Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce
Brilliant Emerging Leader
Yadira Garza-Malone is the daughter of two immigrant parents and mother to her 6-year-old son, Kamil. Yadira lives by the values instilled by her parents: work hard even if no one is watching, honor your family, value education, take pride in your roots and be authentic. Yadira started her professional career as a banker and was driven to support small businesses. It is her passion and performance that led to an opportunity to work at the Grand Rapids Chamber, where she started as a Membership Engagement Manager and now leads a team as the Director of Membership. Her goal in this position is to oversee how Chamber members, especially diverse businesses, tap into resources. Yadira attributes this honor to her recently deceased dad from whom she learned, “the importance of treating the people you lead with humility and respect.” Yadira remarks, “... he would always tell me to treat everyone equally … and that as a leader, people will follow and trust you based on how you make them feel.”
Yadira Garza-Malone
- Details
- Category: Brilliance Awards Finalists 2022
From this issue
It's critical to offer understanding, support and unconditional love to your child if they choose to come out to you. That experience for Ollie Robison (xe/he/they), Healthcare Coordinator, Grand Rapids Pride Center, was a long and complex one, coming out multiple times in different ways to the same people.
Winter is behind us and we're ready to ditch the bulky sweaters, heavy boots and puffy coats for lighter, brighter and fresher styles. Rather than mindlessly buying up a hoard of trendy items, Kathryn Snow of Style Me Ada—an expert personal stylist and shopper—walks us through building a capsule wardrobe that will keep you feeling confident and stylish all spring and summer.
Your childhood may be long past, but its influence is reflected in your present—it shapes how you see the world and how you interact with others. Maybe you've noticed patterns you can't quite shake, like anxiety that won't settle. Or maybe you struggle with depth in relationships or find yourself overwhelmed because of your tendency to overachieve (or overextend).
Living in West Michigan, we have an abundance of places to go to soak up the great outdoors. In every season, travelers head to their favorite hot spots in the lakeshore quadfecta of Muskegon, Grand Haven, Holland and Saugatuck—or stick around Grand Rapids for all it has to offer. While we never tire of spotlighting the standbys, what else is there? Let's take a tour!