Mexican Immigrant and First Gen Role Model Beats the Odds, Meet Inclusive Leader Award Winner for Technology: Jesse Carrillo, Chief Innovation Officer, Howard Hughes Corporation
“It’s not important that they remember my name or even my profession. When I’m fortunate enough to speak with students about my journey, I want them to remember that someone with a similar skin color and upbringing showed them that there are opportunities out there. They should never let anyone tell them that they “CAN’T”.
- Jesse Carrillo
Like many immigrants from countries such as Mexico, Jesse’s journey began as a quest for a better life. His mom had just left a challenging marriage which was a very uncommon thing to do in Mexico at the time. In Jesse’s words, “This was back in the late 60’s when wives were not known to leave their husbands, so I’m eternally grateful for my mother who had the strength to make that tough decision. Looking back, I probably would not be here if not for her strong will and desire to bring my younger brother and me to the United States, in an effort to provide us with more opportunities.”.
Financially, things were tough. Having settled in San Antonio, Jesse’s mother worked two and sometimes three jobs to make ends meet, while Jesse helped take care of his younger brother. The family was on welfare for a few years and lived in very tough neighborhoods but were fortunate to get the opportunity to live in government subsidized housing, which helped them save and eventually drop the dependence on welfare. As Jesse explains, “My Mom appreciated assistance, but her goal was to stand on her own two feet, and she raised us the same way”. Jesse also credits his mother for instilling in him the desire to always help others. He recalls, “I used to get upset sometimes when my mom would give what little money we had to someone else, which caused us to not have too many things and even go a little hungrier, but she would say, ‘Mijo, no matter what’s our situation, if someone ever needs help, we must help them’.
Education became an integral part of Jesse’s journey. He remembers many elementary school teachers who went above-and-beyond to help him learn the English language and make him feel like he belonged in this new country: “I’m so thankful for those teachers who saw potential in me and spent extra time working with me”. This is when I started to learn what an amazing impact someone who has passion and genuine caring can make”. All along his journey, Jesse found many more educators with the same passion: middle school science and history teachers who would give him additional assignments to challenge him, a math teacher who taught him how to play chess to enhance his logic skills, even a high school history teacher who took it upon himself to teach several students how to play golf (unheard of at that time for a school in an underdeveloped neighborhood).
“Having seen the immense positive influence these educators had on me, I have made it my personal mission to pay-it-forward” by trying to serve as a role model and by connecting with organizations with a passion for helping our next generation. I’m so fortunate to be associated with several non-profit organizations, schools, and advisory boards which target youth, and many of them specific to STEM/STEAM. Jesse is a member of the CIO Executive Council; Real Estate Cyber Consortium (RECC); Cyberhouston.org; and WiredScore Smart Building Council. He serves on the Advisory Boards of Realcomm International, Quest Oracle Community, the Houston Baptist University College of Science Engineering (COSE), and as President of the Houston Chapter of Society for Information Management (SIM). He also serves on the board of Genesys Works – Houston.
As Chief Innovation Officer for the Howard Hughes Corporation, Jesse oversees the strategy and operation of the company’s innovation and technology platforms across the firm’s national portfolio of large-scale master planned communities (MPCs) and mixed-use properties. Jesse states, “I’m excited to have joined a firm with a strong DE&I focus and where we are not just supported but also encouraged to impact the next generation”. Jesse is able to connect with these students at a personal level which he hopes can ignite a spark and show them the art of what’s possible.
Meet Jesse at the Inclusive Leader Awards dinner June 22, and during the "Growing the CS and Tech Pipelines: Widening Access to Diverse Talent" June 23 at the GlobalMindED Conference.
