Contractor Builds Self-Esteem for Latinas

Martha Diaz Aszkenazy loves to build things. She’s built libraries for young people and affordable housing for seniors. She restored Angels Flight downtown and the El Capitan Theater building in Hollywood.

The San Fernando businesswoman said that her greatest pleasure, though, comes from building self-esteem in young Latinas. She’s accomplished that through her leadership role in Hispanas Organized for Political Equality, or HOPE, a nonprofit group that provides educational opportunities for Latinas.

“We need to be mentors, especially here in the Latino community,” said Diaz Aszkenazy, president of Pueblo Contracting Services Inc. “There might be one thing we can do to change a kid’s life. I want to do that positive thing.”

The 40-year-old Sun Valley native said she hasn’t forgotten how a San Fernando Junior High School counselor launched her own academic career. The educator, who recognized the teenager’s talents, placed her in a San Fernando High School program for gifted students, from which she graduated as class valedictorian.

She went on to earn a business degree from Loyola Marymount in 1981.

In 1988, after working several years for a financial planning firm, Diaz Aszkenazy and her husband, Severyn I. Aszkenazy, opened a small contracting company, concentrating on restoring historic landmarks.

Seven years later, Hispanic Business magazine ranked Pueblo one of the most influential Latino-owned businesses in the nation.

“When I was growing up, all of my role models were hard workers, but no one owned their own business,” Diaz Aszkenazy said. “If an Hispanic girl or boy can look at us and say, ‘I want to do that too,’ then that’s great. That’s why I believe so strongly in HOPE.”

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Founded in 1990 by Maria Contreras-Sweet, currently the head of the state’s Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, HOPE established the education and leadership fund in 1992, for which Diaz Aszkenazy serves as president. The fund allows young Latinas to learn about careers in business and government by meeting with corporate and city leaders.

A HOPE symposium held at the Biltmore Hotel downtown in March brought hundreds of successful women and young Latinas together to celebrate Latina History Day. The teenagers attended workshops about teen pregnancy, self-respect and goal-setting.

“Martha has been the greatest mentor I could ever have,” said Collette Ruiz, 24, a HOPE member who now works for a record company. “She made me think about what I wanted to do in life and got me together with politicians and people in the media. I don’t know what I’d do without her.”

HOPE treasurer Karime Sanchez Bradvica agreed. “Through Martha’s leadership contributions, she’s elevated the organization to a higher level and helped us focus even more.”

Diaz Aszkenazy and 400 other HOPE members participated in their fifth annual Latina Action Day in Sacramento in April. The business and community leaders met with state legislators to discuss issues affecting Latinas. A Latina Action Day trip is planned for Washington, D.C., in September.

“I want to make our society a better, safer place to be,” said Diaz Aszkenazy, who was recently honored with a YWCA Silver Achievement Award. “If everyone did a little, it would add up to a lot in the end. That’s why I like to get involved.”

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