Yovana Rosales of Ai.Latina Wants to Make AI Equitable

Yovana Rosales is CEO of Ai.Latina, which aims to empower community members to take risks in learning and leveraging AI tools. She is also working on AI-powered visualization meditation courses and hosts a podcast called “Making Líder Moves.”

As part of our Tech Chingonas package, Rosales shares what her role as an entrepreneur really entails, the importance of la comunidad, and what she does for self-care. Get to know her journey below.

What inspired you to get into tech?
Fear of job loss and a desire for representation drove me into tech. As a community manager from 2020 to 2023, I cultivated safe spaces for entrepreneurs, self-care enthusiasts, tech enthusiasts, and Latinas. My role encompassed engagement, content creation, moderation, growth strategies, feedback collection, reporting, collaboration, event management, crisis management, and platform oversight.

In summer 2023, headlines about AI replacing jobs sparked anxiety. Discussions with fellow Latina entrepreneurs revealed a lack of certainty about AI’s impact on our careers. I realized this stemmed from our underrepresentation in tech spaces — Latinas comprise less than one percent in AI and earn only $0.53 to a white man’s dollar in corporate America.

Recognizing the widening gap, I committed to empowering Latina professionals, stay-at-home mamis, and business owners/entrepreneurs to leverage AI. Through extensive learning and experimentation, I now conduct workshops teaching Latinas how to use AI to scale their businesses, advance professionally, and streamline their home lives. My mission is to ensure Latinas aren’t left behind as technology advances, promoting a more balanced and efficient lifestyle through AI utilization.

What does a typical workday look like for you?
As an entrepreneur, my days are diverse and dynamic. For this jefa, there’s no such thing as a “typical” day — I alternate between working on and in my business. My schedule might include strategic planning for the virtual communities I manage in the morning, product development or consulting on client projects in the afternoon, and attending networking events to forge new partnerships in the evening.

I wear many hats, handling everything from branding and HR to strategy and customer relationships. While entrepreneurship presents its challenges, the rewards are immensely fulfilling. I find great satisfaction in creating value and making an impact in my comunidad as a business owner. This varied, fast-paced lifestyle keeps me on my toes, but it’s precisely this diversity that makes entrepreneurship exciting and worthwhile for me.

What’s the most rewarding part of your job?
The most rewarding part of my job is witnessing the transformation of Latinas who attend my AI Unleashed workshop. It’s incredibly fulfilling to see the initial fear and confusion fade from their faces, replaced by confidence as they grasp how to leverage AI in their professional and personal lives.

The true satisfaction comes when these Latinas not only apply what they’ve learned to their businesses and households but also become advocates and educators themselves. Watching them confidently share their newfound AI knowledge with colleagues, classmates, and extended family members creates a ripple effect of empowerment and technological adoption within our comunidad.

This cascade of knowledge transfer and skill development is what drives me. It’s not just about individual success, but about elevating our entire comunidad’s technological literacy and competitiveness in an AI-driven world.

How did your parents feel about you pursuing a career in tech?
Initially, there was resistance, particularly from mi mami. When I first told her about using AI in my profession, she dismissed it as “cheating” and said she would never hire someone who used it. Recognizing she wasn’t ready to accept this new information, I didn’t push the issue.

Instead, I started sharing my AI work and its everyday applications with mi papi, making sure mi mama was within earshot. Gradually, she began listening more attentively. She also started noticing AI-related news on her favorite platforms: “Good Morning America” and NPR.

Her attitude shifted dramatically over time. She began sharing AI articles and links from her favorite media platforms with me. Now, when mi papa needs help with home repairs, she’s quick to suggest, “You know the drill, put it into Claude to get suggestions and directions for the house repairs.”

It’s been remarkable to witness her transformation from initial closed-mindedness to full embrace of AI technology. She’s now actively sharing AI resources with me and our extended familia. This experience highlights how exposure and gradual introduction can change perceptions about new technologies, even among those initially resistant.

What are you watching right now?
I love watching reality trash TV, it’s my ultimate favorite! Right now, I am currently watching “90 Day Fiancé,” “Love Is Blind: Mexico,” and “Love Is Blind: Europe.” I did also just finish watching an amazing show called “Queenie,” a show based on a 25-year-old Jamaican British woman living in south London, straddling two cultures and not fitting neatly into either.

How do you practice self-care?
I have created AI-powered self-guided visualization meditations depending on what need I need to fulfill for that day, and now, I am getting ready to put these mediations into production and share them with my Latine comunidad! The AI-empowered visualization meditations I am creating address our unique challenges, enhance our professional skills, and promote our well-being as Latinas.

By offering tailored support and practical tools, I aim to empower Latina leaders to thrive both personally and professionally. I am excited to launch these meditations; if interested, please feel free to join the wait list here.

What do you always make time for because it makes you feel good?
¡La música es mi vida! So once a month, I make it a point to either go to a concert or a music festival. In August alone, I was able to enjoy Young Miko, Lollapalooza, and North Coast. I have traveled before to see Bad Bunny at Yankee Stadium, Phoenix at Hollywood Bowl, Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin at Staples Center, and so much more! I can’t wait to internationally travel to go to a concert.

Johanna Ferreira is the content director for PS Juntos. With more than 10 years of experience, Johanna focuses on how intersectional identities are a central part of Latine culture. Previously, she spent close to three years as the deputy editor at HipLatina, and she has freelanced for numerous outlets including Refinery29, Oprah magazine, Allure, InStyle, and Well+Good. She has also moderated and spoken on numerous panels on Latine identity.