Community Highlights: Meet Stephanie Salazar-Rodriguez of Blazing Cloud Consulting

Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Salazar-Rodriguez

Hi Stephanie, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Stephanie is a second generation native Denverite from a mixed Native American and Latino familial background, with roots that can be traced back to the great Aztec Empire. Although Stephanie is my birth name, my indigenous name is Blazing Cloud Woman. My parents started their modest journey as agriculture workers in their youth, My father completed the 6th grade and my mother the 8th. They were denied a formal education, as they toiled in the fields from sun up to sun down, where they were exposed the deadly pesticides, denied access to toileting facilities and often experienced food insecurity. Eventually my father earned his GED at 59 years old and my mother became an expanded duty dental assistant.

My parents struggle was the imputes to my lifetime commitment to social justice issues. In my youth my parents took us to march with Cesar Chavez and the United Farm workers, to support human rights issues and the formation of a union for agriculture workers. This continued with human rights marches and eventually to working to promote Indigenous People Day.

While in high school I was encouraged to pursue a career as a secretary or a future homemaker of America. Nevertheless, I knew I wanted more. After floundering for a few years after high school, ultimately, I became a first generation college graduate by first earning a Paralegal certificate from the College of Denver, then went on to complete a BA in Criminal Justice and ultimately worked diligently to earn two masters degrees. My first masters is in Nonprofit Management from Regis University., and as a returning adult, in 2018, I earned my second masters in Public Health, with a concentration in leadership from CU Anschutz,

To continue my commitment to social justice, I have worked for over 30 years’ in high needs and under-resourced communities, to effectively address social and economic barriers to health, education and equity. In the early 2000s I was working as a Head Start grant reviewer, when I started Blazing Cloud Consulting, as a side hustle. However, during the height of COVID, I was laid off from my full-time job as the Regional Health Connector/Community Engagement Manager. This propelled me to turn a side hustle into a full-time small business.

With a diverse background working in management positions with various non-profit organizations, it was a natural fit to become the CEO/Lead Trainer of Blazing Cloud Consulting (BCC), LLC, The consulting work includes improving health and public health outcomes by addressing implicit bias, justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI), authentic community engagement, executive leadership coaching and harm reduction, and behavioral health throughout Colorado. During COVID BCC addressed the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on communities of color by working to provide information and resources related to testing, vaccination, education, and treatment.

Stephanie is keenly aware of the impact of unresolved historical and generational trauma, and how it can manifest into adult chronic illnesses and behavioral health concerns, including substance use disorder. As a result, BCC was afforded an opportunity to contract with the Denver Department of Public and Environment (DDPHE), OD2A contract, to provide harm reductio and and linkage to care, to address the disproportionate rate of the opioid epidermic on BIPOC communities, including Native American/Indigenous and Latino communities We are currently in our fifth year working with DDPHE.

Stephanie is also active in the local community to address food insecurity, authentic community engagement, patient participatory research and equity in public health. Her commitment is demonstrated through work on various community advisory panels and committees. She also has served as a conference and summit presenter and an academic guest lecturer.

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?
My journey has been filled with many struggles and obstacles. As a woman of color, I have experienced poverty, misogyny and structural and systemic racism. I have had to work twice as hard to earn half as much money. as my white contemporaries. Now that I am an elder, I have experienced ageism that was prohibitive to moving upward in my chosen career. Many times when i was one of the to two candidates, I was informed that they chose someone who fit their “internal culture,” which was their way of stating they hired a young person. When I started my business the major challenge I have experienced is being eligible for funding that is exclusively available to nonprofit organizations. Nevertheless, i recently acquired a fiscal sponsor, so now i qualify for diverse funding opportunities.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Blazing Cloud Consulting?
Blazing Cloud Consulting is a woman, minority owned business. Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) are fundamental principles rooted in ALL the work we undertake. This includes providing culturally and linguistically responsive services to ensure justice is embedded in the fabric of our work. Below are examples of work that we undertake.

Harm Reduction
Peer Recovery
Capacity Building/Strategic Planning
Customize Training and Technical Assistance
Authentic community engagement
Leadership Coaching
Youth Violence Prevention
Support Groups
Resource and Referral
Special Events

What we are most proud of is that all of the BCC team members are from BIPOC communities and/or possess lived and living experience, that represent multi-generations. In spite of the current political climate, we remain committed to amplifying the voices of the under served communities and are proud to serve as mentors to the next generation of leaders. Although we are located in Denver, we also serve other communities. Currently, we are seeking funding that will allow us to branch out and serve communities throughout Colorado.

What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
The most important lesson that I have learned is that the word “failure” is not in my vocabulary. I believe everything I have endured is a “learning experience” and I approach things from a strength base perspective as opposed to a deficit. Additionally, I have learned that perfection is a fallacy, so i continually strive for “excellence.”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://blazingcloudconsulting.com
• Facebook: Blazing Cloud Consulting LLC
• LinkedIn: Stephanie Salazar-Rodriguez, MPH, MNM

Image Credits
Blazing Cloud Consulting