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News Column

2009 Woman of the Year Frances Garcia: 'Watchdog' Breaks Barriers

April Issue

Patricia Marroquin--HispanicBusiness.com

frances garcia, GAO IG, inspector general, woman of the year, hispanic women, 2009 elite
GAO Inspector General Frances Garcia.

Frances Garcia broke some bones on her way to breaking the glass ceiling.

This first-generation Mexican-American picked cotton and sugar beets; waited tables at a diner; and worked side by side with the white men as the first woman and Hispanic at accounting firm Arthur Andersen in Dallas. She also survived a serious car accident -- one that left her with broken bones and other major injuries.

Years of hard work and personal sacrifices ultimately led her to the nation's capital, where she has been Inspector General of the U.S. Government Accountability Office since 1996.

In the coming months and years, as the federal government looks to pull the country out of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, Ms. Garcia's role will take on even greater importance. Ms. Garcia oversees audits and investigations of the GAO, a powerful agency that monitors how Congress spends the public's money.

"GAO is the watchdog for Congress, and I am the watchdog for the watchdog," said Ms. Garcia, the first person to hold the position of Inspector General. Ms. Garcia's leadership, achievements and pioneering spirit captured the attention of HispanicBusiness Magazine, which has named her its 2009 Woman of the Year.

Through it all, her vision -- something she learned from her mother -- was clear: Education, a can-do attitude and "connecting to others" would be the keys to her success.

"Frances is and has been a mentor to many Latinas over the course of her life and is a great role model," said Manuel Espinoza, chief executive officer of the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting (ALPFA), a national organization that Ms. Garcia helped co-found in 1972. "She enthusiastically shares her passion for the development of Latinas."

Ms. Garcia had humble beginnings in Wichita Falls, Texas. Her parents worked, in her words, "common jobs," including cook (her dad) and dishwasher (her mom) to support the family of 10 children. Ms. Garcia herself worked from the time she was 14 years old, "because I wanted to make a financial contribution to my family and to assure myself I wouldn't quit school to help support the family." She toiled in the fields of Colorado and dashed off to the drugstore after school to don a waitress' apron.

"My mother was the first role model I had," said the 67-year-old Ms. Garcia. "She truly believed and instilled in me that women could succeed in the business world." So Ms. Garcia, believing the only way she was going to advance was to leave north Texas, struck out after graduating from high school, where she was one of only seven Mexican-Americans in a class of 485 -- and the first in her family to earn a high school diploma.

With a round-trip bus ticket and $30 in her pocket, she traveled to Los Angeles, where an uncle lived. Ms. Garcia didn't use the return ticket. She decided to stay, attending Los Angeles City College at night and getting a job as a bookkeeper at manufacturing company Borg-Warner Acceptance Corp. Ms. Garcia eventually ended up working for the Chicago-based company in New Jersey. It was there, in 1964, that she was in a car accident that nearly took her life. She suffered broken bones, facial, lung, and other injuries. She was hospitalized for 68 days before returning home to Texas.

First Woman, Hispanic At Firm
She enrolled at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls and spent her first semester on crutches, carrying her schoolbooks in the pockets of a special apron her mother made for her. She went on to earn her Bachelor of Business Administration with a major in accounting and a minor in economics. After college, Ms. Garcia joined Arthur Andersen in Dallas, the first woman and Hispanic audit manager hired by the office. She tells the story about the time she was assigned to a job that was 75 miles outside of Dallas. At the time, the company did not allow women to stay overnight on out-of- town jobs.

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Comments

Total Comments: 16 | Pending Comments: 0

ToniMariaEsparza
5/12/2009 9:57:56 AM PST
Frances Garcia is my paternal Aunt. She has always encuraged us to be anything we wanted to be. She has been and will always been someone to go to for support and encouragement. I was blessed to have such a wonderful person to look up to. I am so glad someone else has been able to see what a tremendous person she really is. Thank You for recognizing her for Woman of the Year, she deserves it.

RichAlva
4/14/2009 11:46:19 AM PST
I have had the distinct pleasure of knowing Frances for 38 years...I guess that makes me an old so and so! Through the highs and lows of life's journey she has been and remains a kindred spirit and like a sister to me...that says it all. Kudos and congratulations to you, Frances...a hard-earned and well-deserved honor!

Wilma
4/10/2009 8:40:46 PM PST
I met Frances in Texas when she with Arthur Anderson auditing the company I worked for. I was taking accounting courses at night and working towards a degree in accounting. Frances encouraged me to take the CPA exam, something I doubt I would have considered without her giving me that "push". She said, "If I can do it, you can do it." I did take & pass the exam and even went on to get a Masters in Taxation (the year before I retired). Frances, you are an example for all and deserve every high honor.

amendez
4/7/2009 2:06:59 PM PST
Congratulations Ms. Garcia! Not only are you deserving of such honor, but are truly an inspiration for Latinas of all ages. I had the pleasure of briefly meeting you during your visit last year to UTPA (during HESTEC), and was truly impressed not only by your intellect, but by your honest concern for the success of Hispanic women, particularly in the field of accounting. By setting this example not only do you lead the way for many of us to follow, but have established a sense of pride and confidence in us, as Latinas, to believe that yes, we can achieve our goals and better yet, our dreams! For this, Ms. Garcia, I thank you! Once again, CONGRATULATIONS! A. Mendez UTPA ALPFA Case Study - 2009 Team

allsorts insurance
4/6/2009 7:05:27 PM PST
Fresh out of the Navy, at Southwest Texas JC in Uvalde, practically every Mex-Amer student was a migrant worker. I remember the PE Coach, tried to make us veterans ran laps for speaking the first civilized language in Texas --- Tex Mex! No! We responded. That coach had not served his country like we had. I remember the sugar beet fields in Nebraska; the onion fields in Ft. Lupton and the "concentration labor camp" for migrants: Indios and Mexicanos together in those cinder block single rooms; the frozen cotton fields in Runnels County Texas (Thanksgiving Days); the horrid Texas summer days as roofers, and on and on and on. Remember no restrooms out in the labor fields. Got a Univ of Tex @ Austin degree. Read Elva Trevino Hart's, "Barefoot Hart". Frances, we Love U.

Alejandro Gonzalez
4/6/2009 6:55:52 AM PST
Frances Garcia’s success encourages and inspires the next generation of Hispanic accounting professionals. As the son of hardworking field workers from a small Texas town, the parallels in Ms. Garcia’s upbringing and my own have made me believe that, truly, any achievement is possible. As a member of this year’s University of Texas Pan-American ALPFA-KPMG Case Study Team, I hope I’ve begun a path which leads to success and admiration similar to that earned by 2009 Hispanic Woman of the Year, Frances Garcia.

Mitchell Martinez
4/5/2009 6:45:32 AM PST
Aunt Frances, First and foremost I want to thank you for always being a great Aunt to myself,my brothers & sisters & also an awesome sister to my beloved Mother. you are truly amazing I have always know you to be an outgoing smart,kind,encouraging & courageous. In actuality I never knew how important you were to the United Ststes of America.Your accomplishments astound me;the magnitude of your profession incredible. Your humility astounds me I will quote one of your comments {If you are born early enough, you get to count a lot of firsts.} Aunt Frances that may be true however, without hard work,perseverance, and always striving for excellence let's face it you would not have your position today. Your accomplishments make me proud We love you for everything that you do Mitch Evelyn

AlexandroBermúdez
4/4/2009 12:54:41 PM PST
Congratulations Inspector General and thank you... You are a role model for us all.

EXIKANA
4/3/2009 11:05:12 AM PST
Frances is one of a kind and I am delighted that Hispanic Business has finally recognized her and her accomplishments. Kudos to a very good friend!!!!

Valerie Esparza
4/3/2009 8:58:25 AM PST
Congratulations, Aunt Frances! I have never needed a magazine article or an award to know how extraordinary and wonderful you are - but it sure is nice to see in print what your family and friends have known for years. You are a great woman and definitely my role model. I love you!

MartinezE
4/2/2009 1:07:46 PM PST
Congratulations on your very well deserved award Frances!! Your generosity to others and your incredible dedication to mentor other Latina women is without limits and is much appreciated. Thanks to your encouragement and support I was able to accomplish things I never thought of doing and I'm sure this is the case with others as well. I am honored to know you and be counted among your friends. You are truly an inspiration and we should all try to aspire to be like you.

David Brister
4/2/2009 11:18:28 AM PST
An honor that is well deserved and long over due. I have known Francis about 39 years. She has been a good friend and confidant for most of those years. Keep going girl. David

Olivia Lopez
4/2/2009 11:05:42 AM PST
Many congratulations on being named Woman of the Year! This is a well-deserved honor. You are a true role model and an inspiration to many, especially to Hispanic Women. I, as Dr. Darcy, first met you at one of ALPFA-KPMG's audit competitions where as part of the winning team, I had the pleasure and great fortune to meet you. You have since been and always will be a GREAT FRIEND and a true inspiration. I love your life story -- you keep going strong!!!! Olivia

John Darcy
4/2/2009 8:26:18 AM PST
It is welcome news to hear that Frances Garcia has been named Hispanic Women of the Year. There is no more fitting person to receive this honor. As the Associate Dean of a large Hispanic Serving University I first came to know Frances from her service with the ALPFA & KPMG National Accounting Case Study Competition, which provides students with an opportunity to network and compete at a the ALPFA National Meeting. Frances’ dedication to this and other ALPFA activities and her sincere interest in mentoring young people can only be described as phenomenal. Many of our finest graduates have been inspired to pursue careers in government service as the result of Frances’ mentoring. Frances Garcia represents the best of the accounting profession.

AORTEGA
4/1/2009 6:14:04 PM PST
Frances, I am so proud of you. You are and have always been an insparation to my life. You have openes and continue to open door for us Latina Woman. What you have done has taken alot of dedicationa and hard work. I know I am a woman. You have worked your way up the ladder all these years in positions and fields where woman were not expected to be and achieve as you have.... LOVE YOU AND A HUGE CONGRATUILATIONS.. ANGELICA ORTEGA

w espinoza
4/1/2009 3:33:02 PM PST
What an inspirational story! I met Frances Garcia when she first arrived in Washington DC to serve on the Copyright Royalty Tribunal. My friend, Elisa Sanchez, then president of MANA, suggested that we should try to set up a meeting with the new commissioner. We were incredibly blown away by Frances' willingness to join MANA and to serve as its National Treasurer. Since then, Frances has been a loyal MANA member and volunteer. Stop by the office some day and you might even see her stuffing envelopes for the next fundraiser!

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