Tennessee Voices, Episode 273: José González, co-founder, Conexión Américas
Conexión Américas was an idea that started with some notes written on the back of a pizza box.
The 2000 Census showed rapid growth of the Latino community in Nashville and across Tennessee, yet services specific to this population were not widely available.
In 2002, Renata Soto, María Clara Mejía and José González founded the nonprofit organization that has served thousands of Latino families with educational, entrepreneurship and leadership programs in addition to assisting with basic needs.
González was the last of the co-founders to remain on staff until recently when he announced his departure, as finance director.
On this episode of the Tennessee Voices video podcast, González talked about what he calls his "most professionally and personally rewarding" life experience.
He reminisced about the co-founders wanting the organization to become a voice for the community and an avenue for economic, social and civic integration. He also talked about the hard-won battles such as the defeat of the 2009 English-only referendum and the sobering losses, including the failed effort to pass tuition equality of undocumented immigrants at the Tennessee General Assembly in 2015.
During his 20 years at Conexión Américas, González earned his doctorate, and he continues to work as a business professor at Belmont University.
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About Tennessee Voices
The Tennessee Voices videocast is a 20-minute program, which started in March 2020 and invites leaders, thinkers and innovators who have written guest columns for a USA TODAY Network Tennessee publication to share their insights and wisdom with me and our viewers.
Please email your ideas for future guests to me at dplazas@tennessean.com. Thank you for watching.
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David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee and an editorial board member of The Tennessean. Tweet to him at @davidplazas.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Voices: 20 years at Conexión Américas with José González
