Rosa Estrada – West Michigan 25 most influential Latinos
Rosa Estrada
Senior Director and Corporate Controller
Gentex Corporation
Like many immigrants from Mexico, Rosa Estrada came to West Michigan with no immediate family and a limited grasp of English.
The young Estrada entered the manufacturing workforce through a temp agency and also worked at a fast-food restaurant on weekends to supplement her income.
“With my parents and siblings back in Mexico, to move away from Michoacan was by far the biggest sacrifice I have made at that age,” she said. “I didn’t know much about what life would look like, but I did know that I didn’t take such a leap of faith to have a prescribed path.”
Taking advantage of the Tuition Reimbursement program at Gentex, Estrada enrolled at Grand Rapids Community College and obtained her Associate’s Degree. She would later achieve a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from Grand Valley State University.
Estrada has moved up the ladder during her 22 years at Gentex. In 2020, she was part of the steering committee that planned and created the Limited English Proficiency (LEP) program for Gentex to break down the language barrier for Spanish-speaking persons.
“The program aims to give Spanish-speaking workers opportunities for employment and better career paths within the company,” Estrada said. “The program started with a single Spanish-speaking manufacturing line on one shift and has now expanded to multiple Spanish-speaking manufacturing lines on all three shifts.”
The LEP program started with a single Spanish-speaking manufacturing line on one shift and now has 235 employees on all three shifts. An additional 52 employees that started in the LEP program have since become English proficient and have moved on to work in other areas of the organization.
“This program has also created vast leadership opportunities for bilingual employees in every area of the company,” Estrada said.
Estrada also serves as a board member for the Hispanic Center of West Michigan and the Literacy Center of West Michigan.