We had the good fortune of connecting with Laura Adriana Soto-Ruvalcaba and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Laura Adriana, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Starting my own business is directly related to my experience of growing-up an immigrant in the U.S. with big dreams, strong entrepreneurial spirit and amazing examples of resilience from my parents. It is also related to my personal calling of being a community organizer and cultural broker working for our collective healing by means of creating bridges of understanding that are very needed to heal community divides. As a DACA recipient born in Chihuahua, Mexico and raised bi-cultural in the U.S. I have always engaged in community activism for social justice from a very young age to uplift the disparities found in my local community. Today I carry 20+ years experience working in advocacy for underrepresented groups. This experience has afforded me the expertise I now offer as communications specialist through my business BridgingCommunication.org

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
My services center a lens of healing through understanding our shared humanity as the axis that interconnects us while addressing issues of systemic oppression and offering customized solutions to practice anti-racist principles for organizations. My years of community organizing, living through the experiences that the impacted community confronts on a daily and collaborating with various government offices and organizations to bridge solutions whether it be through moderating just dialogue circles, facilitating equitable discussion forums, offering professional English/Spanish interpretation and translation, delivering training on Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (JEDI+B) concepts, supporting with a keynote address, or artistic presentations that connect directly to the heart is what make my services unique. I have built my small business as I have continued to work full-time and volunteer in service to my community be as immigration paralegal, cultural broker, community organizer, case manager, resource navigator, bilingual independent living advisor for people with disabilities or administrator of non-profits. As a member of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, I have helped facilitate dialog with Colorado State Representatives, the Boulder County Sheriff, District Attorney and other policy makers to defend equal protections for undocumented immigrants under Colorado law; as a member of the Latinx Advisory Committee to Congressman Joe Neguse, I have been a strong voice in a cohort of Latinx Coloradan leaders that bring-up issues of concern in all of Colorado for the congressman Neguse to address at the National level, and as a member of Parents Involved in Education, I have supported Latinx leaders in the Boulder County working in various positions of public services come together to bridge the education and opportunity gap for local Latinx families in the SVVSD. Additionally, I have co-founded local grassroots organizations Voces Unidas of Boulder County and Colectivo Cultura. My brand is rooted in the collective experiences of immigrants, Latinxs and allies working together to build a brighter future for all our children!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would take them to visit all the little towns in Boulder County to attend cultural and artistic events, then take them to visit our beautiful parks in the Rocky mountain national forest to experience the healing that comes from communing with nature and truly connecting to community.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to give a shout-out to all the community partners, elders and mentors who have helped build-up my confidence in my trade by offering me a platform for growth and exposure by contracting me over the years, including: SVVSD Parents Involved in Education (PIE) Taskforce, the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition (CIRC), Boulder County Government Cultural Broker Resilience program, El Centro AMISTAD, Motus Theater, Latino Community Foundation of Colorado, Philanthropiece Foundation, Community Foundation of boulder County, City of Longmont, City of Lafayette, City of Boulder, Colorado Department of Education’s Migrant Youth Leadership Institute and CO-ALAS, Noche de Peña, Tonos Latinos, Dairy Center for the Arts, Longmont Museum, Latino Advocacy Day, Varrios Voices, Colorado Alliance of Latino Mentors and Authors and Lighthouse Writers Workshop. I stand on the shoulders of my elders and trailblazers that have pathed the way for new generations of BIPOC leaders like myself to open the way even wider for those to come!

Website: https://bridgingcommunication.org/about-page/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sotolaura/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bridgingcommunication

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbkiQGNaU0yMaCE9pYB2Qzw

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutColorado is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.