My letter of resignation

I stand in solidarity with the colleagues who have lost their jobs.

I offered my resignation in hopes of saving jobs at Futuro Media Group. It was my way to advocate for people who couldn’t advocate for themselves. I stand in solidarity with those who were laid off and remain committed to helping them on the road ahead. Today, August 25, is my last day.

I’m very proud of a year’s worth of accomplishments at Futuro. None of it could have been done without the talented and committed editors, digital correspondents, production managers and engineers I had by my side; the sturdy partnership with Yolanda Moore; and the wisdom and encouragement from my executive coach Alicia Bassuk.

Some of the highlights:

• I advocated — and won — pay parity among producers and editors.

• I created a supervisory role that optimized the sharing of resources between Futuro’s flagship property, Latino USA, and its award-winning investigative unit.

• I developed and supervised a plan for the year-long series of shows commemorating the 30 years of Latino USA and secured a partnership with the Benson Latin American Collection at the University of Texas at Austin, guaranteeing the company’s access to archival audio free of cost.

• I empowered Latino USA producers to anchor the shows they produced while also pushing them to embrace bolder ideas that speak to some of the most challenging issues of our times, such as gun violence, economic opportunity and public health. Team LUSA: I am so very proud of the work you’ve done.

• I steered the revamping of In The Thick into a weekly political podcast, shaping its roundtable segment around a single topic to offer listeners deeper and more impactful conversations.

• I embraced experimentation on Latino Rebels, Futuro’s multimedia platform, by focusing on quality over quantity. I’m especially proud of the witty TikToks and Instagram Lives, the unique angles and engaging guests featured on Latino Rebels Radio and the stellar coverage of climate change and climate justice issues in Puerto Rico.

• I took over the responsibility of producing a serial podcast for an external client and guided the team from conception to (almost final) production.

I also learned a lot, starting from the fact that I have *talent* for leadership and really enjoy leadership, a role I embraced as an opportunity to do right by the people I supervised in ways that many of my previous supervisors didn’t know how to do or didn’t care enough to do for me.

If I’ve left a mark, I hope it’s that I’ve made the producers, editors, correspondents, fellows and interns I managed and supervised more confident in their own abilities, more open to taking risks in their storytelling and more prepared for what’s ahead, whether they’re staying at Futuro or moving on.

I do not have a job lined up, so if you’re looking for a multi-skilled, multi-talented, multi-cultural and multi-lingual editor and leader, hit me up. I’m super eager and open to get together to exchange ideas, explore collaborations, discuss training your staff (I’m really good at it), talk about next chapters (something I have some solid experience on) and, yes, consider your full-time offer. I have enjoyed management and would prefer to continue along this path.

A chapter closes, but this is in no way the end of anything. It is an opportunity for a wonderful new beginning.

With love and purpose, always.

Fernanda.