Interview Notes: Veronica Torres and the Hey Chica Movement

Overview

• Transcript centers on a Spotlight Wednesday segment featuring Veronica Torres, founder of Hey Chica, a movement/brand focused on Latina empowerment, collaboration, and leadership. The host acknowledges a miscommunication about bringing a live speaker and instead shares a YouTube interview clip of Veronica followed by a Q&A-style reflection. The discussion blends entrepreneurship, community building, self-care, and advocacy, with emphasis on inclusivity and intergenerational impact.
• The session also introduces the Billmaker series registration logistics and opportunities for extra credit through Canvas. The broader aim is to showcase real-world entrepreneurship, leadership, and coalition-building in a diverse community context.

Key people and roles

• Veronica Torres — founder of Hey Chica Movement, multi-passionate entrepreneur in Dallas. Emphasizes sisterhood, collaboration, and progressive leadership.
• Host (class/teacher) — intro notes about inviting guests, reflections on entrepreneurship ethics, and tying the interview to course content.
• La Heifa / Veronica Torres (in-set) — presented as the guest interview in this segment; recognized as the founder of the Hey Chica Summit and movement.
• The host also mentions partners and related initiatives (Avida cosign, Know Me Grow movement).

Hey Chica: origin, name, and philosophy

• Hey Chica translates as an inclusive, sister-to-sister invitation. The name originates from a Jay Z lyric concept (“Hey, let me put you in the game”) adapted to Spanish by using Chica to signal Latina identity and universal sisterhood.
• The “No Mean Girl” movement emerged as a self-check and cultural shift toward collaboration, not competition. Veronica explains that the phrase started as an internal accountability practice and expanded to a public ethos.
• Core philosophy: leadership, self-respect, and communal advancement. The movement promotes the idea that progress is achieved by lifting others, not by individual advancement alone.
• The movement emphasizes accessibility and inclusivity — “Afro-Latina” and other identities within the Latina/o+x community should see themselves represented and included.

The gap Veronica saw and the need she filled

• She entered corporate America, attended many elite events, and noticed a lack of representation for Latinas at leadership tables and in prominent summits (noted gaps in Dallas’ event landscape).
• Realization: “What is this?” when events lack representation; the need for an inclusive space where “the homies” can reach the top together.
• The motivation was personal as well as communal: after experiencing hardship (she references losing a child), she sought purpose aligned with community needs to create lasting progress for Latina women.
• Outcome: a curriculum-driven initiative built from authentic intention, not ego. Veronica emphasizes that the movement belongs to the people who benefit from it, not to her personally.

The three platforms of the Know Me Grow/Hey Chica ecosystem

• Leadership platform: guidance on personal and professional leadership, with emphasis on not being mean to yourself and maintaining integrity.
• Self-care platform: embodied in a yoga/fitness lens (Veronica and her husband run a fitness and wellness business; a yoga studio is referenced). Self-care is framed as essential to sustainable leadership and community impact.
• Advocacy platform: Don’t Be Mean To Your Community — targeted at civic engagement and issues that affect the community (timed with election cycles; includes education around money, investment, and policy).
• Made Latino program: expands leadership opportunities to Latino men, encouraging accountability, collaboration, and breaking machismo. This broadens the movement beyond women to broader community leadership.
• The summit cadence includes a Summer Self-Care summit (July) and an Advocacy summit (October), aligning with the calendar and political cycles.

Event format and ongoing engagement

• The Hey Chica Summit serves as the flagship event, with ongoing collaboration and programming year to year.
• The movement emphasizes collaboration over competition, aiming to create a “family” atmosphere at conferences and events.
• Veronica highlights the importance of intention, authenticity, and building with the right people to generate scalable impact.
• The interview mentions that the movement extends to schools (high schools and junior high) to instill self-love and anti-bullying messages among young girls.

Verónica Torres: personal narrative and future vision

• Personal arc: From corporate roles to founding Hey Chica; the name reflects a shared sisterhood and a broader mission beyond Latina identity.
• Core message: progress through collaboration, integrity, and authentic purpose; self-checks (to avoid “mean girl” behaviors) are essential for personal and communal growth.
• Future plans: a book in progress with a target of completing a substantial word count (Veronica mentions writing about $40{,}000$ words in a four-month window). The book is framed as a lever to accelerate the movement’s impact.
• Long-term impact: Hey Chica aims to be an enduring, inclusive movement that supports Latinas across generations and geographies, bridging gaps between communities (e.g., Afro-Latina and broader Latinx identities) and creating sustainable leadership pipelines.
• Authenticity vs. social-media hype: emphasis on meaningful progress over chasing trends or optics; the brand is about real-world outcomes and community uplift.

Veronica’s business portfolio and enterprises

• Personal/business portfolio (co-founded with husband):
  • Fitness and wellness management, including a yoga studio: b twelve Yoga.
  • 12,000 square-foot gym project in Redbird (Dallas area) for fitness, wellness, and community programming: $12{,}000\ ext{ft}^2$
  • Additional facility expansion in Oakland (location not specified in detail).
  • Boxing, MMA, and fighting promotions in Fort Worth and Dallas.
  • Corporate wellness programs through a company named Workplace Fit Co (mindfulness, health initiatives in workplaces).
• Connective philosophy: health of mind, body, and spirit is foundational to wealth and leadership; “Wealth is health is wealth.”
• How to connect online: Hey Chica Movement; Healthy Latina Lifestyle; b twelve Yoga; Workplace Fit Co. Veronica uses multiple channels to share content and reach audiences.

Learnings and takeaways for viewers/students

• Representation matters: lack of Latina presence in leadership spaces motivated a transformative movement.
• Intentional leadership vs. performative branding: authentic purpose drives growth more than chasing trends or social-media metrics.
• Self-care as leadership: integrating yoga/fitness into entrepreneurship supports sustainable performance.
• Coalition-building over competition: real progress arises from collaboration across communities and genders, not siloed efforts.
• Inclusivity and intersectionality: the Hey Chica framework aims to be inclusive (Afro-Latina, various cultural nuances) and adaptable to different communities.
• Real-world entrepreneurship is accessible: Veronica emphasizes that a great idea, a clear mission, and hard work can create major impact even without massive initial capital.
• Ethical dimensions of leadership: the host notes the importance of ethics in entrepreneurship; authenticity and integrity are essential for trust and long-term success.

Ethical, philosophical, and practical implications

• Ethics: Leading with heart and integrity; avoiding ego; prioritizing community benefit over personal gain.
• Inclusion and equity: Combating representation gaps invites broader coalition-building and reduces exclusionary practices.
• Power dynamics and responsibility: The speaker reflects on the responsibility that comes with being a role model and the need to open doors for others.
• Self-awareness and accountability: The No Mean Girl concept functions as a personal and peer accountability mechanism that fosters a healthier culture.
• Practical strategy: Build a curriculum, write a book, and create structured programs (leadership, self-care, advocacy) to systematize impact and scale responsibly.
• Real-world relevance: The ideas apply to student projects, community organizing, and corporate initiatives seeking to empower underrepresented groups while aligning with ethical principles.

Reflection prompts for students

• Why is representation in leadership spaces important for community progress?
• How can authenticity and intention shape the long-term success of a social enterprise?
• In what ways can self-care integrate with entrepreneurship to sustain impact?
• What are the benefits and challenges of expanding leadership initiatives to include men (as with Made Latino)?
• How can we design programs that respect cultural nuances and embrace intersectionality within a broader movement?

How to connect and get involved

• Follow Hey Chica Movement on social media for events, workshops, and updates.
• Explore related resources: Healthy Latina Lifestyle, b twelve Yoga, Workplace Fit Co for wellness and corporate programming.
• Look for upcoming events: July Self-Care Summit, October Advocacy Summit, and the broader Hey Chica leadership initiatives.
• If you’re not local to Dallas, seek virtual opportunities and partnerships to replicate the model in your own communities.

Host reflections from the segment

• The host valued seeing Veronica’s leadership as a practical example of coalition-building, cross-cultural leadership, and sustainable entrepreneurship.
• Two reasons for sharing the video: (1) to highlight self-care and women supporting women as a core ethic; (2) to show multiple perspectives on entrepreneurship, leadership, and inclusion, reinforcing the course’s emphasis on ethics, management, and nonprofit leadership.
• The host notes the importance of approaching entrepreneurship with humility, continual learning, and willingness to collaborate with people who bring different perspectives to the table.

Summary takeaway

• Veronica Torres demonstrates how authentic intention, inclusive leadership, and structured programs can create a scalable, lasting movement that empowers Latinas and beyond. The Hey Chica framework – Leadership, Self-C care, and Advocacy – plus inclusive initiatives like Made Latino – provides a blueprint for community-centered entrepreneurship and ethical leadership that prioritizes collaboration and real-world impact over ego-driven success.