Page 18 - San Diego Woman Amy Haber Issue

Women of Distinction

iana Jones started col- was a really good fit for me. I
lege with plans to go worked in the growth initia-
Don to become a lawyer. tives department for a woman,
After sitting through one Karissa Price-Rico, who was
LSAT prep class she made the then and continues to be,
decision that the field of Law instrumental in my career”
was not a good fit. Through- Diana had a sales team
out her college years, Diana out of Tiajuna, about 30 sales
had worked at the Public reps, so she would cross the
Relations office on campus and border every other Friday to
realized that this was more meet with them. This helped
up her alley than law. “I really her Spanish to improve since
liked the work at the PR office, she had the opportunity to
so I started putting out some use it a lot with her sales team.
feelers and ended up landing a “At about that time, I took a
job in a Los Angeles advertis- girls' trip down to Mexico, to
ing agency. I started working Baja, and I met a boy and that
in the marketing and business boy lived in San Diego, and is
development department and now my husband, Brian. We
truly found my niche.” Unfor- had a long-distance relation-
tunately, her job there lasted ship between LA where I was
only a year when the firm working and San Diego where
downsized and eliminated he lived, for two and a half
their marketing department. years. I had spent many years
Her next position was in San Diego as a child and
an exciting one. “I ended up I fell back in love with this
in the Internet department town. Ultimately, we decided
of a publications company that it made sense for me to
called Weider Publications. move down here, but I wasn't
They're the publishers of Shape willing to move without a job.
Magazine and Muscle Fit- I didn't necessarily want to
ness Magazine. So, my focus Diana Jones leave my current firm, but at
quickly became health and that time, remote work wasn't
wellness. I was working in the possible. I waited until I found
Internet department, which at an opportunity in San Diego
the time was really the mar- By Judith A. Habert before I made the move.”
keting department, supporting Her new job was great
the growth of the magazine’s Photos by Dawn Nicoli/Nicoli Productions but unfortunately, this was
online communities. I was a around the time of the housing
marketing assistant, doing ev- bubble and many agencies
erything from web analytics to were shutting down, unfor-
whatever projects they needed launches and I got to dabble company that built an English tunately, Diana’s was one of
at the time.” After about a year and become involved with a learning platform called Ingles them. “Knowing that this was
and a half her boss from her bunch of amazing projects on sin Barreras. They marketed the nature of the business I was
first marketing job approached the branding side as a strate- to people living in the US in I just decided to regroup
her and asked if she would be gist. who spoke predominantly and search for a new position.”
interested in coming to work Diana worked for a Spanish but were looking to Sometimes what seems like a
with her in a new agency as few other small advertising learn English. “It was a really bad break in life, turns out to
a Junior Brand Strategist. “I agencies but soon realized that cool product, and really big in be the best thing that ever hap-
loved working for her. So, I these jobs were often transient, the Hispanic market. I spoke pened to you. Diana was still
jumped at the opportunity as marketing is a field that is Spanish nearly everyday, my finding herself unemployed af-
which landed me at a small very much controlled by the father is Puerto Rican and ter 18 months, but during that
agency in Long Beach where economy. Small PR and mar- raised in Brooklyn, and my time she started branching out
I stayed for about two years. keting firms open and close mom was born in Guatemala, on her own, doing freelance
I was able to do a lot of really at an alarming rate. One of but raised in Honduras. Grow- marketing jobs. “During that
cool branding work. We did Diana’s favorite jobs was work- ing up, Spanish was always time, I was aggressively picking
some company and brand ing for a Hispanic marketing spoken in my home, so this up some project work wherev-

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