Gloria Rodriguez spent 27 years away from her home city of Los Angeles before she made her way back. “I always wanted to get back,” she said. “There just weren’t any jobs.” Read more about Rodriguez, now chief executive officer of the Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles, below.

Q. What music have you listened to today?
A. Jazz and contemporary pop.

Q. What’s your favorite word?
A. Hope.

Q. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A. A doctor.

Q. What is your favorite cocktail?
A. A margarita.

Q. What is your greatest extravagance?
A. A massage.

Q. What is your favorite thing about Los Angeles?
A. The diversity. And it’s home.

Q. What is the last thing that inspired you?
A. I get inspired every day by how difficult it is for folks in this day and age to access healthcare. In a lot of ways, things haven’t changed from when I was a child.

Q. What is your fondest childhood memory?
A. Swinging on the swings and being free.

Q. What is the best advice you have ever received?
A. Don’t give up.

Q. What promise do you make to yourself that you break the most often?
A. To get some sleep.

Q. Who is the one person living or dead that you’d most love to have a beer with?
A. César Chávez.

To read more about Rodriguez’ panel, on California’s Armageddon cuts, click here.

*Photo by Sarah Rivera.