Aurelinea Prado, who goes by Lina, led a promising aviation career for the last 16 years. She has also held various leadership positions in her community such as serving as an Executive Board Director and as the Vice President of the Women in Aviation chapter in San Antonio, Texas where she now resides. Now, Lina is running for Commissioner of Precinct 1 in San Antonio. Prado is currently running her campaign with a focus on three issues: public safety, infrastructure, and financial growth. Guiding her political endeavors and commitment to forming a more positive precinct, she looks to her family’s story as immigrants and the grave sacrifices made by her parents.
Her father attended school up until the 8th grade and would later become a welder who was highly sought after in their area. Although he did not complete a formal education, his intellect shined through in the way he encouraged Lina to look at things in different perspectives. “He found solutions with ease,” said Lina. It was her father’s strategic thinking that helped Lina’s family flourish in the United States. As for her mother, she was a nurse in the Dominican Republic. Once she immigrated to the United States, she became a cosmetologist and opened up her own business. Lina’s parent’s entrepreneurial spirit is inspiring and the embodiment of the American dream. It is easy to understand why Lina idolizes her parents as her first role models.
Lina values the efforts behind role models like her parents. She is exceptionally proud of the network of mentors and coaches she was able to build. Today, she is in a position to do the same for others and has dedicated her time to acting as a mentor to a high school student while she was a mechanic. Now, this mentee holds a prominent position in the aviation industry.
However, Lina’s innate ability to be of service to others would not have come without the service and sacrifices from her parents, all of which allowed Lina to call the United States her home at the age of 7. Immigrating at the time meant fleeing the cultural impacts of Rafael Trujillo, the former President turned dictator of the Dominican Republic. Prado has referred to her experience as an immigrant as guiding her interest in running for office. In 2002, a tragedy took place in San Antonio where 53 migrants were found deceased in a tractor trailer. Naturally, this story resonated with her as an immigrant well aware of the struggles and heartaches that come in the pursuit of a safer future. This tragedy caused Lina to ask herself what she could do to stop these kinds of things and where she could be of value. Soon enough, Lina realized that running for County Commissioner would help her do her part in building stronger communities and strengthening the people’s relationship with the government.
Lina started her campaign pregnant, requiring her to plan her next steps with her pending birth and maternity leave in mind Lina knew she had to plan her campaign with her maternity leave in mind. She used this time to reach out to leaders to teach herself how to run for office. Along with the resources like Liberty Institute, informational literature and the help of State Representative John Lujan, Lina formulated a core foundation of how she envisioned her campaign. Running for office as a new mom is nothing short of a challenge. To stay organized, Lina states a lot of planning and clear boundaries were required with family being her cornerstone. Through clear communication with family and within her campaign, she is able to confront barriers coming her way. In her professional life working in aviation, Lina opened up the need she felt to fit in and struggling with deciding whether to approach certain tasks and projects a certain way in order to be successful. Luckily for Lina, she was able to figure out what worked for her, bringing her authentic self to the table and breaking down the barriers she was perceiving from others that were actually internalized. This self-work extended to how she presents herself as well. When showing up to meetings for the boards she serves on and the organizations she is a part of, she is proud of using colorful clothing and accent pieces to bring out her personality in her professional attire. “Simple changes like that make people feel comfortable”, said Lina. Lina’s people-first mindset she expresses is evident in her work within the non-profit sector. Lina co-founded a non-profit in Bexar County that connects students with opportunities to embark in a career in aviation.
When it comes to discrimination in politics, Lina knows this is the reality for many candidates. She supports the policies and opportunities that are made to be available to everyone. “You have to focus on your personal responsibility and bring personal agency,” said Lina. It is this grit and resilience that propels Lina to serve as a support system to others at a time when she is juggling being a mother, wife, professional, and candidate. As a candidate Lina is grateful to be content with how her campaign has been running so far. Her only wish she said is to be able to spend more time in the day talking to people in her area. Before parting, Lina encouraged me in her own words, assuring me as she has many others, “The sky is no longer your limit, it is only your beginning”.
