Healing the Four Wounds, end discord and discrimination.
Bio for Amber Ontiveros
Amber Ontiveros is the CEO and owner of a change management firm. She is a longtime civil rights advocate, having served in advisory roles at the US Department of Transportation during both the Bush and Obama Administrations. She now runs Ontiveros and Associates, which specializes in change management, policy development, and executive coaching. Amber is the author of Heal the Four Wounds: A Guide to End Discord and Discrimination.
Episode highlight
In this episode, Amber shares her powerful journey, from growing up Latina on a farm in Arizona to a near-death experience that led her to meet the “infinite creator.” This awakening inspired her to explore consciousness and the neuroscience of unconscious bias. Amber teaches us about self-serving and “mini-me” biases, and how the brain’s reticular activation system filters information based on existing beliefs. Her techniques offer practical steps for mindful listening and healing internal wounds. Listen to learn more.
Links
- LinkedIn: Amber Ontiveros
- Website: Heal the Four Wounds
Quotes
- “When you don’t have people around you who are educated, you don’t know what your options are.”
Takeaways
Childhood Experiences:
Amber’s passion for management started in childhood. She vividly recalls playing with paper in their chicken coop as if she were an administrator.
As an adolescent, Amber took a Moot Court class because it aligned with her personality traits—public speaking, analyzing situations, constructing arguments, and posing solutions.
Influential Groups:
Amber is Mexican-American and grew up in Arizona. In her family, she was the first to attend college and graduate school. Growing up, she had no educational role models, and it was difficult to know what options were available. Amber eventually attended Lewis & Clark College, although her GPA could have earned her a spot at even better schools.
When she moved to college, Amber became invested in civil rights, with a particular focus on policy. Her first job was in a political campaign where a senator recognized her talents and opened up an opportunity for her to work as a lobbyist. She later worked in the legislature for multiple sessions before joining a lobbying firm. Eventually, she served as a policy adviser for the head of a transit agency and then moved to Washington, D.C.
At the Department of Transportation, she helped create policies around several federal civil rights laws that created economic opportunities for women and people of color. This included securing contracts in construction, as well as other professional services contracts, through transit agencies, state departments of transportation, and city governments.
Temperaments and Personality:
Amber describes herself as direct, honest, and fiery. After her near-death experience, she realized she had been engaging in self-loathing and bullying herself. Today, she has learned to accept and love her feelings, using techniques to change the thought patterns that once undermined her. She now sees her previously criticized traits as her best attributes.
Cultural Epiphanies:
In Amber’s culture, during Christmas, her family makes tamales, menudo, and pozole. Amber is baffled that many Americans dislike pigs’ feet or cow stomach, which are delicacies in some Asian cultures and among the best foods she’s ever had. For anyone wanting to make lengua tacos, Amber recommends taking a large cow tongue, cooking it in a crockpot, peeling the outside, and then frying it for the best tacos you’ll ever taste.
What Brings Out the Best in Amber?
Amber enjoys working with organizations that are clear and authentic. This clarity makes it easier for her to help them achieve their goals.
Soapbox Moment:
Are you a CEO feeling unhappy and seeking tools to manage your emotions? Are you stuck in negative thought loops or imposter syndrome? Amber invites you to explore her website, her book, and her executive coaching program.
Extro:
Amber Ontiveros rose from a traumatic childhood to the position of policy writer and law writer for several state and federal departments. There she made her first inroads to transforming society towards justice and equity through policy in the political realm. Her laser focus on what interested her and the fiery Latina temperament that fueled her work for justice, brought her to high level policy writing positions and change management. The most significant event she had was a near death experience when she realized how much she was loved and began the journey towards taking her rightful place in society as someone who was no longer controlled by self-loathing. I really enjoyed the exercise she taught us about mindfully paying attention to the tip of your nose when you are in the middle of a difficult conversation. It is a testament to the mindfulness skills and practice she has developed throughout her life journey.
Take a look at Amber’s website https://healthefourwoundings.com/ to see her smiling, radiant face and of course to find out how you can begin your own inner healing process using her strategies and processes.
