Meet Heidi Lepe | Writer, Storyteller & Consultant

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

Hi Heidi, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I am pursuing a creative career to give myself a chance to do the things I love and what has felt most true to me. I grew up thinking a path in the arts and creative scene was unattainable and unrealistic for girls like me. Immigrant families are conditioned to think “success” looks one or two ways—sometimes as a doctor or lawyer, so every other vocation is discouraged, especially when you are prioritizing financial stability for you and your family in times of crisis and need. It wasn’t until I started falling asleep during legal meetings at my big girl corporate job in my twenties that I realized I wasn’t doing something I was passionate about and needed to be more honest with myself. It’s funny because though the course of my education and career was not so linear, some things stayed the same and it was that I had a love and way with words while bringing an analytical lens to the work I did. I remember writing prose around my Latina identity and reflections on the sociopolitical issues going on around me during my downtime at this corporate job. I’d strategize how to communicate these words and content through various means digitally experimenting with branding, messaging and literary arts. I was dreaming up possibilities behind that cubicle and double dipping them corporate hours! But also, my creative itch was getting scratched, and I began to wonder if this would get me somewhere one day. Well that work did bring opportunities, along with archives I’d find of me as a 5th grade youth writer long ago seeing how storytelling had been within me from the start. I find inspiration in a creative career that lets me practice my craft as a writer and strategic thinking in advocacy driven communications work. I recognize this is a privilege and am grateful that this path truly aligns with who I am and who I’ve been.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
It’s taken me some time to openly admit that I am a writer and creative. My friends would have this playful means of telling me that I was these things when I couldn’t believe it. “SHE A WRITA,” they’d say, as in, get it together girl. This goes to show how we can be the hardest on ourselves—not seeing the work we’ve made and how far we’ve come. This, along with comparison, is a true thief of joy as they say. It’s been challenging to get over the imposter syndrome and inner critique but I think what helps is looking back. Looking back to see the little glimmers of consistency in between all the jobs you’ve done, between the life events that shaped you and guided your choices or perhaps even changed your course, but seeing how this has been a crucial and purposeful part of your development and voice as a creative being. I don’t think our purpose as artists and creatives ever disappears either, especially if we name ourselves. What I mean by this is that we’ve got to validate ourselves, not wait on others, not the world, not an editor, not a program or degree, or publication to call us what we are but must do this for ourselves and build. It takes work but is worth it if we want to walk into the path we dream of. Today, I would want the world to know I am a Honduran and Mexican-American writer practicing the art of storytelling. Here I write from my embodied experiences and identity as a Latina and daughter of immigrants. There’s many stories within this body that I’ve told and there’s still more left to share and explore. As a multifaceted creative with more ideas than I can sometimes keep up with, I am also a purpose driven communicator in the field. Creating within all these areas really has been about imagining and constructing a better, more just world forward and I am so grateful to have a canvas through vocation. Consistency, community, imagination, play, and believing in myself has gotten me to this point and will keep driving me forward.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
This question is great because my east coast homies know how hard I ride for my city. So much in fact I curate experiences based on which parts of Los Angeles they are visiting and what cuisines they are looking to explore but here is a concise (my version of concise) itinerary and guide:

Tacos:
-Villas Tacos (DTLA/Highland Park)
-Avenue 26 Taco Stand (DTLA)
-Brothers Cousins Tacos (Sawtelle/West LA)

Coffee shops:
-Tierra Mia Cafe (Latine Owned)
-Hilltop Coffee & Kitchen (Black Owned)
-MillCross Coffee Bar and Kitchen (Culver City)
-Cafe Calle (South Central LA)

Parks:
-Los Angeles State Historic Park (in Chinatown)
-Vista Hermosa Park (has a famous bench with a view)
-Echo Park Lake (has boat Swan activities)

Ramen/Pho/Dumplings:
-Daikokuya Ramen (Little Tokyo)
-Ave 26 Tacos (on Alameda St.)
-Din Tai Fung
-Vui Ve (Little Tokyo)

Dessert:
-Mateo’s Ice Cream (Oaxacan owned)
-Levian’s Bakery (Larchmont)
-Zooies (get in that gas station, it’s worth it!)

Activities:
-The Broad Museum (DTLA)
-LACMA
-The last floor of the DTLA City Hall Building (for city view)
-Kenneth Hahn Park for hike
-Culver City Stairs (it has not other name)
-Village Well Books & Coffee
-Radical Hood Library

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I recently read this quote from essayist and journalist, Alex Lewis that says, “I’m not self-made; I’m love-made” and this sums up my experience with the people and city I want to shout out. First and foremost, I dedicate my shoutout to my parents for knowing I’d construct my own path before I knew. As their strong-willed second born, they knew my personality and mind would be too much to contain and though not explicitly, they pushed me to march to the beat of my own drum through comments like, “You are meant to lead, not work under someone” and “You got a mouth on you.” So thank you mami and papi for knowing who I am, my creativity runs free today at the cost of their labor and hands. I also want to shoutout every woman and specifically, Black and brown woman who believed in my work and writing, and has midwifed me into dreaming when I couldn’t throughout these past few wild years. Thank you Camille, Mele, Da’Jon, Araceli, Alma, Vane, Dina, Sandy, Grace, Millie, Liz, Ines, Claudia, Franceska, Rose, Hannah, Maggie and Karla for showing love, support and reminders in the process. Lastly, I can’t claim being a storyteller and not say who inspires the storytelling. This shoutout goes to Angelenos as the ethos of a city where dreamers are born, where hustle meets heart, where Black, Central American, Mexican, Asian and Middle Eastern kin meet to create LA’s own heartbeat. Thank you for inspiring me, beloved LA.

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

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

Other: Substack: https://heidilepe.substack.com/