00:01
Speaker 1
Welcome everybody, to the Unfinished Business podcast. I’m your host, Eric Malvin. And this is a show where we talk to CEOs, visionaries, business leaders, people who are out changing the world, making a difference with their business, with their organization, through creativity or through leadership. And because it doesn’t matter who you are or what you’ve accomplished, whether you’re a world leader, like former presidents, whether you’re a huge athlete like Michael Jordan, there’s still something that they want to accomplish. And so that’s what we explore on this show today. What’s your unfinished business? And so welcome to the show. And check it out. I don’t know how we’ll probably cut that part out. Okay, there’s a little thing I’m going to show you, theme song because you got to see. You’ve seen the music video, right? 

00:44
Speaker 2
Yes. 

00:45
Speaker 1
Okay, so there’s a little music video that plays and then we’ll get into it. All right, I’ll do my sponsor message and I’ll introduce you. Okay. This episode is brought to you by Pac Biz Outsourcing. At Pac Biz, we help transportation Companies, software companies, SaaS, companies help outsource their customer support their back office tasks with a powerful team in the Philippines dedicated to you as remote employees, helping your business improve, support, scale faster and grow while keeping costs in check. For example, Elizabeth, we even help one client save over $600,000 a year in payroll costs by using dispatchers in the Philippines from Pac Biz. 

01:25
Speaker 1
So if you’ve ever thought about outsourcing or a virtual Assistant, go to pack-biz.com to learn more or email us your questions at infoac-biz.com all right, today I am extremely excited for this interview because this has actually been many years in the making. We’ve been talking about doing this for many, many years. And so I’m very excited to introduce you guys. She is the president and CEO of Gallagher Group International, a global business development, branding and public relations firm dedicated to advancing minority owned businesses and championing diversity in the global economy. For more than 30 years, she has been a powerful advocate for inclusion, previously serving as the Vice chair of the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce where she represented 3.4 million Hispanic owned businesses nationwide and 5.2 million. 5.2 million even more. That’s crazy. 

02:24
Speaker 1
Throughout her career she has led major organizations, worked with high profile clients and including MGM Resorts, Caesars Entertainment, Richard Branson. And Elizabeth continues to drive impact through her power of diversity through the City Impact center and initiatives through the school, which we’re going to talk about today, focused on expanding education and technology opportunities from K through 12 through higher education. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Elizabeth Gallagher. 

02:55
Speaker 2
Oh, I’m very honored to be here, Eric. And I can’t thank you enough for what you do because you do make a difference in this world by doing what you do here and in the Philippines. I am, as I said, very honored to be here. 

03:09
Speaker 1
Well, it’s honor is mine and we’re gonna talk about why. She’s one of the inspirations for me for pushing me out to what we’re doing now, so. But thank you so much for being here. I’m excited. And quick shout out to the Thai Connection for hosting us here at the restaurant here in Las Vegas, which really great food. So if you’re in Las Vegas and you’re looking for some Thai food, go search this place and make a stop. 

03:34
Speaker 2
Yes, the connection Tai Sushi is family owned and this is why we are about helping others. And for me, it’s a real honor as well that I get the privilege to work with their children and help them in whatever I can help them in. And for me, education is key and you start with the students. So as the former vice chair of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, I did that on a global basis. Also one of the owners of Air Nevada where we had 47 offices worldwide. So the world is actually quite small and I think everyone should learn to view as whatever they can in this world. It’s very important. But for me, it is about giving back. We have City Impact foundation at City Impact center that is here in 300 East Sahara. 

04:32
Speaker 2
We have K12 charter school, Innovations International Charter School. We also have a major technology lab where we can really help others create a great careers, succeed and help all the families. We have a major food bank and no one should ever be hungry or uneducated or have families, especially in this country. Yes, yes. It’s really, really important to help each other and I’m very grateful that I have the opportunity to do what I do. And thank you for you being a part of that because Pac Vis has also been one of our sponsors and without sponsorships, we can’t help people. 

05:20
Speaker 1
Yeah, well, I had to say, you know, been able to go out and visit the facility there that she was talking about in Sahara several times now and it is amazing. You know, she listed off a bunch of stuff and you think, I mean, it’s a full campus and even you didn’t even Mention it that she even worked with getting federal funds to get assisted living facility built on site. And for me personally, this last few months, I’ve been going through getting my dad into an assisted living. And I now know, like, what she’s doing. Because you’re char. What is the. It’s crazy what you guys are charging for people to stay there. 

05:59
Speaker 2
Yes. So we have a 60, 68 unit apartment complex for seniors, and they just pay whatever they can as far as if they get. Have something from Social Security. But we make sure that they have funds for themselves. We also get to. They get to use the whole facility, which nobody will ever go hungry. And we just help him in every way that we can. And the great thing is that those seniors get to volunteer so they give back and they feel really good about that and it gives them hope and a life. And what else do we want? Right? 

06:37
Speaker 1
Yeah. Well, there are infinite volunteers. There’s infinite opportunities around. You just hang out with Elizabeth for five minutes and you’ll be asked to help with something. But I mean, even just on the campus there, like, what are some of the biggest needs that you guys have today in 2026 at the school there? 

06:56
Speaker 2
So the biggest needs is basically to continue the higher education. And we have a major technology lab there. And so we’re always looking for different programs that they can actually. Technology programs where they can be able to create their own opportunity to have a really great career because sometimes they don’t have that accessible by having that technology lab. We have now 60 computer setups for, you know, we can do 60 people at a time that can be learning and they can learn whatever they need to learn. Like if someone needs to get their ged, hsc, they are able to get it there. 

07:42
Speaker 1
So. 

07:43
Speaker 2
So that everyone gets educated because without that, you can’t really go forward in this world and have a career to have a family and take care of all of your own children as well. 

07:56
Speaker 1
Yeah. And so how long have you been involved with this now? 

08:00
Speaker 2
Oh my goodness. It’s been. I think it’s been about 16 years. 

08:05
Speaker 1
16. 

08:08
Speaker 2
But it really doesn’t feel like it’s something that I really enjoy. So it’s never been anything but a great learning experience. When you give back, you really feel good about everything and life is so much better. So I would say to any of you in your own community, go reach out to different schools like that or community centers and give back, because it’ll only better your community. 

08:39
Speaker 1
Yeah. 

08:39
Speaker 2
So education’s the key, right? 

08:42
Speaker 1
Mm, yeah, it’s what lifts people out of, like, entire families out of, you know, poverty. So, yes, now 16 years being involved with this, you have to have countless stories of transformation. What’s. What’s a story that comes to mind of something like a family that was really impacted by you having this in the community there. 

09:04
Speaker 2
So what’s really interesting is I never realized how much need there was. And so as I started talking to different families, I would have a family and they would say, well, we sort of need food. When they would tell you they need food, you go, like, food. Okay. Because you don’t realize that it’s just the basics. They need transportation. A lot of them have to get their HSC so that they can actually get a job so then they can take care of their family. So it’s about building everyone up and making sure that if you’re hungry, you don’t have to be hungry. If you need housing, we have the senior housing. That’s very important. So you have to have all of that accessible for them to be able. So they can build their lives. 

09:50
Speaker 1
Because, I mean, the approach, it seems like in the past has been, well, here’s some food, but good luck with your housing, good luck with your education, good luck with everything else. So you’re able to come in with all the resources. And what does that end up doing for these families compared to just when you get one little piece? 

10:06
Speaker 2
So it really changes their lives. Every year I have major event, and at that major event, we’re going to have all our sponsors. And the key is if you have a good program, when you have companies like MGM or Caesars, they have a responsibility because they want to have a responsibility to give back in their community. Well, this is really great because everyone brings something to the table that can really help the population. And so that’s the most important thing. So everyone feels good about giving back. Yeah, we all get something back from that. 

10:48
Speaker 1
Yeah. So since that event’s coming up, talk to me a little bit more about it. Like, if people were interested in maybe supporting any of the things you’re doing, how could they support you? 

10:57
Speaker 2
So it’s called make an impact 2026. We just add the year to it. And what’s really important is if you want to give back, first, you should go. Because if you own a business just like your company, it’s very important that you participate, because we need to build each other. When people know who you are, what you can give back, and what avenues that you’re doing for your business, other people can say, well, you know, I actually can work with PAC Biz and I can also. I would like to be able to work with MGM Grand. I’d like to be able to work with Caesars. And so everyone has, in here in Vegas, all of the different corporations have a community give back program. So they’re always looking, how can we help? 

11:51
Speaker 2
And it’s all of us uniting to help everyone and help each other. So everybody wins. 

11:58
Speaker 1
Yeah, absolutely. So here’s a question for you. What happens if someone like you didn’t exist and you weren’t there asking Caesars or MGM for the money? Would they be giving out as much to the community? 

12:10
Speaker 2
No, they can’t because of the fact that they’re restricted. Every corporation or gaming, they have their guidelines. So they can’t really go out to the community and help people. They have programs that they have to follow. And with what I do with City Impact is I develop those different programs where they can just make it really easy for them and say, here you can give back by doing this, and so on and so forth. So everybody there, even like with the food, I mean, the food in itself, we go out to like three Square and say, you know, we really need food for our food bank because no one in this day and age should ever be hungry. And I think that is what I was really. So why. 

13:02
Speaker 2
It made me work even harder because I thought I didn’t know that they needed food. 

13:07
Speaker 1
Yeah, right in your own backyard. 

13:09
Speaker 2
I had no idea. And it’s right there by the strip. And I’m going, what do you mean? And when I saw that they needed food and then they needed education and opportunity because they didn’t have the funding to go to College of Southern Nevada or unlv. So instead we bring College of Southern Nevada to our campus and unlv and then they can take those same courses. It doesn’t cost them, which is huge. So everyone can better off by attending. And it just, it’s giving back in a huge way. It really touches so many lives. 

13:46
Speaker 1
I mean, in ways you probably. It’d be probably difficult to measure. 

13:50
Speaker 2
Yeah. 

13:50
Speaker 1
Yeah. So that’s incredible. Now you’ve been doing the non profit thing for a while, but that was like your fourth or fifth career. Right. Like, you’ve had a lot of different careers through your years. 

14:05
Speaker 2
Yes. 

14:06
Speaker 1
And so tell me more about. I guess let’s start. Let’s start at the beginning. You got like, how did you get started? Because you have some crazy stories here in Las Vegas. 

14:15
Speaker 2
Yes. So I was Very fortunate that my husband and I, we own four aircraft. So I just said to him one day, oh, I’m going to start an airline. And he says, oh, okay. So we actually took and created Air Nevada, opened up 47 offices worldwide. And I worked with a lot of different presidents from different countries, because you have to start at the top in order to really give back. And so to me, it was nothing to get up and have to go to London and then come back in three days. 

15:00
Speaker 1
So. 

15:01
Speaker 2
But that’s the way that you really do make a difference. And the world is quite small. So I would bring the world to us here in Vegas, and I would say, okay, you can help us with this, you can help us with that. All these different organizations, all these different corporations, it made it very easy to work with them, because I have also worked with, like, Leonel Fernandez, who was the president of the Dominican Republic. So I said, okay, I’m going to invite him to Vegas. So he came out here to Vegas and for the Dominicans. There were so many Dominicans, I didn’t realize that lived here, that when I had him, I did an event and he attended. It was amazing. Then I’ve done presidents from Mexico. I have all these different presidents. It’s really important. 

15:51
Speaker 2
I’ve done a lot of stuff with George W. Bush Senior and Junior, and I just keep going. So I’m not afraid to ask anyone because I think everyone should participate. It’s in our best interest. 

16:05
Speaker 1
So I wanted to have the audience that are watching here. There’s some business people that are watching, and they’re like, how do you get the courage to go talk to these people? Because you’re not. Like, nobody can just call these people up and say, hey, I’m gonna go meet with this person. No. Who are you? It’s like, how do you. How do you do that? 

16:26
Speaker 2
Well, you know, the great thing is I was born in Mexico City, even though I’m a Gallagher, and I got to see really poor people. And as a child, I would. One of my greatest things is I would give away all my toys because I saw these children that didn’t have anything. And when you see that level of poor, and then if you’re up at a higher level, it just. That let me know that you really have to connect with everyone and try to lift people up. So that’s the same thing with City Impact. When I would see all these students, and I thought, and everyone wants to learn. Everyone. You know, we have the senior. Senior housing. When you have Senior housing, there’s seniors who have to help. So because they help, we help them. So then they become volunteers. 

17:24
Speaker 2
So then you include your whole community. And City Impact center is actually like community based. And you have from a baby to a senior. 

17:32
Speaker 1
Yeah, you do. 

17:33
Speaker 2
And all those programs with that, you plant a lot of seeds and everyone benefits. 

17:41
Speaker 1
Definitely. Yeah. The flowers are blooming here in Las Vegas from all the seeds have been planted for the last almost two decades now. Some of, not some. The confidence that you have to go and bring world leaders to Las Vegas here to put on events has helped you a lot in your nonprofit career. Right. Like, because your main thing, you have to go out and raise a ton of funds. Like what’s. Is there any number? Like what’s the annual budget? What do you guys have to spend to just be able to keep up running the facility? 

18:16
Speaker 2
I really don’t want to add it up and I never do because if I did. But it doesn’t really matter because really in the long run we need to win. 

18:28
Speaker 1
Yeah. 

18:28
Speaker 2
Right. So we need to be able to continue. We need to continue to grow it. 

18:32
Speaker 1
So. 

18:32
Speaker 2
So that’s why I don’t mind asking other. We have great leaders throughout our country, like Carlos Gomez, who is the president and CEO of the Kansas City Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. I have never seen such a go getter and so community minded and really making a difference in his area. So if you have all these different chamber leaders throughout the country and in South America and in Spain, you’re going to win. You’re going to win and everyone’s going to benefit. 

19:09
Speaker 1
Yeah. So let’s talk about that for a moment. Maybe people don’t realize that in every community all across the United States and outside of the United States as well, there are these nonprofit chambers that. So tell me more about that because I think there might be some people that are listening and maybe know that these exist for them to benefit their community and where they live in their own backyard. 

19:32
Speaker 2
Yes. So we have Hispanic chambers throughout the whole United States and as I said in South America and in Spain and you don’t have to be Hispanic, but if you own a business, like you own a business and I’m not Hispanic and you’re not Hispanic, you basically can reach out to these chambers and you support the chambers and you become a sponsor. So therefore your business grows and you help other people in what you do. 

20:00
Speaker 1
Yeah. So if you’re out there and you’re thinking about maybe starting a business, you’re listening to this show. Like I Want to start a business one day, find your local chamber, and it could be Hispanic. There’s many different groups. Yes, there’s. But get plugged into one, and there’s a ton of resources. They’ll jump over themselves to help you out, to help start your business, connect you with people who need what your. What your business needs to help grow. And out of all of the ones in the country, like just now, just we’re talking about Hispanic. I mean, how many different Hispanic chambers are there across the country? 

20:32
Speaker 2
Oh, my gosh. Okay. So, you know, I don’t even know what the number is right now because it just keeps growing. 

20:38
Speaker 1
Yeah. 

20:39
Speaker 2
And as you said, something that’s really important. You don’t have to be Hispanic. You just go to any chamber, Hispanic chamber, even a US Chamber, and get connected to that. Start going to have breakfast. Like, here we have the sayuno con amigos, which is breakfast with friends. And so you can go to that. So they always provide with different programs where you can actually be a part of it. And that will give you this ability with your company to be able to grow your company. 

21:12
Speaker 1
Yeah, because maybe you’re like, I don’t know any business owners. How do I. Where do you find the inspiration? Well, you go to an event like that and you’ll be in a room full of business owners and make some friends. Find out how you. Cause like, I. I don’t know, like, you came from Mexico City there. I don’t know. There wasn’t a big. Like, you weren’t brought up to be a business owner like myself either. Like, we always. Like, we didn’t have all this stuff handed to us. We had to build it up. And if anything you’ve built up, amazing things come from nothing. Like, there wasn’t a pile of cash sitting there that you were able to, like, oh, let me just use this money here and there. Like, tell me about that. Because I think that’s. 

21:51
Speaker 1
That there’s not enough people telling a story about starting from scratch. Everyone thinks like, oh, people, they came from something. Right. 

21:57
Speaker 2
And you know what? That’s a really great point. I just saw that I had something that God gave me, which is the ability to speak with anyone and to learn. So education is the key. Right. And so I figured out, okay, what do I really love? Well, I ended up loving doing marketing. And when I saw that, and then when I had access to those aircraft, I immediately said, okay, opening up an airline. So what do I do When I decided that a week after that, I flew to London and I just showed up and started speaking with people, and I just have never been shy about it. And that’s how we opened up 47 offices worldwide. I just started going, I went to Puerto Rico, I went to the Dominican Republic, Marbella, all these different countries. 

23:00
Speaker 2
And as we started promoting our airline, then I thought, oh, well, I want to do the community give back. And that’s real key. 

23:08
Speaker 1
So all that started all at the same time. 

23:10
Speaker 2
All at the same time, yeah. And it’s because I never let anyone tell me no. 

23:15
Speaker 1
This is so true. This is very true. Yeah. Well, and going back to the nonprofit, you know, I love the stories Elizabeth has because you’ve busted into people’s offices and you’re like, I’m not leaving until you give me a check for my nonprofit. 

23:34
Speaker 2
That’s exactly right. You have to really demand what is what they need to do so that other people do well and then they do good. So if you just keep that in mind, you have to, you know, do good things for people to do well. So that’s always been my motto. And you’re right. I don’t let anybody tell me, no, you’re right. 

23:58
Speaker 1
Which has probably gotten you so far in business and the non profit and everything. 

24:02
Speaker 2
Well, it’s been more on the nonprofit side because if we’re not bold for others, there’s so many that really need a hand, that need the education to be able to, but they don’t know how to do that. So you have to guide them along and you have to, you know, like, I’m very proud of what you’ve done. It’s, I mean, really, it’s amazing what you do. And I know you help a lot in the Philippines as well. So that’s, you know, I would say congratulations to you, Eric. 

24:36
Speaker 1
Thank you. 

24:37
Speaker 2
Because you also give back. Because I know what you do in the Philippines. Can you talk a little bit about that? 

24:42
Speaker 1
Sure, yeah. Oh, she turned in the microphone to me. So. But yeah, for just as Elizabeth said too, like very early on in her career with the airline business, she was already doing community give back. And for us too, very early on in the call center, it was really important for us as well. I know, we, it was part of our motivation to start becoming profitable. Like, we can’t give back if we’re not making money. And so for us, like, look, the more, the faster we can get this business growing, the more that we can give back. And I was really proud of us to be able to start working with the local orphanages in the community where we’re based very early on. 

25:24
Speaker 1
I mean, we’ve had a relationship with them now for like seven, I mean, I think almost seven or eight years, helping them, like just like you guys have with the computer lab. We’ve helped provide computers and laptops for all of the students in the orphanage there, uniforms for the kids, for the soccer team. We do support monthly do events. And I mean, it’s a. It’s a. We’re in a small community and remote part of the world, but I mean, everywhere you go, there’s. There’s a need, a tremendous need. You don’t have to look far, I mean, right in your own backyard or something. So. And I think anybody. Everyone has the ability to help give back in some kind of way, even if it’s not monetary. You know, some of the stuff we’re able to. 

26:07
Speaker 1
Like for me, we provide opportunities for our staff to go back and spend time with the kids at the orphanage, and they get to see possible careers for them for the future, you know, and without that, they wouldn’t have that inspiration because, I don’t know, a lot of them, they want to just go into the military or police, and they don’t realize, like, there’s a whole career, but it goes back to education without that education. And what’s really crazy, what I’ve learned through the orphanages, and maybe it’s probably the same thing here, once you hit 18, once you’re out of school, like, you’re on your own and going back to the starting from scratch thing, like, they have even less. Like, you know, we might have built our stuff up from nothing, but we still had, you know, maybe supportive families. 

26:55
Speaker 1
These guys, they’re orphans. They don’t even have that. And so that orphanage is able to do a program for the schools where they’re able to continue the support as they go to the colleges so they can get the education there. But that’s just a little bit of some of what we do. But that’s the inspiration behind the show here. Unfinished Business. We want to interview people who are successful with their business and doing amazing things, giving back, just like Elizabeth here. 

27:21
Speaker 2
So my motto is make an impact and change lives, because you will change lives. And it’s not that hard to do. It’s just really about wrapping your arms around other people and giving them the tools that they need. That how we learned, how I learned from others. So you just have to keep passing it on. And so I really can’t thank you enough for what you guys do. 

27:48
Speaker 1
Oh, thanks. 

27:48
Speaker 2
And we have our main event coming up April 24th. It’s make an Impact 2026. And that’s where we have all our sponsors. And I would say, you know, reach out to Eric and see if you guys want to participate and have your company so people know who you are, what you do, and to build you guys as well. 

28:12
Speaker 1
Yeah, I highly encourage you to check it out. I mean, even if there’s some. Some little way that you could help, because maybe you’re far away from Vegas listening to this and you’re trying to see. But guarantee you. And I’ll. I’ll get some. We’ll try to get some. Maybe some pictures or something to show you guys on the video. If you guys are watching on YouTube a little bit of the center here so you could see what it’s about. So. And I wanted to get in a couple more things with you because there’s. I think there’s going to be so many more episodes we got to do to dig into all the crazy stuff that you have happened. But so tell me now, I know there’s another crazy story about Elizabeth here. She started working super young, like crazy young, 14 years old. 

28:57
Speaker 1
So tell me about that. How did you start working as a 14 year old? 

28:59
Speaker 2
Okay, so I had a friend that I had met, and she was 18. And she said, you know, I just got a job working with this pediatrician who is a children’s dentist. And then I said, oh, that’s great. And she says, but there was an orthodontist that was looking for an orthodontic technician. I said, I’m gonna go and get that job. And she goes. She started laughing and just crying, laughing. And she says, elizabeth, you don’t have. You don’t have any experience. You’re only 14. And I said, no, I can do it. And so I called up and basically told. Called the doctor. His name was Dr. Heyer. I called his office and I said, I want to come in. I want to do an interview. They said, do you have experience? I said, yes. And how old are you? 

29:45
Speaker 2
I said, oh, I’m 18. And so I went in and when I walked in, they said, oh, Dr. Hyer is not going to like this. You’re too young. I said, well, let him tell me. So that’s how I went in. And then I just said, no, I can do it. And that’s how I. And I was very lucky that I’m very artistic and was able to bend wires any way that I wanted to bend Them. So I ended up building his practice, and from there I just kept going. So there’s. And that’s where I met my husband, who had the airplanes. 

30:19
Speaker 1
Yeah. 

30:20
Speaker 2
And that’s. Then we started the airline, too, so. 

30:22
Speaker 1
And then you built that up, and now I know. All right, there’s a. There is a crazy story that I. You only told me bits and pieces of it, and I wanted to hear the whole thing. Okay, so while you were running the airline, you got involved with sponsoring a blimp, Right? Or running the blimp. 

30:39
Speaker 2
Oh, yes. 

30:40
Speaker 1
For vegas.com. 

30:41
Speaker 2
Right. Richard Branson. 

30:43
Speaker 1
Yeah. So tell me, like, tell us about that story, because it’s such a cool story. 

30:46
Speaker 2
So it was. It was very interesting. I had a friend of mine, and she said, Elizabeth, she says, you know, we now have the. It was called the airship. And she says, we just started, and Richard Branson owns that. And I said, well, I want to run that. And I said, we can run. We can go from the North Las Vegas Airport all the way to McCarran and then just go up and down the Strip. And so I said, let me go ahead and talk to him. So I met with Richard Branson and I said, I can definitely help promote this. And so he said, okay. So I got up there and I started doing tours from the North Las Vegas airport to McCarran. And we would take people up and down the Strip, which was just really amazing because. 

31:32
Speaker 1
Well, you can’t do anything like that now, right? 

31:34
Speaker 2
No, no. And, you know, it only went 12 miles an hour. 

31:38
Speaker 1
It was perfect speed for. 

31:40
Speaker 2
For really to have this view. But it’s just. You can’t let anybody tell you no. And when you get a great idea, just expand on it, because it can go any way that you want it to go. Remember, you are the master of your own destination. 

31:59
Speaker 1
There is a lot right there to unpack because that idea turned into the blimp going up and down Vegas Strip. And you had some pretty high profile guests on the airship, right? 

32:15
Speaker 2
Yes. I mean, we had a lot of presidents from different countries. They would come out and everywhere. Being the vice chair of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, I would go to all these different Latin American countries, and I would go directly and invite the presidents. So I would. 

32:31
Speaker 1
And what a unique experience for them. 

32:32
Speaker 2
Yes, yes. And everyone wants to come to Vegas. 

32:35
Speaker 1
Yeah. 

32:36
Speaker 2
So. And who has a blimp? 

32:39
Speaker 1
Goodyear and Elizabeth, the two people in the world that have a blimp now. But. Yeah, you. Yeah, that’s. That’s incredible. So from airlines. Where did you go from that? 

32:51
Speaker 2
From the airlines. I basically really started focusing on the community give back. Because when I saw the need, because I traveled everywhere. So with our airline, Air Nevada, we opened up 47 offices worldwide. So it gave me such a view. And then I said, oh, I have to do something to help everyone. And then I realized that here in Vegas we had people from the Dominican, people from everywhere, from all over the world. 

33:18
Speaker 1
Yeah. 

33:19
Speaker 2
And so they need help, they needed education, they needed to get their ged, they needed technology. Technology has been such an eye opener for me because without having the skill of some type of a technology program, you can’t really grow your business or your jobs or opportunities. 

33:47
Speaker 1
More, more than ever these days. I mean like what everyone’s talking about with AI, the businesses that have it and the ones that don’t, there’s going to be this big divide and I’m. 

33:56
Speaker 2
Seeing it out there and we can’t have that. We really need to focus right now on AI. That’s huge. And that’s, we’re doing programs and stuff like that we’re starting there at City Impact. 

34:06
Speaker 1
That’s great to hear. 

34:06
Speaker 2
Yes. 

34:07
Speaker 1
Because otherwise those people are going to get left behind again. 

34:10
Speaker 2
Yes. 

34:10
Speaker 1
And it’s going to be the same cycle all over again. 

34:12
Speaker 2
Yes, absolutely. 

34:15
Speaker 1
So, so how did the inspiration from like all right, you’re out traveling the world. You see the need that’s out there, tremendous need, you know, and I, I see it too when I’m going out to the Philippines. What was an inspiration to get you? Because you mentioned the, you were the vice chair of the U.S. hispanic Chamber. So which I think a lot of people listening probably doesn’t know what that means. Explain what is that? What was that role? 

34:39
Speaker 2
So my role was it was giving back. I’ve never, everything that I’ve done as far as with chambers, it’s, there’s no paid, it’s community give back and it can be global give back. So as the vice chair were at the top of, for all of the Hispanic chambers throughout the whole world. And so what that meant is that you could really make a difference. And then that gave me the tools to hand out to all these people that in need, that needed education. So we started creating programs for them, especially in technology. And you’ve been to it. Our technology lab at Citi Impact, we now have 60 seats at the table. And so it doesn’t matter how old you are, everyone needs to know how to do Microsoft. Everyone in order. And then with AI, you have to continue the educational process in technology. 

35:42
Speaker 1
Yes, definitely. And the, there’s education, like, you know, learn getting your ged, getting, you know, what you need so that you can get a job. But then the education that the Chamber’s providing to the business leaders, you know, the people running businesses and starting businesses. Talk to me about that. Like, what benefit does that have for the community? 

36:05
Speaker 2
So, so that’s. If you really want to build your business, attend every chamber. And no matter where you are, there’s going to be a Hispanic chamber or a US Chamber. So you should become a member. The memberships are not that expensive. 

36:20
Speaker 1
No. 

36:20
Speaker 2
If you have any type of business, I don’t care if it’s, you know, like call centers or whatever. Whatever. 

36:30
Speaker 1
Yeah. Making T shirts. 

36:31
Speaker 2
Yes. 

36:33
Speaker 1
Hair. Doing haircuts. 

36:34
Speaker 2
Yes. 

36:35
Speaker 1
You know, like, how do you get to the next level? You talk about goals, ambition, dreams. This is how you get there. 

36:41
Speaker 2
Yes. So you just become a member. It’s not a huge. It’s really paying for an education, but it’s not that expensive to be there. But the key is to participate. If you don’t attend, they have breakfast like this, say, you know, con amigos, they have the luncheons. They have a gala every year. Go to whatever you can go to, but be consistent. Make sure that you do it every, you know, follow that through. 

37:09
Speaker 1
Just show up. 

37:10
Speaker 2
Yeah, show up and go and participate. Then once people get to know you, they’re going to go, oh, well, you know what? They have call centers. They can help us. So then everybody says, oh, well, I need a couple call centers. Even though my business is small, I still need someone answering the phone. Making my business grow with the call center and call centers, that’s what they do. And you can speak about that. Where you build others. Yeah. And with the, what you do, the education of being able to answer, take their calls, answer the calls, and building their business, they don’t have to have all these employees. 

37:48
Speaker 1
Yeah. 

37:49
Speaker 2
Because that’s too costly. 

37:51
Speaker 1
Yeah. So we’re helping businesses run more efficiently. We’re helping business owners. And for us, I know that and I tell the clients all the time, you know, you’re able to pay your staff that you have there, the key employees, the ones that are key to your business. I don’t think, unless you’re running a call center like me. No one started their business to run a call center, to have call center agents or people answering emails and stuff like that. So let us handle that. Whatever it is a core part of your business. Maybe you’re manufacturing something. Maybe you have a service you provide. All right, Focus on that and outsource some of the other stuff. That’s a headache. Because then your business can be able to grow quicker, as I do. 

38:32
Speaker 2
Absolutely. Well. And it’s too costly to have all these employees. So really, you just count on each other. Everyone has their own specialty. And you don’t need to have all those employees. You have like, you know, pac biz. You would call pac biz and say, hey, you know, I have this business. I need so many people to answer and. And, you know, hire each other. 

38:57
Speaker 1
Yeah, yeah, we can take care of that. And I don’t know, this is the stuff that’s a little challenging to. To keep employees. You know, a lot of turnover that you’re having here. Yeah, it really drains a company. So when you can focus on really what your business is about, like if you’re an airlines, the call center is a side function. You know, you want to make sure that they’re flying the planes. Okay. 

39:20
Speaker 2
And we always had call centers. 

39:22
Speaker 1
Yeah. 

39:22
Speaker 2
With our airline, Air Nevada, we had call centers because you can’t afford to employ all of those people. Answer your calls, book the flights. Reservations they can handle. Call centers, handle reservations they would handle just whatever needed to be done. 

39:44
Speaker 1
Yeah, it’s key function for a business you don’t really think about. There’s a lot of behind the scenes stuff in company. But I did want to circle back one more time, and I want to bring up Carlos again one more time. 

39:55
Speaker 2
Yes. 

39:57
Speaker 1
Because not just him, but maybe the role that he’s in, you know, as president, Chamber president. Because talk to me about how critical of a role they play in the community. Because, like, all right, there’s a whole phrase in business or in life. Right. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. But then what if you don’t know anybody, how do you. Where do you get started? And you meet people like you or Carlos, myself, and you’re like, how do you know so many people? 

40:24
Speaker 2
So the key is one, speak with everyone, make a difference. Start giving back. Things come right to you. All you have to do is be open for it. And with these chambers, you get a chamber leader like Carlos Gomez, who is the president CEO of the Kansas City Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. You cannot believe how many events they put on to help so many companies. So it doesn’t matter if you’re a company of one, company of three, you can build that business, and you don’t need to hire all Those employees and you just become a chamber member. 

41:05
Speaker 1
Yeah. And I can tell I’ve gotten to spend a lot of time with Carlos over the last couple years, and it’s been amazing to see, like, how members come up and interact to him. And it doesn’t matter. Like Elizabeth said, if you have maybe you’re employee of one, you know, or you’re the CEO of a company that has Fortune 500 clients and has hundreds of employees, he treats you the same, and he’s going to take the time, talk to you, help you out. Like, oh, what do you. What connections do you need? Who do you need to talk to? How can we help your business out? And in every city, all over the country, in every major metro area, there’s someone like that, organizations like that there to help you out. 

41:48
Speaker 1
And it’s thanks to people like Elizabeth who help oversee the expansion of that. And this is going to have to be a topic for another day, like, talking about your. There’s so much that Elizabeth has done to help expand these programs, to help get them into more areas, to get more corporations to support them as well. And so we’ll have to explore that more in another day because that’s. There’s not enough time in this episode to dig into that. But. Well, I want to thank you so much for being on today, and I’m glad were able to talk so much about City Impact center and the work that you guys have been doing here in Las Vegas. And also just throughout your career, it’s not just Vegas. Around the world, people have been impacted by what you’ve been able to do. 

42:35
Speaker 1
So it’s been an honor to be able to finally get some of your story on my show. 

42:39
Speaker 2
Well, thank you so much for the opportunity because without what you do, putting the voice out there, that’s how I have been able to achieve a lot of things because of companies like PAC Biz that allowed me the opportunity to speak. And I learned a lot from, you know, I learned from everyone. I learned what you do, how important you are and how you’re giving back. And in the Philippines, and it’s really you. You’ve got the whole program already. So thank you so much for allowing me to voice what’s really important in our lives here. 

43:18
Speaker 1
All right, thank you so much, Elizabeth. And if you want to learn more about City Impact center, maybe you’re out here in Vegas and you want to do something. I don’t know. Do they have volunteer opportunities? 

43:31
Speaker 2
There’s a lot of volunteer opportunities because we have the senior Housing. So all those seniors, 68 seniors, they need a job. And a lot of them we actually pay them or there’s volunteers. So it just depends. They can work in the food bank, they can work in, you know, in our technology. There’s so much that they can do. 

43:49
Speaker 1
So tremendous need here. Or you could. And if they wanted to support you in other ways where they go to visit. 

43:55
Speaker 2
I actually don’t mind if you want to share my email. 

43:59
Speaker 1
Okay. 

44:00
Speaker 2
With them. I’d be very happy to help whoever needs help. I don’t mind having someone send me an email. I’d be very happy to help them. 

44:10
Speaker 1
And then the website too. Tell me. 

44:11
Speaker 2
Yeah, so. So I don’t really. Because I’m so busy just working. I. I think the best thing is to send an email@elizabethallagargroupintl.com okay. And just whatever your. You may have in, you know, for a need and then I can maybe connect you to the right people. And if what I would say is make sure that you go to, in your area to the chambers. And as I said that you don’t have to be Hispanic. You don’t have to be anything. But if you stay, see a Hispanic chamber, just go in there, volunteer, or go to their desayunas con amigo, which is breakfast with friends or their luncheons and their galas. 

44:56
Speaker 1
Yeah, yeah. Lots of ways to get plugged into your community and find inspiration from a lot of other people who we’re all out trying to do the same thing. We’re all trying to grow our companies, make the world a better place. And so it’s good to have a lot of other people that are like that and just like the city impact. If you’re out here in Vegas in April. April 24th. Right. 

45:16
Speaker 2
Yeah. 

45:17
Speaker 1
If you’re able to attend again, you know, Elizabeth mentioned being in a room full of people that all want to give back is pretty powerful. And so if that’s you think about attending. 

45:28
Speaker 2
And also a lot of them are global corporations that will be there, so there’s nothing better than that. 

45:34
Speaker 1
Yep. So think about that. 

45:35
Speaker 2
Yes. 

45:36
Speaker 1
All right, well, thanks again, Elizabeth. I really appreciate it. And we’ll have to have you on again another day to tell more of your stories. But yeah. Thank you so much for joining and. 

45:46
Speaker 2
Thank you for what you do, Eric. It really does make a difference. 

45:49
Speaker 1
Thanks, Elizabeth. All right, well, thank you guys for watching. Please make sure to subscribe if you want to hear more stories about business leaders and people who are making an impact in their community. So, again, thank you guys for listening, and we’ll catch you on the next episode.