Valeria Esparza-Chavez | Remembering the Sacrifices That Created Opportunity

or Valeria Esparza-Chavez, Hispanic Heritage Month is personal.

As Vice President and Customer Growth Segments Lead at Wells Fargo, Esparza-Chavez spends much of her professional life focused on expanding economic opportunities for Latino families through homeownership, entrepreneurship, investing and financial education.

But when HL Media Network asked her to share her thoughts about Hispanic Heritage Month, her answer began somewhere much closer to home.

“This month is very personal for me,” Esparza-Chavez said. “As a daughter of immigrants, a first-generation American, first in my family to ever go to college, this is a month about remembering all of the sacrifices that our parents, that our grandparents did for us.”

Remembering the Sacrifices

For Esparza-Chavez, those sacrifices can be measured in opportunities.

She remembers becoming the first person in her family to work in a corporate environment and the first to have access to benefits that can easily be taken for granted once they become part of everyday life.

“I am filled with gratitude for the opportunities that my parents gave me,” she said.

Today, she sees another generation moving forward.

Esparza-Chavez spoke about watching her own children, nieces and nephews pursue their education and consider opportunities—including college and medical school—that reflect how much has changed within one family.

It is a perspective that transforms Hispanic Heritage Month from simply looking back at where we came from into considering what comes next.

Creating Opportunity for the Next Generation

That idea also carries into Esparza-Chavez’s professional work.

During our conversation at NAHREP at AVANCE Global in Las Vegas, she spoke about the growing economic influence of the U.S. Latino community and the importance of creating greater access to homeownership, entrepreneurship, financial education and investing.

“We know that Latinos are driving the American economy,” she said.

For Esparza-Chavez, however, the larger economic conversation ultimately comes back to people, families and opportunity.

“As we reflect on our family members, on our parents and grandparents during this Hispanic Heritage Month, let’s think about what we can do for future generations,” she said.

Her message is rooted in gratitude, but it also carries a sense of responsibility.

Previous generations made sacrifices to create opportunities they might never have experienced themselves. The opportunity now is to build upon what they started—and consider what we can make possible for those who follow.

Watch our conversation with Valeria Esparza-Chavez as she shares what Hispanic Heritage Month means to her.

This conversation was recorded by HL Media Network during NAHREP at AVANCE Global, held September 14–16, 2026, in Las Vegas.