ROCIO GONZALEZ

Latin American Chamber director guides Latino business owners—of all kinds—through opportunities, accents

- TONY MECIA

FEW PEOPLE IN CHARLOTTE have a work background as varied as Rocio Gonzalez’s. She’s been a social worker, child abuse investigator, group home manager, accounts payable manager, and real estate agent.

Today, in her role as executive director of the Latin American Chamber of Commerce of Charlotte, Gonzalez helps Latino-owned businesses thrive and connects them to the larger Charlotte business community. One of her main messages is that, contrary to the stereotype, Latinos in Charlotte are represented in just about every profession here—pursuing careers as diverse as hers, and more.

Gonzalez was born in New York City but grew up in Bogota, Colombia. After she earned a computer science degree in Germany, she returned to the United States and lived in Pennsylvania for a time. When her then-husband was offered a job in Matthews in 1999, she was excited to try something new.

She picks up the story from there in her own words, edited for clarity and brevity:

MY EX-HUSBAND was offered a job here, in the wood flooring industry, with the boom of construction back in 1999. The funny thing is, I thought he was being offered a job close to the beach. I was delighted that I was going to live by the beach! He said, “No, it’s Charlotte, not Charleston.” I didn’t know where Charlotte was.