Por Estaphania Baez

Born in Bogota, Colombia, Pilar Montoya left her home country when she was just 5 years old with her mother and her two older brothers, leaving behind her dad, the rest of her family and friends, and the thousands of memories forged during her early childhood. Her mother’s goal was clear: to provide a better future for her children, and what better place to pursue that than the country of the Stars and Stripes, so she brought them to Los Angeles, California. It was there that Pilar witnessed a woman’s first act of grit and bravery and decided to follow on that same path. Today, she dedicates her life to helping the millions of Latinos in the U.S. shine through a foundation she set up precisely to help Hispanics living abroad, in addition to her being a motivational speaker and businesswoman.

After becoming a U.S. citizen at 11, she has never stopped thriving. She got her degree at Sacramento State University, and has over 25 years of experience in business entrepreneurship. She has also earned national and international awards and is known in the business world as a born leader and outstanding public speaker.

“My passion is helping those in the community who feel like they’re alone and make them see that they are not. I came to the realization that our challenge as Latinos is to get a job, build trust, create a good life in the U.S. both for ourselves and for our children, and achieve our dreams… that is the reason why I help the community”, highlighted Pilar Montoya during her interview La Prensa San Diego.

Pilar Montoya, now a resident of San Diego, created the Caminos Foundation in 2014, and since then she has provided support to more than 2,000 low-income Hispanic residents. The foundation provides training to men and women looking for work, as well as workshops to educate the community regarding risks they are susceptible to, such as diabetes, obesity, and cancer, which greatly impact the Hispanic community due to not having the right information as to how to protect their health. Also through her foundation, Ms. Montoya works with small-business entrepreneurs seeking to open their own business; she advises them on how to obtain their licenses, better manage their finances, and sometimes even provides the resources needed to get their businesses going. As a result, Pilar is greatly admired and loved by the people who have found in her a helping hand.

Pilar shared that one of her greatest recent achievements has been the workshops she provides specifically for Latino women, where she teaches them to overcome all the challenges life can throw at you and turn them into positive results.
“You can either play the victim or you can learn how to get back up and overcome the challenge; the key – and my goal – is to inspire, to encourage these people to get over the hump… people who have lost their job… that is how life is, we all go through it, and these obstacles have to be risen over”, stressed Ms. Montoya.

These workshops for women are taught through MANA, a grassroots organization, over a four-month period.
In spite of the large number of awards Pilar has earned and the satisfaction she feels when she sees her alumni thrive, she assured us that nothing can compare with the great pride she feels seeing her children – Carlos, now 28, and Sibone, who is 25 – becoming successful professionals. Carlos is an industrial designer, and her little girl has a degree in Psychology; they have both lived in the U.S. their entire lives and have had access to better opportunities, all thanks to their mother’s work.

Pilar Montoya is part of a growing list of successful Latino women who have made it in a country other than their own. She is a source of pride for the Hispanic community, a Latino jewel.