John Vergara
John is the eldest child of the Jose Vergara-Angela Byron clan. Born and raised in the suburbs of Rhode Island and Boston, Massachusetts, he spent a happy childhood being raised by two parents who lost their fathers at a very early age, and didn't necessarily have the tools to raise a brood of four kids. Nevertheless, they built a loving home environment, and nurtured a close relationship with both sides of the family, including the Spanish 'relativos" on his Dad’s side, and a crazy Irish-American extended family on his mother's side. Having a snarky, non-English speaking Abuelita and super elegant, completely deaf, American Grammy living with him throughout his childhood, provided another twist to what appeared to be a "normal" life. John was one of the first of the family to attend college in the US, going to Middlebury College for his undergraduate education (including an important year abroad studying in Madrid), and later to UC Berkeley for a degree in Marketing. He built a career that spanned multiple industries, including Financial Services and Technology, where he had a variety of roles, before dedicating the last 20 years to Marketing. The impetus for starting this podcast was the pushing of his sister Paula, who saw this as a way to share distinct and shared life experiences, including crazy characters, the "Vergara Bubble" and lessons learned along the way.
Paula Vergara
Paula is the youngest child from a group of four, salty/snarky siblings. She was raised in the suburbs of Boston by two wonderful parents (one from Spain), who introduced her to library books, beaches, paella, Spanish music, and family gatherings that made the neighbors jealous. Paula came into this world with a stubborn and sarcastic streak, and a penchant for all things creative, which led her to a career in writing and marketing. Her career path has been carved along the road less traveled, as a tennis writer, covering professional tennis (Roger Federer held the door for her at the US Open), as well as a decade-long career working in marketing for PBS. Paula and her oldest brother, John, share a passion for storytelling, which has brought them together to bring you this podcast.