Jobany Bedoya
Reading’s Business Leader and Bridge Builder
Written by Chad Harris
Spoken by Jobany Bedoya
Jobany coaching youth soccer
Photo by Mateo Toro
Jobany Bedoya greets people with a smile and a handshake as they walk through the door of the monthly diversity mixer he coordinates for the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance (GRCA). Bedoya, the Small Business & Latino Outreach Coordinator of the GRCA, has held that position for the last two years. When first interacting with him, it’s easy to recognize how he’s been able to turn these mixers into the successful events that they are. There’s a humility in Jobany in his desire to bring about change not only for Reading, but Latinos as well. He’s a man who was born to lead. He’s the kind of leader that lets his actions do the talking for the Latino community. Not bad for a guy that grew up in northern New Jersey as part of a Latino family of five.
Jobany was born and raised in northern New Jersey, just a short trip to New York City. As Jobany put it, “Almost every South American country was there, unlike in Pennsylvania, which is mostly Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Mexican.” His mother and father, Maria and Luis, raised him, his sister Jessenia, and his brother Christian in a home atmosphere that, according to them, was common in many Latino households. It was a Colombian home in which when they were together as a family they interacted exclusively in Spanish. When he went to school, his interaction with friends and teachers was exclusively in English. His parents made sure that he and his siblings had a good up bringing. “He was always in a very loving family and always had friends in school,” Luis said. Jobany also played a lot of baseball when he was growing up and made friends through the sport.
The first major challenge Jobany faced in his youth was moving to New Holland, PA. It was there that he felt segregated from his culture. “I hated the move to New Holland. I stood out like a sore thumb. I was a city kid in an all-white and Mennonite school where I didn’t fit in with anyone. I honestly thought I was going to either drop out or graduate early because I really had no interest in school,” Bedoya said. His parents echoed that sentiment. His mother Maria recalls, “The change was definitely impactful, because he was just starting high school, so it was positive but also hard at the same time.”
Jobany found an escape from these challenges through sports. While his interest in baseball waned shortly after the move, he dedicated his energy to volleyball and played on the varsity high school team and made the Junior Olympic team. “He was the kid that always stood out when he played sports, whether it was baseball or volleyball,” his father Luis remembers.
While Jobany continued to attend school despite his feelings of separation in New Holland, his parents’ lack of education and no mentor for him in school to look to for guidance resulted in Jobany not harboring any aspirations of college or continuing education once he graduated from high school. “Even throughout high school, I really didn’t have much guidance on career thoughts,” Bedoya said. “It just wasn’t something my parents spoke to me about. Their lack of education perpetuated the thought process of just finding a job and making a living that way. I once explored the opportunity to attend a technical school but then realized that we couldn’t afford it. I thought of getting into some kind of electrical work.”
His first venture into the job market out of high school didn’t work out like he hoped. He opened a barbershop that failed shortly thereafter when he was 20 years old. However, his next step wound up being a pivotal step for him and his future. “I wanted to get into retail management so that I could learn the ins and outs of managing a business,” Jobany recalls. After working in retail stores for a few years, he worked for a local bank for 10 years. That hard work resulted in the United Way of Berks County hiring him as well as the GRCA bringing him on to become the Small Business and Latino Outreach Coordinator, which ultimately has been a perfect fit for him.
The progress that he’s made in a short period of time is nothing short of amazing. The very first mixer he hosted had ten people in attendance at the restaurant Mi Casa, Su Casa. These mixers are designed to bring small businessowners together to network and build relationships for growth and future endeavors. He also runs an event called Coffee and Convos at the end of each month, in which workshops are held for business owners to help them grow their business. These include workshops on various software skills as well as recruitment techniques to bring on qualified employees. Jobany found an escape from these challenges through sports. While his interest in baseball waned shortly after the move, he dedicated his energy to volleyball and played on the varsity high school team and made the Junior Olympic team. “He was the kid that always stood out when he played sports, whether it was baseball or volleyball,” his father Luis remembers.
The GRCA is where Jobany has blossomed into the leader that he is today. Ideas like the mixers and Coffee and Convos have helped in the resurgence of Reading and show the type of change that can happen when people work together. While he is always focused on what is directly in front of him, he hasn’t lost sight on the big picture. “If I continue the path I’m on, there are going to be some great things in the mix. I’m currently working on becoming a certified economic developer, which is a very difficult task and takes years of work, studying, and testing,” Bedoya says. His sense of who he is and what he represents is also very important to him. “There are very few certified Latino economic developers in the entire country, so I’m definitely driven by that statistic of being one of the very few people to accomplish that.”
Photo by Mateo Toro
Jobany’s ambition to expand his role in Reading’s revitalization has also led influential Reading officials to suggest that he run for political office. While Jobany explains that he’s not quite ready for political office in Reading, he did submit paperwork to run for a school board position in the Ephrata School District, where he and his family live. “That’s been a bit challenging because I didn’t want the campaign to be political since it’s for the school board, but I am finding out that it is definitely political even as I tried to just focus on the best options for the students in my community,” Bedoya commented. “I’m very proud though to be the very first Latino or person of color to ever be on the ballot for any official position in Ephrata. I feel very proud that I’m taking the leap into a world that is dominated by both the Republican party and one ethnicity in Ephrata.”
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While proud of this next step in his journey, Jobany’s humility as a leader and in being a role model for the Latino community remains strong. He states, “I never would have thought that anyone would have seen me as a role model. I was kind of a bad kid with a clownish attitude, so I didn’t take things too seriously. As I continue to grow in my career and as an adult, I see how I am becoming someone that people can turn to as a role model. I still feel like I’m far from a role model but if something I do inspires others to take action, then I’ll take it!”
As Jobany reflects on his role and impact on the Latino community in Reading, he doesn’t see himself as a primary agent of change. “I’m just an employee, father, husband, community member, and human. No one needs to look at me as their representative, but I certainly feel the pressure from people to be that person.” He then issues a challenge to his community. “I want people to take the opportunity to educate others about their culture and race because there are a lot of stereotypes of Latinos as one culture, but there are so many different countries and cultures represented in Central and South America. I also want people to understand that you create your own destiny, even if you’re against all odds. You can’t blame anyone else for your situation but you. Take action and be the person who always gives back to their community. This will inspire others around you to do the same.”
While Jobany works tirelessly to help Latinos improve Reading in the present, he believes that more Latinos need to step up to the plate and continue the work he has started. In the city of Reading, Latinos are the predominant race, but as he points out, they are greatly underrepresented in leadership roles. “There are a lot of people who talk a big game but don’t do what it takes to reach those positions of power. You must be selfless and that is a challenge in every community: you must volunteer, you must serve on boards that reflect the community it serves, you must be a servant leader, and most importantly, you must be you."
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With the future fast approaching, Bedoya is encouraged by young Latinos that have grown up in Reading all their lives and are familiar with American culture and the steps to follow in order to become leaders in the community. “The future is bright in Reading and it’s Latino population. The key component to see Latinos progress will be for them to step out of their comfort zone and become the change that they want to see.” It’s a legacy Jobany will leave for the next generation of Latinos to follow and make their own mark on Reading.
Photo by Mateo Toro