StoryCorps at SHC: Anna Dapelo-Garcia & Dale Beatty

Anna Dapelo-Garcia (ADG): I'd started in an administrative role here at Stanford Healthcare, and when I got the job a number of decades ago, I felt very proud because I knew I wanted to be in healthcare and I worked really hard to get my foot in the door here at Stanford. But I remember telling my parents about this job and one of the first things that my dad said to me, he said, "Anna, whatever you do, keep your head down. Don't cause any trouble. You're lucky to have that job."

So in those early years, I didn't feel comfortable speaking up. I realized that I was definitely a minority in a lot of rooms, and I found myself trying to assimilate, trying to speak a certain way, trying to look a certain way rather than working on how do I bring my unique background to the table. So it was definitely a journey. There was just layers that I had to work through to find my own identity, to feel confident in who I am and not feel like I had to be like somebody else to be accepted. But once I got past that and challenge myself to say, "Why can't that be me?" is when I really started to push myself and to start leaning in and asking for those director roles.

Dale Beatty (DB): And here you are today leading at Stanford Healthcare our Diversity Equity and Inclusion. And so today, when you said in your world, what are the things that you work on?

ADG: I'm at this stage in my career where it's a little bit less about me. Yes, I want to progress. Yes, I want to do the next thing, but I'm doing it more to help open doors. And I think back to my beginnings, I didn't have a network. And once I sort of figured it out here at Stanford, as I moved up the management ladder, I thought what a difference it would've made for me if I would've had that. So I wanted to give back to women like me who grew up in a neighborhood like I did, and I came across the Lean In organization. And my first meeting was with three Latina women who didn't know me, who came to my house on a Saturday morning.

And at six months there were 100 members. Now, five plus years later, it's a global affinity network with Lean In Latinas in different parts of the world. And I realized that these women wanted to learn something, whether it was confidence, interviewing, they want to share with each other. They have a common thread, they have common interests, and they want to grow in some capacity. So if I can help open those doors for others, that's really where my head space is at.

DB: I've attended your organization meeting, even though I sit in an executive position here, I really feel mentored by you in that regard. And I think all of us do have to open ourselves up to our own biases. And I've learned so much and I'm grateful. And so at the end of your career, what would you like people to say about you?

ADG: That I cared about other people. Our time is limited and I want to make a difference. I want to make an impact. I want to change that narrative for other Latina women like me.

DB: And knowing you, you definitely have made a difference in my life, and I know so many people that would say the same thing. It's an absolute pleasure to know you. You're a mover and a shaker and have a heart that's huge. And I just want to give you a huge thank you.

ADG: Thank you. And likewise, Dale. I am proud of myself, how I went from where I started to where I'm at, and I'm excited to see how that will continue for other women of color.

Produced by Stanford Health Care with interviews recorded in collaboration with StoryCorps, a national nonprofit whose mission is to preserve and share humanity's stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world www.storycorps.org

Sound Editor: Emily Hsiao

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