Rivera-Klein. She finds you extraordinary. How do you know Yasmin? Well, Yasmin is a brilliant, remarkable leader. I know her from young and empowered. So I have the privilege to serve on the board and not only from young and empowered, but also the way she navigates and building an ecosystem here for the Latino community with Alpha. So I've gone to see her in action at different events. I've gone to see her bloom and she launched her business agency 27. You know, we've got to plug our friends. Business is there, but she's extraordinary. And I I see a lot of good things coming out of everything that she's building, so she inspires me. ⁓ And she is definitely adding a lot of value here in the Valley for our community. you know, speaking of community, I mean, let's just stay on that theme for a second. As a community architect, know, what is Alpha and, like, how do you find these different communities that you plug into to, meet more people, but also to invite other people into your community? Absolutely. for me, Alpha stands for a bridge. It's a bridge to connect with others. It's a bridge to be proud of our culture. mean, one of the events that I've enjoyed is the salsa dancing. ⁓ yeah. And we got a class, you know, but it's really, ⁓ you know, bringing our heritage into the mix as leaders. ⁓ know, many of us are founders or entrepreneurs. We're building things and we're first in our families to do a lot of take on take on a lot of different roles, but navigating that is very, it could be very complex and it could be very lonely. So for me, Alpha is what brings us together as a community, but also where we could be proud of our culture and let loose a little bit and just really enjoy who we are and not to wear like this professional side of us all the time, you know, but really be genuine and authentic. And so I love, a lot of my friends attend Alpha events and they're part of Alpha. And so it's a really, important aspect of being a leader in the Valley as a Latina. For me, I'm a Mexican immigrant from Zacatecas and so I'm the first in my family to graduate high school, to graduate, you know, get a master's and just lead a lot of really powerful, visible roles. And so coming together with other extraordinary professionals like Yasmin ⁓ is really awesome for us. So, you know, first in your family, you're also, you know, a trailblazer, like, you you're an emerging technology futurist. So being first, it seems like it comes natural to you? I have to owe it a lot to my parents. So they were very courageous to come to the states. Like I mentioned, they brought me to the states with me and my siblings when I was five. Coming to a land of opportunity, but also not knowing the language fully, having only first and second grade education, ⁓ really, to me, that's brave. And I feel like that's the foundation for me. My father had a very strong work ethic. It was always about providing and building community and being there for each other. think we've thrived a lot in our community by, you know, supporting different families and however you can so that you can make it right to reach that American dream. so building community for me has always been very important. I saw that growing up in Santa Ana, California, and then coming to Arizona at 14. It was also how I even got to college. You know, it was my friends telling me, oh, you don't have a resume. let me help you with that. And people really taking the time to nurture the different talents and different skills that you had that I didn't even, like when I got done doing my resume with one of my best friends Rosie, I was like. Wow, I didn't even know I was that bad ass. You know, but it was like surrounding yourself with like minded individuals. I'm a strong believer that good people always find good people to do good things. And so community, that's the heart of it. And when I was at ASU, I was part of CLFSA, the Chicano Latino Faculty and Staff Association, which I later became the 50th president for. And I was chair multiple times for the Commission on the Status of Women. And so I know what a difference it makes. I mean, even when I was struggling ⁓ applying for my masters, my mind was going blank, writing my personal statements. And one of the faculty that was a member of CLFSA, she was like, I'm here to help you. And she was on sabbatical. And it was like ⁓ learning about different opportunities. It was the network. I had positions created for me because people knew me and they knew my skill set. They knew what I brought to the table and so forth. So community is everything. So even in emerging technology, it's no different. You have to surround yourself with individuals that believe in you, that see you, and you have to support each other. So community is at the heart of everything. It takes a village. Yes, absolutely. And you focus a lot on women, right? mean, women are the future, in my opinion. Mom's future. The future is female. Exactly. So what do you do for the female community just here in Phoenix? Yeah, so here I'm... immensely evolved and young and empowered. So we focus on young emerging female leaders and there's mentorship, there's professional development. So I've been part of the organization for close to five years, actually over five years. ⁓ So that's where I spend my, I would say not my free time, but a lot of dedicated time. So I really love that community. ⁓ Right now I'm bringing in a lot of programming that has to do with educating women around ⁓ blockchain, AI, digital assets. in that space for about four years and I am the founder for Women of Web3. And so we do a lot of global activations and global initiatives like with the UN that I shared with you ⁓ to elevate women that are in emerging technology, that are using this technology not only to build their brands but to create social impact and make a difference for each other. So that's what I'm working on to bring to the Valley. So we do have an event ⁓ that is part of Arizona Tech Week. It's called Web3. So please join us, if you follow me or follow women at Web3, we have our link on there, but I'm really proud to bring international and national talent to Arizona through Web3 Unlocked, and it'll be at the Univision headquarters. ⁓ Back to that question, always being there for women, whether it's local or national, but building together. So with Women Web3R Ecosystem is women from 17 different countries, a number of different industries. So it's really awesome that I get to do this amazing work. So it's an honor for me. Well, thank you as a woman. Thank you because we need to stick together especially in today's day and age Women truly are the future, you know, we have a lot of things that are presented to us that men don't ⁓ That don't get to experience right? And so us women really do need to stick together. Mm-hmm. Right. Yes Yeah, even with if you think about an emerging technology globally, just in tech alone, it's twenty eight point eight percent of women. Right. And when you think about who's an emerging tech, it's only 13 percent of women. When you think about how many women of color are in the industry, we're close to two percent. Right. So there's a big gap that needs to be filled. Even with VC funding. Yeah. I know a lot of women that are building in Web3 and blockchain and the funding is very limited. And that's only because it's one point eight percent of women. that actually get a chance to be, that get VC funding or that opportunity. I'm here to change that. Right, and you know the funniest thing about that going into statistics, 90 % of ⁓ anybody buying anything, they're mothers, they're women. And so we have such an advantage of how we can drive our society and no one's telling us that. Right, and if you think about the Latina, right? So people need to start paying attention to us if they haven't already, whether it's a global brand or an organization, right? Because not only do we make the decisions most of the time, like when I was growing up, ⁓ I was a babysitter, I was the accountant, I was like the home manager, right? So when my parents needed something, I was like, okay, well, I saw that commercial on TV and that must be a good brand. So then I would have that influence on where the money was going, right? It's no different now. That is 90%. Now it's more powerful than ever. think it was 225 billion, the Latina economy, right? I was just at the power of the purse, you know, by the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. And so, yeah, it's we are a force. We are. it's only about to get more interesting. So it's definitely important for brands and organizations to really consider us, not only in their products, but how they're empowering our community. Right. And I have a personal question. So I was raised very Latina. I'm half. you know, American half Mexican. I think I look a little bit more white on from my father's side. You have a little Latino in you, right? So what would you tell us mixed-race women who like we're not like like in my blood I know I'm Latina. Yes. But how do I get more involved in the Latina community? First and foremost, I think that you should be proud. regardless of if it's half a percent, a quarter, I know people do lot of DNA tests and all that, or 23andMe, but it's not even about... all of that percentage, right? It's more like the values. It's like, find your people. Find who you have aligned values with, who's authentic, who's genuine, where you are seen, where you have a sense of belonging, and the rest will come with it. Thriving, building relationships, ⁓ it's... As a Latina looking for that space, we have a few organizations here in the Valley. And I would say definitely connect with me. If you don't follow me, definitely follow me because I share a lot of opportunities. You know, we have Amor Amigas. We have I have a lot of my friends that are building programming into empowering you, preparing you as a business leader. You know, I have programming coming. That's going to be educational courses so that you can learn the fundamentals of blockchain and how to create your digital wallet, and learn about the digital economy. So that would be what I would say to a Latina that's looking for a space to not only feel welcome, but to set her up for success and thrive. It would be to look for those communities that you're in alignment with, ⁓ where you're going to be able to find Latinas, not only emerging leaders, but seasoned leaders that have been there before. I think it's interesting that you talk about feeling seen belonging in community and then with your company Women in Web3, you specialize in decentralized anonymous technology. How do you balance that juxtaposition of being seen in community with anonymous technology and decentralization? Because it's no different. You still want community. You still want to learn together. You want to own your own identity. You want to have ownership. of your investments. want to be able to authenticate things and not be, not have so many middlemen. You know? ⁓ I don't think that the dollar's gonna go away, ⁓ but I do think that... blockchain technology and with digital currencies, it opens up new opportunities. And I'll give you an example from Sol Falco. She's in our women of web through community. She's in Argentina during COVID or before COVID, know, she's a musician and she, then COVID happened. So she wasn't able to, ⁓ you know, perform. And then she started working at hotels and then hotels started closing up, right? But then she started learning about blockchain technology and she put her music on the blockchain. So now you're opening it to a global. audience to be able to find you without going through a major record label or whatnot and she started earning income because of that and she didn't gatekeep she turned around and started sharing with other artists on how to they could put their music on the blockchain. That's so important. Right and so it's not about being limited or so much that ⁓ it's so decentralized it's how does it empower you and what can you make of it to support your dreams and how could you be It's all about purpose, right? Making a difference. I think that's, you know, empowerment. think that's a brilliant way to look at it. Especially, you know, I'm seeing a connection. Now, you know, I'm going to ask you if that connection's real. If that connection between, ⁓ you know, being the first to do a lot of things personally, but then also, you know, another benefit of this decentralization technology, especially with the currency, is to help the non-banked and under-banked communities. You know, is there a connection between between that, I guess, minority that's being either not served or underserved? Yeah. I think for me that one of the biggest motivators ⁓ is not staying behind. Our communities are always staying behind in different industries. And so now we have an opportunity to be shaping the digital economy, to be participants in preserving our culture through blockchain. And it's also really important as like a first gen, as a trailblazer, we recognize that. And even for me, when I started in the ecosystem, it was like I... I had my own radio show called Web Tres Al Aire with La Onda here in the Valley, thanks to Laura Madrid. Congratulations. Yeah, thank you. So I did that for a year and a half, and I intentionally did it in Spanish. I did it in Spanish because, again, we are often overlooked. We often miss opportunities. And so now we have a chance with this new industry to really not only bring our values and diversity, But have success, know? Be empowered with new tools. Not be afraid of investing in a different way, right? ⁓ Not being afraid to... ⁓ incorporate AI into your work skills, right? Because workforce development, even that, there's a lot of job opportunities. So as a first gen, I recognize that. I recognize that someone has to go first. ⁓ And so ⁓ I don't have time to have fear of the technology. I invest more in learning and growing, and sometimes you have to unlearn some things. Do you see a connection between your work and web as a first gen, I recognize that. I recognize that someone has to go first. ⁓ And so ⁓ don't have time to have fear of the technology. ⁓ I invest more in learning and growing, and sometimes you have to unlearn some things. which is known for preservation and security, with this line of thinking that you just had of preserving culture, do you see a connection between those? Like you only spoke in Spanish because you're preserving the culture, right? And now you work in a technology field... designed around preservation. How did that connection kind of form? ⁓ yeah, I see a very strong connection. ⁓ The name of the event that we're having for Arizona Tech Week, it's purposely called Web3 Unlocked because we're unlocking things about blockchain, but it's the legacy edition. And so this legacy edition is touching on different aspects of not only the education, but financial sovereignty. It's talking about how our voice matters, especially in shaping a new industry. And so also like our art should live on the blockchain, right? The... our culture should be on the blockchain, right? Some of the women that I have in my community, they even curate online exhibits of things that their country doesn't own, but it's in European hands, right? And so they're putting and authenticating these artifacts on the blockchain. And so it's very important. It's very important, not only, again, financial sovereignty is one of them, but we get to be part of an ecosystem and we get to be to preserve our stories. For Women on Web3, had, ⁓ so we run UN initiatives every year. We're going into our fourth year. And we feature 17 women at the UN Science Summit. And we, last year, put our speech on... an inscription on Bitcoin. ⁓ all of these voices are forever inscripted on the blockchain. That's amazing. And it gives me the chills every time I think about it because it's again women from all over the world, different industries from music to fashion to fintech to real estate to women that are tokenizing, you know, different assets to women leading PR and digital innovative marketing firms. that are part of Women on Web3. So yeah, I think it's super special. I'm a proud Mexican. So I'm like, wow, I'm a Latina, first gen. First gen my family to do a lot of different things. But then it hit me like, ⁓ my gosh, like my speech, my words, my thoughts, my message to other young girls that could see themselves in me is forever on a Bitcoin. Congratulations, that's so cool. And I see the passion in you when you speak of these things. So you can tell that you care, right? You don't want to just do something for the paycheck or for, you know, the hype of it. You're doing it because you care and you want to make a difference. You want to make an impact in your community. And that's a strong woman. Like that's, know, because being a woman is hard as I keep saying. But you're also like dealing with the competition of women, right? And we need to end that. We need to end that competition and just be one. Like what you do with Bitcoin, you marked unity forever in women, in Latina women. Can I Yeah, see I got the chills again. Because sometimes I, even when I did my first UN session, someone asked me like... Don't you get nervous? You already had visible roles at ASU. You already had a radio show. You're working with Jarritos, the legendary Mexican soft drink, which we haven't touched on. So I had the privilege of working with them and being their Web3 ambassador. Being their voice on Twitter. Being the main faces pretty much of the project with our holders that were part of the... And people that love just the Mexican culture, right? So we brought culture on the blockchain, talking about how important that And so doing all of that, people ask me, how do you do it? Do you get scared? And I'm like, I don't have time to be scared. Well, to be fair, the UN's a big game. It ⁓ would be understandable. You'd say it in passing, you were like, the UN, ⁓ wow. I guess the way I think about it is, yes, I understand being under the UN emblem is a big deal. But I also understand that the women on the other side of that, because we had to stream it live. They're real, they're first gen, they work hard, they are from different industries, they're also trailblazers in their own right, they are accomplished, they deserve to be seen. And so rather than being intimidated by, oh it's the UN, for me it's the opposite. It's like my friend is a baddie, and she deserves to be seen. My friend is building a real token, she's fractional, creating fractionalized ownership opportunities for her community, for her country in Argentina, right? And the rest of the world. So to me is like, you need to tell your story, you know? And I see you have a copy of our Women in the Wet Threes Space, Inclusive Futures. And so it's more of that. It's like creating the stages for these narratives to be shared so that one, we demystify the fears that people have of entering the ecosystem or even learning about. rather putting real world use with these cases and faces to what's happening. Yeah, well, and you said that someone has to do it first. Yeah. Somebody has to kind of do it first and it's you. You ever just sit there and just be like, holy crap, it's me. Yeah. You're like pinch me moments. yes, I, yeah. The UN was one of them. ⁓ When I met Laura Madrid, to talk about what I was doing in Web3 in my early beginnings, ⁓ being in my first business NFT project and going to lunch with her to share, to learn about her because she's the first Latina to own her own radio station in Arizona, right? And I'm meeting her for lunch and I'm so like ecstatic to learn more about her story. And she flipped it on me. Instead, she was like, I want to learn about you and what you're doing and why you're doing it. Long story short, I walked out of that lunch meeting with my own radio show. Right. And so I had Webdresa Laire for a year and a half, thanks to Laura. But I... cried. Of course. I cried, I cried when I walked out of my car and I called one of my best friends and I'm like, ⁓ my gosh, I just landed a radio show. And I even told her, like, and I even tried to get a co-host. And Laura was like, nope, you're doing this by yourself. You got this. You will figure it out. there was no instructions. I had dreamt of one day having my radio show when I was little. But then it's like, I had to be responsible for everything, the marketing, the programming, the guest, and I featured guests all over the world. that spoke Spanish that were utilizing the technology in their industry. And so it was really awesome and fascinating. But I would say that was one of those pinch me moments where sometimes we think we don't think enough of ourselves, but other people see us. So I'm curious. ⁓ A word that you've said a lot was sovereignty and you talk a lot about independence. Where does that value come from? I would say it comes from my roots. It comes from my roots because we have to, as a Latina, as a Mexicana, as an immigrant, we have to unlearn things. You know, there's a lot of limiting beliefs that we have to overcome and they're invisible barriers that people don't see. So as I was navigating my career at Arizona State University and various leadership positions, it was, you know, really connecting with others that had been there before that it's not like they became professors, the first professors in their families or the first directors, the first, you know, Jen in in different roles. Right. And so it's we have to become independent. We have to have that discernment. We can't always follow what everybody else is telling us to do. We have to build our own path, you know, and it comes with being aligned, like I said earlier, with people that have your values, that have integrity, that really ⁓ are making a difference, or whatever your purpose is, right? But it's more, ⁓ we have to welcome being independent and having that sovereignty because that's how we become who we're meant to be. So I'm curious what was the jump from academia to entrepreneurship like A lot of, when I was growing up, it's like you see your parents work the nine to five. And for me, my parents didn't have benefits. you know, and then they would get over look for promotions or things like that. And then I was as I was in my different careers, I saw that happening also, not not the benefits because ASU has a lot of great benefits. ⁓ But I saw I saw that that we struggle really entering into new areas unless we know someone unless you have to be very intentional with your education. have to educate yourself and all of that. But I think it's it's very important to be able to navigate things ⁓ and just immerse yourself in into new things and but really surround yourself with the right people. So, you know, you talk about unlearning, you talk about self-education. What does your self-investment look like? For me, It has changed through my trajectory. So as a higher ed professional, I wanted to be a dean. So it was like... Dean Martina. I see it. see it. I'm go back to ASCO. But it was really like... So I am a big dreamer. I always have been. And sometimes I didn't feel normal because I was like... I'm not meant to work a nine to five. Hold on, let's stay on that. I totally get it. I feel like I'm unemployable. Yeah, for sure. That's a good thing. That's a good thing. When you felt weird, what do you mean by that? Because my parents work nine to five. My cousins, my older cousins work nine to five. know, everybody that I knew was working nine to five. But then as I entered ASU, you know, and I'm moving up in the ladder, right? I was like, some of my, peers had side hustles, you know, and then it got better, you know, or like I was even within my network, you know, I was meeting people that were like, they had different sources of income. had an LLC for this, an LLC for that. And I was like, like it just opened my eyes and even more entering into web three, you know, with Jarritos, was like my first big ⁓ consultant job, right? And it was like, okay, you know, like, I could take another one, you know, like these are the hours I can dedicate. And so it's changing that. mind shift that there's more opportunity and more possibility. So I was very intentional in my professional development because I wanted to be a dean. I was very intentional even like in my early years at ASU, like we had the tuition waiver. And so I took advantage of that for my master, for my bachelor's and my master's. But I was intentional in where I spend my free time. I was intentional in the skills I was building, like public speaking, like learning how the university operated. And then I was, so I say now that it's important to dream big, but intentionally. So your self investment was an intentional investment of your time and energy and collecting experiences. Yeah. I'm hearing you right. And getting my education. And getting your education. that was pivotal. What is your favorite flavor of Haritos? ⁓ my gosh. Great question. So you know that this is a great question because out of all of the executives that we would interview, so I hosted all of the Jarritos Twitter spaces, that was always my question. So I'm Team Mandarin. Yeah. Yes. Green apple over here. Green apple. Yeah, so I, yeah, ⁓ it's interesting because you know one time we had a Trader Space ⁓ with Fox Deportes because they also launched an NFT. Okay. And so we were supporting their project and I... I get a call later, ⁓ you should have told us you were gonna ask that question. And then we did a women empowerment event and then so we had a lot of executive women come and talk about career development and I also asked them and one of them was like, I don't even know all the flavors like, you know, so but I would always ask that question. So I am team Mandarin hands down and the only reason why I wore a green suit and our biggest activation during Miami Art Week was because I could not get the orange one in on time. ⁓ no. Well, to be fair, Haritos is a lot like Gatorade where people may not know the name, but they're like, I got the color. The green one, the yellow one. Okay. She might be Team Mandarin. Oh, that's awesome. They're all good. They're all very good. Yeah, tried them all, but I think for me it takes me back to my roots. my grandfather had a little store back in a ranchito, Piedra Gorda, in Zacatecas, Mexico. so I just, I just, that's my... My memorable time with my grandfather was drinking a jarritos with him and it was Mandarin jarritos. So my jarritos memory was, know, being a white Canadian boy in Michigan. Yeah, say it again for me. Say it again. Jarritos? That's really good. That's as close as I could get. But ⁓ there was a Big Ten burrito was the name of the restaurant. Big Ten in Ann Arbor. it was on the way home and it was the only place I'd been to that sold. Jarritos, believe it or not, it's not all over Michigan. When I remember thinking like, yo, this is so much better than this other soda. And it was just always there in hot summer days, Mandarin for sure. Mandarin. Yeah. That's amazing. I'm curious what you're curious about. You know, there's a lot to be learned in the ecosystem, even if you start now in emerging technology and learning about blockchain and digital assets and all of digital currency. So for me, I'm just curious more on learning the dynamics of the investing side. know, I know, I mean, I'm an investor, I have digital currency, I won't name which one I have. ⁓ But it's really immersing myself more into that landscape so I'm ready for what's more to come. And so whoever starts learning right now, like you're not late, we're early. Yeah, that's good to know. Even if you started today, you're still early. Absolutely, yeah. And so... A question that we ask everyone on Extraordinary Stories. And you've already given so much good advice, but if there was one piece of advice that you could give to our listeners that would help them live more extraordinarily today, what would it be? I would say, find your people. Because as we talked about earlier, it's really making sure that you surround yourself with people that see you, that believe in you, that build you up. Because we forget, you know, we forget how extraordinary we are. also, you know, with you surrounding yourself with a great network and being involved in your community and giving back, it comes back. I'm a woman of faith. And so for me, also, you know, finding your people means that. I talked about not feeling normal dreaming big, right? And so I have been very blessed in finding people that are like me, that they're first gen, they're entrepreneurs, they're breaking barriers, but they also have that love for Heavenly Father. And so ⁓ for me that's important and it's a game changer because you can have your most difficult, hard day right ⁓ But then someone comes in and is like, remember you did that? Like remember, like, you know, I just had a conversation before even coming here. And it was like, my friends like, look Sandy and this and this is possible. And so it's like, when you forget who you are, you have your tribe that not only will pray for you, but they will open doors for you. They will speak your names in rooms of opportunity. And they will definitely remind you and pull your hair when you're bad. and celebrate you ⁓ when it's needed. I would say, yeah, that's at the core of it for me. Find your people. Find your people. You can read more about Sandy Martinez and Women of Web 3 at joinextraordinary.com. That's J-O-I-N-E-X-T-R-A-O-R-D-I-N-A-R-Y.com. At Join Extraordinary on all our socials. I'm Forbes Shannon. I'm Christine Butler. I'm Sandy Martinez. And we will see you next time.