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A Latina Trailblazer
An Advocate to
Remember
Sara Del Carmen Jofre
Gonzalez
She
was a dynamic friend,
mother, grandmother,
leader, role model, and
an ambitious
entrepreneur. Her name
is Sara Del Carmen Jofre
Gonzalez, whom many knew
as Sara Gonzalez.
To remember the life and
career of Gonzalez, who
passed away from a heart
attack on February 18,
2008 at the age of 72
will cause some to think
of Sara just like her
daughter Isabel Gonzalez
does, a hero. “Hero as a
mom who sacrificed so
much for her kids, hero
to the community for
making dreams come true
for so many, and a hero
to anyone who feels they
can do whatever they put
their mind to,” she says.
“She epitomizes the
American dream.”
She was a courageous
woman who arrived in the
United States as a
refugee from Cuba, was a
model in New York City,
a restaurateur in
Atlanta, a receptionist
at a Hispanic
Organization, and became
the president and CEO of
the Georgia Hispanic
Chamber of Commerce
(GHCC) |
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Gonzalez, born to
Ricardo Jofre and
Cecilia Rodriguez Jofre
in Havana, fled from her
native Cuba in 1960 in
search of freedom. Upon
arriving on U.S. shores,
Gonzalez, along with her
two children and a
suitcase made her way to
one of the busiest
cities of the world –
New York City. There,
she became a model for
Saks Fifth Avenue, then
moved to Miami, North
Carolina, and Boston,
ultimately landing in
Atlanta in 1975.
Three years later, in
1978, Gonzalez opened a
Cuban café, which had to
be shut down after eight
years of struggling with
the business. Soon after,
she worked as a
receptionist at the
Latin American
Association.
She ventured on a
journey that eventually
allowed her to achieve
more than she imagined,
advancing to various
high-end positions. Her
passion, unwavering
commitment of supporting
the Hispanic community
and businesses in the
Atlanta area caught the
attention of many,
leading her to a path of
initiating a leadership
role.
In
1996, Gonzalez was hired
by the International
Olympic Committee to
head the Hispanic
Community Relations
during the Olympics.
That same year, she was
named president and CEO
at the Georgia Hispanic
Chamber of Commerce (GHCC).
Today, according to GHCC,
under Gonzalez’
leadership, the number
of endowments and
membership grew from 172
in 1996 to nearly 1,500
in 2007, an
accomplishment for the
betterment of the
Hispanic community.
In
2001, the Chamber along
with Gonzalez’ strong
leadership launched a
business incubator
program, the Hispanic
American Center for
Economic Development
(HACED), which provides
training, and workshops
for the advancement and
growth of Hispanic
business in Atlanta. “I
come here everyday to
try to help the Latino
community.” Gonzalez
says in her 2007 Purpose
Prize interview. “I see
our organization mainly
as a bridge between the
Latino community and
corporate America.
Through our small
business incubator we
try to address the
individual needs to
whoever comes to us.”
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The
Gonzalez
Family |
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Throughout her
life, Gonzalez
dedicated her
life in helping
others, and
certainly three
words is not
enough to
describe her,
but her daughter
has narrowed it
to: “Loving,
compassionate,
and devoted.” As
told by her
daughter, she
supported many
by providing
them the
necessary
resources to
move forward,
equip them with
tools to succeed,
and give a voice
to those who
don’t have a
voice. Most
important, she
realized her
work with
“optimism, charm,
grace, and
ingenuity,” says
her daughter
Isabel. “She was
exceedingly
creative in her
approaches to
problems. She
always said, ‘If
you bring the
monkey, you
better bring the
banana.’”
Not only did she
represent the
Hispanic
community at the
Chamber, but
also represented
them in many
other
organizations
such as the:
Argentine-American
Chamber of
Commerce,
Dominican-American
Chamber of
Commerce,
Ecuadorian-American
Chamber of
Commerce Georgia
Governor Sonny
Perdue appointed
González to
Hemisphere
Inc.’s board of
directors and
the Latino
Commission for a
New Georgia. She
also represented
the Hispanic
business
community on
several boards
of directors:
Junior
Achievement of
Georgia, Atlanta
Stakeholder’s
Committee,
Atlanta Police
Foundation Vote
America. |
In
2007, Gonzalez received
the Purpose Prize Award.
She was selected from
among 1000 nominees to
win a $10,000 Purpose
Prize as president and
CEO for GHCC. She was
featured in Georgia
Trend magazine’s
“Notable Georgians” list,
appeared in Atlanta
Magazine’s “Georgia’s
Most Powerful and
Influential Women” list,
was frequently named one
of the “100 Most
Influential Atlantans”
by the Atlanta Business
Chronicle, and was
recently featured in the
Wall Street Journal, to
name a few.
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Many women,
especially
Latinas, admire
Gonzalez’
dedication,
commitment and
passion to her
work, consider
her a Latina
leading role
model. According
to Isabel, the
advice that her
mother would
give to these
Latinas is: “Be
true to yourself
and your passion
and the right
path will
present itself,”
she says. “You
must of course
work hard, but
know that no
obstacle is too
big. There is
always, always,
always a way
around, over or
through it.
She’d also say,
‘don’t let the
turkeys get you
down.’”
“I was always
immensely proud
of her, still am,”
says Isabel.
“She is a badass.
I told her that
many times over,
though she was
very humble
about her
accomplishments,
she had rough
moments in life
but she made
mojitos from
those lemons
life passed out.
I am so, so, so
glad she made
positive change
in the community
and made
positive change
for others and
hope that others
take her
compassion,
kindness, wisdom
and generosity
and spread that
love. She’d want
nothing more
than for us to
be unified in
opening doors
and creating
opportunities
for each other.”
Her legacy will
live on for many
who knew her
today forever.
“She was and her
legacy continues
to be a great
role model,”
says her
daughter. “She
tackled
incredibly
difficult and
complicated
socio-political-economic
issues with
intelligence,
grace, and style
without ever
compromising her
passion and
ferocity, which
she delivered
with aplomb and
diplomacy.”
Sara is survived
by her three
children: Luis,
Ofelia and
Isabel, her
grandchildren,
Paulina and Erik,
and her son-in-law,
Lang Whitaker. |
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Sara (right)
along
her
daughter
Isabel |
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By Gloria Romano
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