Today we’d like to introduce you to Brenda Olmos.
Hi Brenda, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I am the daughter of Mexican immigrants, born in South Los Angeles but spent most of my childhood in small-town Texas (New Braunfels) when my parents moved here in the late 90s. I came to Austin to attend UT for my bachelor’s in nursing degree. Throughout my 20’s, I was strategic about my career, my finances, and my relationships. After four years as a registered nurse, I decided to pursue my master’s in nursing at Texas State to become a family nurse practitioner. I have been a nurse practitioner in internal medicine/geriatric primary care for five years now. In the spring of 2020, I won a scholarship to pursue a PhD full-time and I am two years into that program. I expect to finish my PhD in August of 2023. I have never been married, I don’t have children, but I do look forward to my life including a family eventually. I think Austin/central Texas are great places for families.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I am proud of my Mexican roots and I believe my parents were excellent in their efforts to make me a productive member of society! However, as many children of immigrants and first-gen Americans, we didn’t have much guidance as to how to “make it” or have the “American dream.” Role models that look like us are rare, but thankfully diversity has become a hot topic and there are more people of color in leadership positions. I strive to be that person for future Latina women who aspire to leadership and making an impact at a regional, national, and global level.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I have several areas of work:
1. My PhD – my research focuses on the how healthcare discrimination affects diabetes outcomes in Latinx older adults. As a family caregiver, I am acutely aware of how structural racism plays out in healthcare and as a nurse I feel a mandate to confront this. Additionally, I want to be the Latina role model that I so rarely saw in my nursing education. I am still not sure what exactly I will do with the PhD degree, but I have options like policy writing, tenure-track research, teaching, or continuing in practice.
2. The podcast I co-host with Amber Porter: Minority Millennial Money. We started the project in February of 2021 to record our conversations about money, and now we speak to groups of college students about how manage their finances post-graduation. We also help people in deciding how to plan their futures with their finances in mind. I am passionate about this because I believe financial literacy is one of the major keys to success. Our podcast has been featured in Slate Magazine and recently on The Chirp Podcast by Pigeon Loans. You can find our podcast and all links at www.mmmoney.org.
3. My practical work as a nurse practitioner: I love to take care of patients, so I still do this on a contract basis with a few clinics around town. I want to be a clinician that never loses touch with the real experience of clinical practice.
4. The Austin chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses. I started this in April of 2021 and though we are still a small group, I am happy that we are building a place for Hispanic nurses in Austin to come together and serve our communities. If you are Hispanic nurse reading this, join us!
5. I serve as a clinical consultant for a local community center, El Buen Samaritano to promote health literacy, discuss COVID-19 and other public health topics. Being able to reach marginalized communities with quality information is one of my favorite parts of being a healthcare provider.
6. I am on the board of my local professional organization, Austin Advanced Practice Nurses. This is another way in which I stay tuned to the pulse of my professional community and I help set up educational events for the group. The close-knit community of NPs in Austin is a great aspect of living and working here.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love hiking around town and I used to go salsa dancing regularly before COVID, so I may start doing that again. I love the food variety and that people are generally friendly. I also enjoy staying informed about local politics and I make an effort to vote in all local elections. Besides traffic, there’s not much I don’t like, but I am aware and mindful of how gentrification is changing the landscape and culture of the city.
Contact Info:
- Email: almostbrenda@gmail.com
- Website: about.me/brenda.olmos
- Instagram: @almostbrenda
- Twitter: @almostbrenda
- Other: www.mmmoney.org
Image Credits
the green dress photo is by Ilana Panich-Linsman (NY Times contract photographer); the clinic photo is by Eric Gay (Associated Press contract photographer)
