Hijo Nativo de Nuevo Mexico
E. Jon Garcia, Sr. Manager of Product Management
I was born in Tucumcari, New Mexico, a very small town on Route 66 near the Texas border. My fathers’ family settled in New Mexico when it was a territory of Spain in the early 1700’s; my mother’s family migrated from Mexico City to the US in the 1940’s. Both families are proud Mexican-Americans but are at different ends of the spectrum in terms of their temperament, religion, and experience as Americans.
As one of the founding families of historic Santa Fe (did you know Santa Fe predates Jamestown by 9 years?), my father’s family were hard-working, stable-but-poor farmers. Over several generations, they had to learn to adjust to the rapid cultural hegemony brought by the influx of settlers to New Mexico in the late 1800s and 1900s — a couple hundred years after the Spaniards founded Santa Fe. My mother’s side of the family immigrated to the U.S. in the 1940’s and was more charismatic and mercurial compared to my father’s family, and you can tell just from their chosen professions — we had an assortment of preachers, entrepreneurs, and, yes, convicts. Shortly after graduating from high school, my father married my mom, joined the Air Force and embarked on a forty-plus year career there. One of his first postings was to Panama.
Growing up in Panama in 1970s
My family moved to Panama and we lived there for most of the 1970s, during my elementary and junior high school years. My time growing up in Panama was formative on many levels. When we lived in the US, my family saw themselves as Americans first and foremost, but also as proud Mexican-Americans, part of a rapidly growing minority of Chicano people in the Southwest. Once in Panama, being fluent in Spanish made it easier to take part in the dominant Latino culture as well as the American expat culture. Living in Panama also allowed us the opportunity to travel through most of Central America and much of South America, giving me a greater appreciation for how diverse Latino cultures are.
As a young person I saw how my country’s actions were viewed in other countries, which provided me with a unique lens on being an American. I was often shocked by what I learned about America’s fraught history of relations with Latin America. For example, the CIA-sponsored overthrowing of Salvador Allende’s presidency in Chile made travelling in some parts of South America dangerous. Another stand-out experience included being commandeered twice by border troops in El Salvador and Guatemala while my family was driving from the US to Panama. Within a few years, this kind of travel became impossible due to civil wars in those countries.
Growing up in Latin America in the 70s also enabled me to experience some of the magic and beauty of both indigenous and Latino cultures and how they could work together — or not — and how colonial histories dramatically affected each country’s culture. I also witnessed first-hand how the economic stability of Latin American countries impacted people’s lives. Social inequality, currency devaluations, import/export controls, hyperinflation, and the economic impacts of natural catastrophes all factored in. My experience growing up in Latin America was a principle reason I became an economics major in college and influenced me to consider joining the Fed.
Product Lead at the Fed
To help me prepare for life, my family encouraged and supported me in building a strong academic foundation. Previous generations of my family were not able to attend or afford to complete college, and I was encouraged to change that. I was the first in my family to graduate from college (Occidental College) and later eventually obtained a graduate degree at Harvard. I joined the Fed in January of this year after more than 15 years of work as a product manager for technology startups and high-growth SAAS companies. I was intrigued by the opportunity at the Fed because the role required deep product experience and, as I got to know the hiring managers, I became a believer in their vision. My friends, family, and mentors were surprised by my interest in joining the SF Fed, given my startup experience.
I explained that I was looking for a high-impact role with an ability to share my expertise, and the Fed had always interested me because of my experience growing up in Latin American economies. I’ve lived and observed first-hand how limited tech companies can be in terms of diversity. This drives in me a need to help others, especially those from underrepresented backgrounds, build their careers in tech, finance, and now, within the Fed.
