Cristina Flores

Cristina Flores often finds herself being the first in the room. 

 

That journey began in Weslaco, Texas, a small town near the US-Mexico border, where she was born and raised. Flores lived there until she left for the University of Texas at Austin to study sociology in 2009. 

 

Even though the state capitol was just a few blocks from her classes, Flores wasn’t involved in politics or advocacy. It wasn’t until she took a sociology class about politics in Latin America that she realized her next step.

 

“I decided to intern for then-Governor Rick Perry's office, specifically the criminal justice office,” Flores said.

 

After finishing her internship, Flores knew she wanted to keep going, and specifically, to go federal. The next logical step, she decided, was the White House. A year later, she was an intern in the Office of the First Lady during the Obama administration. That’s when she met Janelle Watson, a Running Start Congressional Fellow, who became a close friend and over the years, a guide through more than one major next step.

 

After the White House, Flores knew one thing for sure: she wanted to stay in DC and work for the federal government. But a few things had to happen first. She needed to walk the stage and graduate. She needed campaign experience, so that summer she went to Portland, Oregon to gain the experience as a PolitiCorps Fellow in the Bus Project. The following semester, she returned to DC and became a Running Start Congressional Fellow, placed in the office of Rep. Linda Sánchez.

 

After the fellowship, Flores stayed in DC, working her way through a few jobs before eventually landing her dream role in the federal government, a path that no one in her life had taken before. But the unspoken expectation to keep her professional and personal experience separate remained. 

 

At one point, she was working for the federal government while her father was detained at an immigration center and fighting in court to stay in the country.

 

“There was just always a multifaceted aspect about ourselves that comes.” Flores said, “I don't get to choose what aspect to turn off. It's still me, and I carry all that.” 

 

Carrying all of it, she says, means constantly reflecting on what she actually brings to the professional spaces.  That's part of why one statistic stuck with her: men tend to apply for a job once they meet 60% of the qualifications, while women often wait until they meet 100%. Once she heard it, she couldn't unsee it. She wants to see that pattern broken.

 

“[Men are] like, oh yeah, I’m perfect for this job. Let me apply. Let me ask for more money. It’s like, wait, hold on. Why are we doubting ourselves?” Flores said.

 

Rather than “turning off” parts of her experience, Flores tells us that she was able to see that being a generalist is a strength, one where she’s able to adapt and see issues differently.

 

Flores also found support from many people who helped her get to where she is. When she decided to leave government and transition into the technology sector, Watson, who worked at Meta, guided Flores again.

 

“[Watson] was a mentor, helping me transition from one sector to another, being able to share my skill set and how to change my resume and work through all that is intimidating about applying for a job in general.” Flores said, “I do think oftentimes we don’t think of our peers as mentors, but nonetheless, that’s still very much there.”

 

That kind of support has shown up at different points in her life. More than a decade after her Fellowship, Flores returned to Running Start through the Next Step Program in 2025, where she  found another mentor in Danielle Reyes, whom Flores viewed as both a resource and a role model. Flores admired Danielle’s ability to build a successful career while maintaining balance in her personal life.

 

Just as others have supported her throughout her career, she wants to help bring other women with her.

 

“I don’t think there has ever been a moment where anyone in the Running Start community has said no to me or not answered an email or not been able to provide an additional source,” Flores said. “Whether that’s, ‘Hey, I’m not the right person, but here’s someone else you should talk to,’ or ‘Let me look at your resume and provide you some feedback.’”

 

For Flores, Running Start became a community where she was never alone. Surrounded by women working toward similar goals and navigating similar challenges, she found a safe space to discuss experiences that might otherwise feel like “weaknesses.”

 

“I’m always wanting to be a source, specifically for programs that are happening in DC and people are moving away from home and working here or interning here. I know what that feels like.” Flores said.

 

That feeling of not having a map returned every time she changed direction. Asking for help goes beyond career moves, and she is still learning how to do it in both her professional and personal life.

 

Now at Shopify, Flores channels that same instinct toward small-business owners, a community she's cared about since the start of her federal career in the U.S. Small Business Administration. It’s a connection that runs personal, too: her aunt in rural Mexico was a longtime entrepreneur and business owner,  someone Flores says she only recently began to think of her in those terms. Now, she advocates for merchants like her, bringing their concerns directly to policymakers.

 

“It’s never too late to engage.” Flores said, “There’s always room for growth for all of us in many aspects of life, and you just don’t know what’s going to come out of it.”

 

Written by Running Start Fellow Chloe Mo, Edited by Running Start Fellow Cynthia Frage