Estefania
Davila-Lopez
Senior Analyst,
Production Volume Planning
Toyota Motor Manufacturing
Texas, Inc.
Born in Zacatecas Mexico, and raised in Bryan, Texas, Estefania Davila-Lopez
is the Volume Planning Senior Analyst at Toyota. Recently promoted to this position,
Davila is responsible for developing strategies for annual volume planning
taking into consideration the company and team member’s best interest.
“From the actual volume, I generate yearly, monthly, and daily production
plans,” she shares. “Also, in order to keep up with demand, I study current
plant capacity and work the corresponding production shops to understand how
we can Kaizen or create continuous improvement.”
Graduating Texas A&M University in 2013, Davila started working at
Toyota after graduating. She earned her first opportunity to work for Toyota as
a co-op student through the University’s engineering career fair. After
graduation, she applied for a full-time position and the rest is history.
“I am proud of being promoted to a senior analyst and proud of my
current role because it allows me to create strategies and to work with
executives in decision making for the best interest of TMMTX,” she shares.
“Diversity is important in the workplace because through our different values and
experiences we can provide different perspectives and skills to achieve the
company’s goals.”
At work, dealing with COVID-19 in her current role means having to adapt
and managing changes that occur many times a day.
“One of the best parts about working for Toyota is how much they care for
your development, I really appreciated that even as a co-op,” she shares.
“Toyota invested highly in my professional development. I also love seeing a
vehicle come together from understanding back from where the vehicle
order was created to seeing Toyota Tundra and Tacoma trucks out of work
and knowing we all had some part in the process of getting that truck for the
customer driving it.”
Zaira Dalila Sotelo
Engineer, Plastics Pilot
“Growing up I was good at math and
enjoyed physics and science,” shares
Zaira Dalila Sotelo, Plastics Pilot Engineer
at Toyota. “After graduating high school my
mother took me to the community college
and told me we were not going to leave until I
signed up for classes. I am thankful that she took me.
At first, I wanted to go into the medical field, but I quickly changed it to
engineering after I saw what I would be able to learn. “Cool stuff” on how things
work, robots, thermodynamics, and outer space exploration.”
Plastics Pilot Engineer Sotelo began her career at Toyota
eight years ago as an intern in Assembly. In her role, Sotelo is responsible for
launching new models in her department.
Born in California of parents from Zacatecas, Mexico, Sotelo studied
Mechanical Engineering at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She then moved
to San Antonio Texas and worked as a co-op for eight months and had the
opportunity to work on various projects with multiple engineers.
“After my co-op, I moved back to Las Vegas, finished school, and
graduated with my Mechanical Engineering Degree,” she shares. “I then
interviewed for a full-time position in plastics and moved back to Texas. It has
been a great and challenging experience at Toyota.”
One of Sotelo’s latest and greatest accomplishment is being able to
increase the capacity of a paint booth with little investment. What this means is
that she is able to paint three bumpers in 60 seconds instead of one in 60
seconds.
“I worked with maintenance on building a prototype jig and programmed
the robots to paint these parts,” she shares. “I am very happy that I have been
able to make a major impact at Toyota.”
Stephanie
Martinez Garcia
Analyst,
Corporate Communications
Toyota Motor North America
As a Corporate Communications Analyst at
Toyota Motor North America, Stephanie Martinez Garcia
is a Latina on a mission and eagerly leverages her 14 years at Toyota with
dedication. “Working for Toyota has changed the trajectory of my life and my
ability to provide for my family and in some cases, my extended family,” she
shares.
Born in San Antonio, TX, and raised in Floresville, TX, Martinez Garcia is
responsible for meeting the community demands and expectations in this world
while meeting the company values and image. Martinez Garcia’s career at
Toyota started on the production line and she was one of 200,000 candidates
to get her foot into the door. She always knew she wanted to learn more and
do more and saw those opportunities available at Toyota.
“My greatest accomplishment is that I take it back to starting in the
production line and not giving up and moving into this space I am given now,
which is administration and working on the corporate side,” she shares. “It caused
me to step out of my comfort zone and one of the things I am most proud of is
that I am responsible for our million-dollar investment that goes out to the
community every year and strategizing to be most effective and impactful with
those dollars, and also changing the lives of the community that surrounds
Toyota.”
Prior to Toyota, her first job was at the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s
Office (morgue). “Luckily for me, Toyota was coming to town and my dad said one
thing ‘Just apply, get in there and figure it out, it’s a great company that has great
benefits’. And here I am today.”
Today, Martinez Garcia feels grateful to have learned the meaning of
servant leadership through Toyota. For her, service is not just serving on a board
and checking a box.
10 www.latinastyle.com LATINAStyle V ol. 26, No. 5, 2020
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