Meet Andrea Garcia

Class of 2023 BEQ Pride LGBTQ Leader Under 40

Pronouns: She, Her

Age: 33

Who or what inspires your leadership purpose? And why?

Everyday people who persist in the face of injustice everywhere inspire me to do and be better. Bravery is just as contagious as doubt could ever be. So why not choose to be awesome? 

To me, economic justice is not a catchphrase. We are living in a time where any dream can become a doable business with the potential for generational wealth. We can build entire worlds from an idea. The gatekeepers who try to hold us down are locking themselves in a mausoleum of mediocrity by keeping innovation out. Failure is not scary – never believing in your worth is the true nightmare. ~ Andrea Garcia

Andrea Garcia has the numbers to back up her success as a leader. Under her leadership and strategic marketing development, the NJ Pride Chamber increased membership by 130% within eight months of her tenure. The Chamber also enjoyed recognition by ROI-NJ’s editorial team as a major Influencer. Because Andrea and the team at the Chamber Corporate partnerships grew by 250%, making the organization the fastest-growing professional association in the state. As a member of the board of directors, who have been credited with being influential in New Jersey Governor Murphy passing and signing of Executive Order No .295, elevating LGBT+ business owners to minority status in May.  

Andrea is passionate about strengthening the financial resiliency of the LGBT+ community. Through her work at the NJ Pride Chamber of Commerce, she observed first-hand how some in the LGBT+ community can be “self-isolating” and historically “tribal,” holding back the entire community’s true potential for becoming a financial powerhouse. Andrea sees these characteristics as the death knell of dependence and vulnerability and at the mercy of third-party funding (from both public and private institutions) that is often insufficient for meeting the growing needs of the community. Continuing to operate from a mindset of scarcity and being dependent keeps the community “focused on survival rather than creating progressive change,” according to Andrea. 

Fortunately, Andrea Garcia is a change agent and already looking to the future. From Andrea’s intersectional vantage point (Hispanic, Indigenous and LGBT+) the LGBT+ community has its diversity and growing numbers as an innate capacity to tap into the evolution in society’s understanding of the fluidity of gender and sexuality. Andrea’s perspective opens up the opportunity for “progressive change” as she and others from the new generations of LGBT+ people take their rightful place as leaders. By helping to bolster the financial viability of the LGBT+ community now, Andrea is building for a future that will benefit all of society.  

Progress happens through vigilance, accountability, and understanding that the long game can get you places. ~ Andrea Garcia

To learn about more leaders recognized by BEQ Pride, visit https://businessequalitymagazine.com/MoreLeaders.

To connect with this leader, visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreamarilyngarcia/.