Frausto-Aguado credits her family and upbringing for her strong character and work ethic. The youngest of eight, Frausto-Aguado took note of how hard a family needed to work in order to succeed. Values instilled in her by mom, dad, and older brother Salvador fueled her efforts to tackle obstacles, get ahead in life, use her voice, and make a difference. Frausto-Aguado noted that while she got advice growing up, she learned the most from her parents’ actions and modeling their perseverance, strong job integrity, and persistent determination.
Early in her career, Frausto-Aguado worked as an advocate for the economic development of minority-owned small businesses in Pomona. She came to the American Red Cross as the San Gabriel and Pomona Valley Executive Director, with a unique set of skills and leadership experiences that allowed her to provide a different perspective to managing emergency responses and recovery efforts.
“I like to see the bigger picture,” said Frausto-Aguado. “I like to see how everything’s connected, how you collaborate to make everything connect, and this gave me the opportunity to see the big picture. Disaster Cycle Services is such an important program and function of the Red Cross. I think that you can really touch the mission … there’s so many aspects of it that I enjoy, especially having a team.”
The American Red Cross responds to over 60,000 disasters a year, and Frausto-Aguado mobilizes efforts to help those in need get back on their feet and move toward their new future. Disaster services is everyday work, from taking proactive steps to prepare for emergencies to deploying volunteers in response to hurricanes or fires. Heading into her next couple of years Frausto-Aguado hopes to build volunteer leadership and empower volunteers within Disaster Cycle Services. As a leader, Frausto-Aguado feels it’s important to be as inclusive as possible and learn from past experiences. If there is a need to be filled, she is there, no job too small. Whether it's being on the ground, helping to clean a shelter, installing fire alarms, taking care of her team, or coordinating a massive response effort, everything she does comes from the heart.
“At the end of the day, yes, I am a career woman, my most important job is being a mom. I have two kids. That makes me strong too. I could say being a mother also makes me more resilient.”