BY SOUMANOU SALIFOU

Images courtesy of Josefina Loza

Josefina Loza is the founder and CEO of Lozafina, LLC., a marketing and public relations firm based in Omaha, Nebraska specializing in brand development for artists, businesses, and non-profits. The daring creation of Lozafina, LLC. in 2020 in the middle of the Corona virus pandemic was the culmination of the long, brilliant professional career of this hard-working Latina, a first-generation American of Mexican origin who told The African in reference to her parents in the interviews leading to this article: “Everything I do is to honor them. They’ve shown me what resilience, endurance, strength, grit, moxie, all look like. Now it’s my turn to show them what I can do to care for them as they’ve done for their six children.”

It would be an understatement to say that Loza has indeed honored her parents, Benjamin and Rose Loza who continue to work in their 60s at blue-collar positions that most could never endure. Her father is a meatpacker and has worked in that position since 1978 afraid to retire because that’s all he’s ever known. Her mother works in a school cafeteria. “Kitchen and cleaning work is all she’s ever known,” says Loza. Having learned from her parents, Josefina Loza put her own resilience, endurance, and strength to work and boasts an amazing track record.

In addition to her responsibility as CEO of her own company—the biggest dream of almost all Americans—Josefina Loza, a seasoned news journalist, currently serves as publication manager of The Gateway, the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s official independent student-run newspaper. Her duties include working with a talented group of creative and young aspiring journalists who benefit from her mentorship and guidance.

Loza is a former diversity fellow for the Society for Features Journalism and a member of the Nebraska Press Association and College Media Association. She serves on the Omaha Cinco de Mayo research committee, the Salvation Army Head Start parent/community board, Omaha Public School’s District Citizens Advisory Committee, and the Jackson Elementary Parenting Group. She is an active alumnus and advisor of the Omicron chapter of Lambda Theta Nu Sorority, Inc., and a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, a 100-year-old national leadership honor society.

A journalist with more than 20 years of experience, Josefina Loza worked for the Omaha World-Herald, Associated Press, Colorado Springs Gazette, Omaha Magazine, Huffington Post, National Association of Hispanic Journalists and Momaha.com, a parenting site operated by the World-Herald.

Walking straight in Dad and Mom’s steps

Josefina Loza says her parents were so generous they gladly lent a hand to community members in need. An apple never falls far from the tree, says the adage. No doubt the veteran journalist became an entrepreneur to make money, but she is also driven by the desire to help in her community.

Already known to be one of the causes of racial inequality in America, economic inequality became more apparent in light of the Corona virus pandemic. Different organizations got into action to help, including The Midlands African Chamber that Loza is a key member of, which already has something to show for its efforts. “I always think back to my parents. They helped every family that came to them in need,” says Loza. “They made sure to patronize small businesses in our community to ensure those businesses were successful. So, following their lead, I couldn’t imagine having the know-how with marketing and public relations and not do what I can to assist small businesses in black and brown communities.”

A woman of many worlds

Eager to use her experience to support worthwhile projects, Josefina Loza serves as Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations for the Midlands African Chamber founded in 2020 out of the desire to help the growing businesses in Nebraska within the African and African American communities prosper. To carry out its mission, the Chamber serves as the voice of businesses and involves the public and private sectors in community leadership. The Chamber offers events, covering education, leadership development, business growth, and networking.

There’s no racial equality without economic equity, so the Midlands African Chamber is committed to promoting the same through entrepreneurship in diverse communities. The Chamber serves a host of diverse business owners with varied racial backgrounds such as African immigrants, African Americans, Latinos, Caucasians, and refugees.

As Vice President and founding member, Loza’s role with the Chamber is to lead the marketing and communication committee to direct the organization’s overall comprehensive communication strategy. She helps lead the team to oversee a consistent and active communication strategy to all stakeholders for the purpose of recruitment, program messaging, fundraising, awareness, and branding. She also maintains and builds relationships with key industry partners and members of the press in conjunction with the Chamber’s efforts.

A Latina with an African heart, Loza gladly worked at various events and in multiple capacities in Omaha’s African community with Marco LeRoc, the African founder of the Global Leadership Africa Summit (GLAS) which serves as a celebration of Africa’s history and contributions to the world while promoting a worldwide message of inclusion. She accepted LeRoc’s invitation to serve as communications director for the Summit as it continues to grow and the speaker quality enhances. Last year, the summit featured several artists, including actor and philanthropist Boris Kodjoe (who has a Ghanaian father) and Nigerian singer/songwriter SIMI. As communications director, Loza was responsible for keeping correspondence with local and national media about event announcements as they unfolded. “Being able to communicate the beauty of one’s culture and partake in such special events truly brings me joy,” Loza told The African.

Loza is also appreciated by her community of origin that named her as one of Omaha’s most influential Latinas in Media. She was among several who graced the cover of the 2020 Directorio Latino. In February 2022, she was honored as one of Ten Outstanding Young Omahans by the Omaha Jaycees, the city’s oldest young professionals’ organization.

The usually hard road to the American Dream

The conquest of the American Dream, like achieving anything big in life, requires hard work and persistent preparation. Loza, a seasoned journalist, paid her due to get where she is today. She is a journalism graduate of the University of Nebraska at Omaha who is expected to complete her Master of Arts in Communication Studies in the fall. Her area of interests are parent-child communication, biracial identity formation, and intrapersonal conflict. Her research has been accepted and presented at several media conferences, including the National Communication Association, Central States Communication Association, and the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s School of Communication High School Media Conference.

A recognized artist

Loza is also an abstract expressionism artist whose credentials just grew a notch while we were working with her on this article. One of her pieces, “Mouthy,” just got accepted into the Padzieski Gallery in Dearborn, Michigan in conjunction with their Collab Project Exhibition curated by Michelle Bogess. The recognition did not stop there. The piece is expected to be featured in a book. An excited Josefina Loza told The African: “I’m so thankful to artists and curators Amanda Koss Art and Marta Carvajal for showcasing ‘Mouthy’ in their ‘Let’s Zoom: Self-Portraits of Our Artist Communities’ Traveling Exhibit! Wow!” The exhibition is composed of more than 67 artists who created a self-portrait inspired by living within the Covid-19 pandemic. The mission of this exhibit is to not only preserve this time in history by creating a monumental panel-style exhibit, but also give artists a chance to exhibit in multiple locations despite the complications of the pandemic.

The happy single mother of two

To most Americans, the pursuit of happiness—the very essence of the American Dream—includes raising a family. Loza has checked that box, being blessed with two girls, Alejandra, 14, and Gabriella, 11. Talking about her “two beautiful girls,” Loza told The African: “They are my pillars of strength which is why I keep pushing past my limits to make certain they see what a strong woman can do alone.”