Today we’d like to introduce you to Heather Bravo Martinez.
Hi Heather, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I was born and raised around a family that was primarily Law Enforcement, my mom was a Human Resource Director for a local trucking company. I grew up with a family who were very detailed and took pride in their chosen profession. When I was a child my family believed it was important for us to work in the fields during harvest would place a strong work ethic in us, and we worked on both family farms and those owned by friends.
From a young age, I watched my mom promote into her Human Resource positions and watch the work that she had conducted. I originally had started my educational path in Law but determined that due to my family, I would have a hard path to follow.
I found a position with a locally family-owned company, that conducted Medical Transcription, Billing, and Coding for medical facilities. The owner had a background in Human Resources and asked me if I would be interested in being groomed. I took the offer, as I enjoyed working with people and problem-solving. I will share that I carried several jobs at once to gain experience in different avenues. I worked for a staffing agency to learn full-cycle recruitment, retail jobs, in addition, to doing side gigs.
I moved up the ladder, HR Receptionist, HR Assistant, and in 2014 I received the opportunity to accept the title of HR Generalist with a fortune 500 company. I did not realize how this was going to change my path in my career. I was allowed to take the lead on many projects, such as implanting a timekeeping system, and creating the training plan for employees and managers. This is what craved my path of success and movement. I then within the years moved into food manufacturing as an HR Manager, and that is what has moved me into the position I am currently in as a Human Resource Business Partner at Delicato Family Wines.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
This process has been a long hard road, and my journey was not the typical path that most have taken into this industry. No, one ever wakes up as a child and says “Mami or Daddy, I want to be a Human Resource Professional.” Or “I want to develop others to their path of success.”
We are program to think of ourselves and our success. I was born into a family where both sides of my family had struggles. I come from two very strong-willed individuals. My family ran vineyards in Livingston, California they all at some point of their lives worked in the fields. I was no exception.
My father, within his own right, has had massive success in his law enforcement career. I was groomed by my family for success, and that there was not a reason where I should fall and fail. Failing was not and still to this day is not an option. I was reminded that we have a strong history within California where some of our family held higher positions successfully in their own rights.
I will admit that I have massive anxiety when it comes to taking test or when speaking with people or in a group presenting. Growing up there is no reason or need for anxiety, it was not something that you discussed. I had to self-learn how to deal with this aspect of my life. As I started self-educating myself, I learned that many people and/or doctors want to mask this with prescriptions. I am not one for using things that are not natural. I started learning about herbs and breathing exercises that would help. I also found for me working out and listening to music, and journaling helped with this issue.
When conducting an interview or a group presentation, I have found if I practice the tone of voice, facial expressions, and body movement along with the speech it helps when I am in front of people. I then feel prepared and in control. I found what causes my anxiety is the fact that I have to be able to control my environment.
I do not have the ability to shut down and relax and break away from the world of work, or projects that I am part of. I strive to be the best and take on more task. I had to learn that you can only do so much with the time you have available throughout the day. I have found that I have to schedule downtime for me, I schedule out my lunch hour, breaks, and vacation days in advance. By conducting this process, it pushes me to meet that demand.
I found that if I have a person who can be audience or venting board, to provide suggestions to what I am doing it helps relieve my stress. This person for me is my dad, he is my rock and what keeps me ground, and on track. I find that when you know someone who has had massive success in their career that it is good to listen to them about what worked and did not work.
I will say that the one thing that I was not ready for, and no one would be ready for is, being in my early thirties with a five-year-old losing five family members within a two-year period, yet alone a week period. I went from losing my mom on a Sunday to cancer, to losing my dad’s mom the following Sunday to cancer.
I was terrified and scared that I would be the next to die and leave my daughter without a woman in her life. In my middle 40’s I found my voice and my passion. I found that I am also strong-willed and can strive anything and that I am allowed to set boundaries and determine who and what is worthy of my time.
Being one of thirty-one women co-authoring Boss Latina, sharing our trials and tribulations that lead us to our success helped held all those fears and empowered me. I was able to realize that I choose how much of myself I am willing to compromise because at the end of the day I need to give to myself before I give to others. I found that I am good at fixing people’s issues, developing people into the next phase of their career, and helping build their self-confidence.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a Human Resource Professional, who has been in the industry for 20-plus years. I will say that I have moved up into different positions, which has placed me in the position of Human Resource Business Partner that I hold currently. Human Resources is not for everyone, I can honestly say it is not for the faint of heart.
There is long hours, hard discussions, and decisions that can and will affect other people’s lively hood and work life. There are days are you witness wins and days that you feel like it will never end. The position is a thankless one, and anyone seeking to go into this industry needs to be able to have a coping concept to help them at the end of the day. You will see many Human Resource professionals who work out a lot, or who have activities that help them detach and reset themselves.
I enjoy the employee relations aspect of the HR field. I like taking the concerns and/or issues and trying to figure out what the root cause is and how we can fix the problem or concern in a way that would be beneficial for the company and the employee.
For me, I like walking into a company, with the vision that I know HR and I understand laws and regulations, but that I do not know the business. I pride myself on being able to create professional working relationships with the heads of my client groups, but also with the employees. I take the opportunity to walk the floors of the facility, to shadow the workers to understand the task that they conduct daily. When you build relationships with people, they get to know who you are and what you stand for.
I am proud of several things, first being the fact that I have the reputation of being fair, and direct, and honest with people. When I am conducting an investigation or meeting with people because of a performance or behavior issue, I provide them with the opportunity to voice their side of the story. I will use the verbiage that my Executive Vice President uses I show them “Grace” when needed. I have found that people want to be heard, and even when they realize that they have done something wrong, they just want to be heard. When you provide people the opportunity to be heard, they are willing to accept the ramifications of their actions.
I also have the ability of building communication bridges where they have been broken rather it is between teammates and/or departments. I have learned that when communication breaks down that is what causes the issues within any relationship. Therefore, when you have this happening, you start with small objectives, and gestures, it opens the doors for communication to start. I am a believer that food and sitting together and having a meal together helps build those relationships.
I believe that my view of how to build the trust and respect as well as working relationships is what makes me different and effective within my industry.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
My family is very tied to Southern California, I try to get back at least two to three times a year. My family is from San Deigo and Santa Barbara area. What I love about San Deigo, is the fact that there is so much history there. The old town San Diego has stayed true to what it looked like back in the days and there are such neat shops and places to eat. I feel like I have walked back in time when I am walking old town San Deigo and seeing family I have not seen for years.
My husband and daughter and I love going to a great Mexican restaurant and have great food. People are so friendly and welcoming in San Deigo and you want to be there. I love the fact that the new and old structures have been incorporated so well. The food scene is blowing up and I personally am a foodie and love to see different foods coming in.
I think the only thing that I dislike is the fact that it has gotten so packed and congested traffic-wise. I hope that people see the beauty and history that there is in San Diego and that it is not lost as we move into the future.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boss209latina
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com//profile.php?id=100086995547536
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUU12YbZxhOZK1r3L4QdOig
Image Credits
Stephanie Guardino Rodrigez
Heather Bravo-Martinez
