From the Barrio to the Board Room: Reaching out to help those who are chasing the American Dream!

by Robert Renteria

Today Robert Renteria is a successful business owner and civic leader, but he grew up as an infant sleeping in a dresser drawer. This poignant and often hard-hitting memoir traces Robert's life from a childhood of poverty and abuse in one of the poorest areas of East Los Angeles, to his proud emergence as a business owner today.

112 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2008

Reviews

[RLL2202017_Roxanna Jasso · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books talks about the hard earning success of the Author's journey from "The Barrio", a extremely poor community predominately Latino, to earning his own business. It's shows how anyone can have a successful life if they really push themselves to their limits each and everyday. The author talks about his disadvantages of being surrounded with drugs, gangs, and violence and his advantages of looking "white" while trying to change his life and promote himself in the business world. He is now a successful business man who is trying to change the lives of children, teens, and even adults for the better. Overall this is an inspirational true story of success through hard work. This book can defiantly be read from around ages 11/12 and up.

[Amanda Tolbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

i havent read the book yet

[Aimee J Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The From the Barrio Foundation is committed to using author Robert Renteria’s life, business experience, and role as a civic leader to help eliminate conditions that foster violence, delinquency, drugs, and gangs. The book From the Barrio to the Board Room is a tool and Robert Renteria is a resource who promotes education, a sense of pride and accomplishment, and self-esteem within the youth of our communities.

I personally know Robert, have met with him and he is one of the most genuine, humble, dynamic people I met in my life. He is truly inspirational and motivating. His display of candor is unsurpassed.

I wish I could stress that every school, every classroom, every prison, and every juvy center should be implementing this book as a mandatory curriculum.

Robert is currently working a toned down version of the book called 'Mi Barrio' catered more for the elementary level students.

[Erick Rebollar]

This book is a very amazing book that changes peoples life. I like the book a lot and recommend it to people of ages 13 and above. The main point of this book is to never lose hope. And no matter how far you go down the wrong path you can always turn around. The really interesting part of this book is that that Robert Renteria went from being in the ghetto doing drugs and other stuff to being a successful business owner. Rober is latino and is proud of it and I am too very proud to be a latino as well.