First Generation Programming Services

Welcome back, social workers! This week, we continue talking about the power of representation in social work by welcoming a brand-new guest, Michael Avila.

Michael is a licensed clinical social worker, business owner, and first-gen college graduate. His journey into social work began when he was 16 years old, working as a camp counselor at the YMCA. Michael saw the impact that counseling could have on someone’s life early on after being connected to mentors himself.

As a Latino man entering a profession with little male representation, Michael experienced firsthand what it meant to be different. However, Michael learned to view it as an opportunity. In this episode, Sara and Michael discuss the cultural expectations and stigma that can make it difficult for men to discuss mental health. They discuss how men may see a therapist who looks like them and understands their cultural context and feel comfortable to begin the healing journey.

Michael Avila

It is also important to acknowledge that representation is not always about finding someone exactly like you. Michael shares how one of his most influential mentors was a white male teacher who challenged and believed in him. For Michael, it was the strength of the relationship, not a shared identity, that made the difference.

Lastly, Sara and Michael also talk about what it means to be authentic in a profession that can have very strict ideas about what “professional” looks like. They discuss tattoos, hairstyles, clothing and the environments where therapy takes place. They also question whether some of these expectations actually create barriers to connection. Sometimes, the very things considered “unprofessional” can become conversation starters between the communities they serve.

At the end of the episode, Michael reminds us that not everyone has everything figured out, and that’s perfectly okay. This is a reminder that social workers are human, too, and taking care of ourselves is essential to being present for our clients. Michael’s advice to the social work community is to have the courage to be first. Take that first step, be vulnerable with yourself, and that just might inspire others to follow.

 The First Gen Madrina

Meet Sara Diaz, LCSW, CFSW Founder of The First Gen Madrina

Sara Diaz is a licensed clinical social worker and first-generation Latina who founded The First Gen Madrina because she knows what it feels like to navigate a career without a map. Her path into this work began long before grad school: with the experience of feeling unseen, and later, with a Latina therapist who showed her what it looks like to be truly understood.

That experience is the heart of everything Sara does. Whether working with a social worker feeling the weight of burnout, trying to figure out what “success” even means for them, or someone quietly wondering if rest is allowed, Sara shows up as a Madrina, walking alongside her clients rather than simply advising them.

The Madrina Network
This is where community lives. The Madrina Network is a professional home for social workers who want more than just career advice. This is a space where advocacy, growth, and shared experience come together. Members find peer connection, professional development, and the kind of support that reminds them they don’t have to carry this work alone.

1:1 Career Coaching
For social workers ready to go deeper, Sara’s one-on-one coaching is built specifically for social workers who give so much to others and are learning how to advocate just as fiercely for themselves. Together, she and her clients work through burnout (because it’s systemic, not personal), career transitions, negotiation, and reclaiming a sense of purpose in a field that can ask everything of them.

For more information, visit thefirstgenmadrina.com.