Meet Elizabeth Garcia | Co-Host & Producer of the Conscious Kitchen Podcast

We had the good fortune of connecting with Elizabeth Garcia and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Elizabeth, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
t’s hard to choose one place I’m truly from. Like most of us, I feel that I belong to many different places. But for the sake of time, I’ll go with; I am a Colombian-American Latina who grew up in a small town in northern New Jersey.

Looking back at how unique my upbringing was always brings a smile to my face. My background as a multi-cultured individual truly gave me a colorful perspective, and my town was a Colombian focal point outside of South America. People spoke Spanish on the streets, and our downtown was lined with panaderías and Colombian restaurants.

My parents were entrepreneurs. They worked incredibly hard to give our family the best life possible. Like many of our parents, they had traveled to the US not knowing the language, not having any friends or support, and taking any jobs they could to open the doors to their future. Growing up listening to stories of how my father and family came to the United States as young adults pushed me to be my best every day.

I spent so much time at my parent’s business, playing office, writing Post-it notes, drinking coffee, and being the boss of my stuffed animals who I had “hired” as workers. I knew from a young age what it took to pave your own path. The hope, vision, and sacrifices that had to be made to start something from scratch without privilege or generational wealth. I quickly learned that if there was something I wanted, I better go after it with a smile, confidence, strategy, and golden energy.

Growing up, my parents supported almost everything I did. They offered me a job at their office greeting customers when I needed a purpose, and once I became a teenager, they supported me somehow, having three jobs while in high school. The work ethic I had seen from them clearly fueled my success as a young college student when I pursued internships with top employers on my list and saw myself in board rooms with high-level marketing executives brainstorming and adding insight anywhere I could. I had no fear, just dreams and goals and that is what has fueled my path as a freelance (conscious business) marketing consultant and podcast host and producer.

There are no limits to your success when you believe and model yourself from parents who started with nothing.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My career has not been linear, which continues to be my biggest lesson. After college, I wanted to be a Chief Marketing Officer for a big beauty brand; that was my dream until I was on that path working for L’Oreal in New York, and I had a moment where I realized I wanted to help animals and the environment, and my work needed to be tied to that mission. I planned, paid off school loans, and changed course. After setting up this path for six years, I began pursuing my “new dream.” Before I knew it, I was en route to work for largest animal rights non-profit in the world, PETA. I found great success there, growing the @peta Instagram account by 737% by 2018 and being on the winning team for the 2018 PR Newswire Social Media Team of the Year.

After my five years at PETA, it was time to evolve once again, and I decided I wanted to help animals by working with vegan businesses to reach new consumers. I started as a freelance consultant, and I was instantly successful, thanks to the Los Angeles network I was now was a part of.

But I needed creative outlets too. I started @plantlikethings, a place for education on conscious living, sharing zero waste resources and international vegan travel guides. I became a 35mm film street photographer, joined a badass art collective Bloody Gums, curated epic art shows with my husband Christopher Details, and further expanded my network. Beyond plantlikethings.com and photography, I still had more to say. My career evolved once again, leading me to podcast production, hosting hours’ worth of disruptive discussions with visionaries from around the world on the Conscious Kitchen Podcast. It’s been a ride!

The path to success and happiness with your career can not be planned. Some strategy is required, yes. But don’t chain yourself to your dreams because they might change.

Every move I’ve made has been led by my intuition and heart, the calls to not fear time or new industries, and the vision that it will all work out. I hope this inspires you to think outside the box and never settle for a career you’ve outgrown.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would take them out to a vegan dinner at one of my favorite spots in Los Angeles, I have so many, Burger Lords, Sage Vegan Bistro, Pura Vita, Just What I Kneaded, or I would cook them a delicious plant-based meal at home.

We’d definitely visit The Broad museum, swing by an art exhibition at Superchief Galley, hit up a hike in Malibu, go camping deep into the wilderness to unplug and detox from technology, and spend hours having conscious conversations.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Shout out to all the real ones who support, share, purchase, and attend events for their friends and family. In a world sometimes fueled by empty support systems, there truly is nothing like psychically showing up, leaving reviews, subscribing, texting, and calling your friends when they succeed or need your support. So if you’re one of these “real ones”, thank you. Even if I don’t know you, just thank you for supporting the things that matter, the dreams and goals of your loved ones.

Now off to my personal shout outs, obviously endlessly grateful for my parents who encouraged fearlessness and drive from such a young age.

Second, the biggest shout-out to my husband Christopher Details who literally is the the most prominent hype man in my corner, reminding me every day of my endless creativity and for his help providing me with resources and essential tools to keep my ever-evolving and sometimes anxious dreams in line with our future.

Last but not least, shout out to Laura Fama, my co-host of the Conscious Kitchen Podcast, for showing me what unconditional support from a friend means and reminding me of my power when I might not feel my best.

Website: https://plantlikethings.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/plantlikethings/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethgarcia32/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/plantlikethings

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTaHYIUcIdldDRAhA4fPucg

Other: https://www.consciouskitchenpodcast.com/ https://www.instagram.com/consciouskitchenpod/ https://anchor.fm/consciouskitchenpodcast https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHI8X75QScfZ2-ZwLbmRKQQ

Image Credits
Image with blue dress and man with camera: https://www.instagram.com/lizbretz/