Carissa Parrish, Chief Marketing Officer at Bonita Semana
If you’re a Spanish-speaking Latina who isn’t subscribed to Bonita Semana, I urge you to do so right now. The brand, which has quickly become the fastest-growing newsletter for millennial Latinas, began as a way for those of similar backgrounds to stay connected to their culture. It’s fun, informative, approachable, and has helped so many people practice and perfect their Spanish reading skills (myself included!) while staying up-to-date on current events and feel-good news.
As founder Lila Miller’s righthand women, Carissa Parrish leads all business development and marketing as Bonita Semana’s Chief Marketing Officer. Fun fact: That’s how we actually connected – Carissa reached out to me last year for a feature, which was 100% a career highlight for me!
“We are thrilled to be home to a thriving community of artists, entrepreneurs, and all-around amazing women,” the New Yorker, who was the first in her family to graduate college, tells me of Bonita Semana.
Keep reading to learn more about the marketing maven/mujer de magia below.
Grace Gavilanes: Tell me about your work with Bonita Semana!
Carissa Parrish: I met the founder [Lila Miller] while we were working together on a mobile app where I was leading sales and growth marketing. Lila is a talented designer and we became fast friends working on projects together. After the passing of her father in Mexico, she wanted to find a way to feel more connected to her culture upon returning to New York. She had been consuming content in English and realized if she was looking for a place to read, learn, and connect in Spanish then surely others were too. Bonita Semana was born as a newsletter distributed weekly to friends and family in Spanish with recommendations from across the globe covering wide-ranging topics from tech and design to news and feminism. I was one of the first subscribers! After about a year I asked Lila to let me help her grow the audience. I really believed in the project and there's simply not enough representation of Latinas in tech. As two seasoned New Yorkers in the space, I felt we had a lot to offer others navigating the waters. I lead all business development and marketing. It includes partnerships, PR, marketing, sourcing content, writing, data analysis, and day-to-day business operations. Sometimes I'm even coding. We're scrappy! We are thrilled to be home to a thriving community of artists, entrepreneurs, and all-around amazing women.
““I get emotional when I think about [being Latina]. It’s a privilege to come from a line of strong, spirited women.” ”
GG: Why did you make the decision to launch a Spanish-language newsletter instead of one in English?
CP: So much of the news, content, and newsletters for millennial women were in English. Our website and social are now bilingual and one day there may be an English version of the newsletter!
A young Carissa (bottom left) with her family.
GG: What does being Latina mean to you?
CP: I get emotional when I think about it. It's a privilege to come from a line of strong, spirited women.
GG: How do you stay connected to your culture/community?
CP: I've lived in NYC for 16 years. It's a melting pot of all cultures and a truly special place to be Latina. We conduct some meetings in Spanish and I'm always reading in Spanish and educating myself. I'm self-taught. I didn't grow up regularly speaking Spanish at home. This is the result of cultural assimilation and it breaks my heart that any of my ancestors felt unsafe or unwelcome to be themselves. That's something I could elaborate on, but I'll say I'm so grateful for the opportunity to celebrate my heritage and I recognize the privilege I have today that my mom didn't.
Carissa with her family at her college graduation.
GG: What is your proudest accomplishment?
CP: In my personal life, it's being the first person in my family to graduate from college. In my professional life, it's been the joy of hearing women tell me they got the raise I empowered them to ask for!
GG: Imposter syndrome is a very real thing in our community. How do you combat those feelings?
CP: Imposter syndrome is so real. As a woman in tech and a person who entered leadership early, I didn't have anyone to look to for answers. Sometimes it's not just your inner voice saying “fake it ‘til you make it” that you have to battle. I've been called brazen for asking for a well-deserved raise. I've been paid less than my male counterparts and been called "dear" in meetings as a VP. You have to know your worth or others will assign it to you. Instead of accepting those things or allowing them to define me, I learned how to advocate for myself. Hard conversations are often a portal to necessary change, for better or for worse. Each tough talk gets easier and by exercising that muscle I've been able to help other women negotiate and tackle career challenges as well.
GG: Which Latinx content creators are you currently obsessed with?
CP: I'm a forever fan of @stefaniatejada She is a Colombian artist living in Paris, her work is so striking. And I'm currently digging @_Chabaski_ and her vivid designs.
