Panel at Dallas City Hall spotlights Latino entrepreneurship, arts and community

Dallas City Hall hosted a Hispanic Heritage Month panel on Feb. 17 that brought together local leaders — including entrepreneurs, artists, health professionals and attorneys — to discuss how culture, mentorship and community shaped their work.

Councilman Jaime Resendez opened the event and introduced Priscilla Rice of public radio station KERA as the moderator. Mayor Pro Tem Jesse Moreno noted the scale of the city’s Latino population, saying Dallas “represents over half 1,000,000 people who identify as Latino,” and called the month a moment to preserve stories and lift up Latino voices.

The panelists recounted turning points that led them into public-facing roles and community work. Dr. Lorena Tule Romain, cofounder and chief operating officer of M Schools, said her experience as an undocumented student in Pleasant Grove drove her focus on making K–12 schools safe and welcoming for immigrant families. “They have to feel safe and welcome in our school regardless of where their parents come from,” she said.

Britney, owner of the coffee shop Cafecito in Pleasant Grove, traced her business from backyard pop-ups to a permanent storefront and framed her cafe as a neighborhood support space for parents and mothers experiencing postpartum struggles. “You can’t sit with fear and faith together,” Britney said, urging persistence and resilience as keys to starting a business.

Juan Castillo, founder of Gallery 86, described art spaces as a way to turn ‘‘unknowns to knowns’’ and to create third places where neighbors meet. Marcos, a Dallas litigation attorney and treasurer of the Mexican American Bar Association of Dallas, urged young people to claim civic space and overcome imposter syndrome: “You deserve to be in every single room you walk into.”

Dr. Sandra Lozano, medical director of public health at Dallas County Health and Human Services, described moving from clinical practice to public health to serve broader maternal and child health needs in Pleasant Grove and surrounding areas.

Panelists also discussed cultural traditions — food, music and dress — as central to identity and community cohesion. They highlighted local initiatives such as fairs and pop-up markets that spotlight small businesses and local musicians.

The moderator closed by sharing how to connect with panelists: Dr. Lozano said her public health work posts event and program information; M Schools (Dr. Lorena Tule Romain) said the organization is active nationally and on social media; Cafecito invited patrons to its Buckner and Bridal location in Pleasant Grove; Gallery 86 and Marcos provided websites and social profiles for follow-up. The program concluded with an announcement that El Trigo Ballet Folklorico would perform a Jalisco dance for attendees.

The event functioned as a community showcase rather than a policy hearing: it emphasized personal narratives, local entrepreneurship, arts programming and maternal-child public health outreach, and offered contacts and next steps for audience members to follow up with panelists and organizations.