Juan Medina: Connecting with and Preserving Family Memories and Culture

Ladderworks is a publishing platform of diverse picture books and online curriculum with the mission to empower over a million kids to become social entrepreneurs. Our current series features interviews by our interplanetary journalist Spiffy with inspiring Social Entrepreneurs, Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Builders, and Changemakers who are advancing the UN SDGs. 

Hey, friends! It's Spiffy, back again on Planet Earth with an eye on changemaking leaders making the world a more equitable place! I have another great interview for you this week. Today, I’m excited to cruise around with Juan Medina, the CEO of Lalo. Are you ready to be inspired? 

Spiffy: Thanks for joining me, Juan! Tell me, what challenge are you addressing through your organization? 

Juan: Glad to be with you, Spiffy! We are working to capture family stories and memories and preserve them for future generations to enjoy.

Spiffy: Wonderful! Tell me more. What motivates you to tackle this challenge?

Juan: I lost my father and realized I hadn't been able to capture all the memories I wanted to.

Spiffy: I’m very sorry for your loss and to hear that. Your mission sounds very personal and meaningful to you. How else would you describe the impact of your work?

Juan: Thank you. It helps families who are grieving and who immigrated to the US by having a single place to connect and share memories of the people they've lost or culture they left behind.

Spiffy: Tell me about a recent milestone or initiative by you or your organization. What impact does that make? 

Juan: We recently hit more than 1M views on TikTok; this helps us spread our message to more people and hopefully will allow us to serve them and their families!

Spiffy: Congratulations! Is there anything else you would love to tell our audience?

Juan: I love the work that I do!

Spiffy: That’s amazing. Thanks for speaking with me today, Juan—it’s been an honor!

Juan Medina is the CEO of Lalo, a place to preserve your family memories. He previously worked for Amazon.com and has an MBA from the University of Chicago. He's originally from Colombia and lives with his family and two dogs outside Seattle, WA. (Nominated by Kerry Ingram of Visible Hands. First published on the Ladderworks website on April 12, 2023.)

The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect those of Ladderworks LLC.

© 2023 Ladderworks LLC. Edited by Lindsey Brannon. Spiffy’s illustration by Shreyas Navare. For the Ladderworks digital curriculum to help K-3 kids advance the UN SDGs, visit Spiffy's Launchpad: Creative Entrepreneurship Workshops for K-3 Kids and their caregivers here.