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Alex Nogales Highlight
It’s not always about talent. There are a lot of really talented people in the world. It’s about being in the right place at the right time.
About Alex
- He grew up in Calexico, CA, on the border with Mexico—his parents were Mexican immigrants and migrant farm laborers.
- Experienced a lot of racism growing up and remembers signs in stores saying “No Dogs or Mexicans Allowed”; this has driven him to work to ensure that Latinos are able to walk in any door.
- Decided to drop out of school after seventh grade because he didn’t like how segregated his school was and how the Hispanic and Latino populations were treated.
- Was 28 years old when he realized that he needed to go back to school to get ahead—enrolled in community college and then transferred to UCLA where he graduated magna cum laude.
- Says he always had a passion for media and entertainment, so he began writing for children’s television shows—ended up losing his job and was unemployed for over a year.
- Got a job as a producer for CBS Television where he worked for over 13 years and received multiple Emmy awards.
- Eventually, he got tired of the lack of diversity and representation in media, so he co-founded the National Hispanic Media Coalition in 1986.
- He’s now a passionate advocate for Latino representation in all forms of media, a leader in the fight against hate speech, and was instrumental in forming the Multi-Ethnic Media Coalition.
