Digame: Ann Dunning is Helping Latinas Embrace the Señora Life

Ann Dunning is the co-founder of Señora Era, a newsletter and media company celebrating slow living, beauty, well-being and Latin American cultura. A proud Chilean-American, Ann brings her heritage into everything she creates — from her homegrown content to her beauty and wellness ventures. She co-founded Vamigas, a clean Latina-owned skincare brand that was carried at Target, Nordstrom, and Whole Foods, and is the co-author of Radical Señora Era, a manifesto on embracing cultural roots, joy and rest, and rejecting hustle culture while keeping your ambition. Ann is also an angel investor supporting early-stage, women-led companies in beauty and wellness.

Which Latina(s) have had the greatest impact on your life and why?

The Latinas who’ve had the greatest impact on my life are my grandmothers and great-grandmothers. They were women who carried so much wisdom in quiet, everyday ways – through how they cooked, went to church, managed their small businesses or careers, raised their kids and grandkids, tended their gardens, or cared for their families. They didn’t talk about “wellness” or “self-care,” but they lived it: it was a slow life where their self-care and everyday joy was food, family, and community – sometimes even during chaotic historical events. Everything I write, from Radical Señora Era to my work today, is rooted in the lessons I learned from watching them turn ordinary routines into acts of self-protection.

If you could meet a Latina icon who is no longer alive, who would it be and why?

Encarnación Pinedo, the 19th-century Californiana who wrote Encarnación’s Kitchen — the first known cookbook by a Latina in the United States. By the single act of writing a cookbook during the Yankee invasion of California, she was preserving a culture that was under threat from being erased. Her work shows that something as pedestrian as food can be significant, because creating joy for people in certain times can be an act of resistance. That spirit runs through Radical Señora Era as well – how everyday rituals, whether in the kitchen, garden, home, or your career, carry forward joy and resilience in ways that outlast any hardships.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

This is going to sound controversial but it shouldn’t be because it’s part of our culture. Don’t move away from your family, or always stay within driving distance. Go out, get your education, launch your career, but always come back to your family. My grandpa told me never to leave my sisters in particular. That is one of our cultural strengths that we should always uphold, to stay connected to our families. It will improve your quality of life (of course there are exceptions, such as when a family member is toxic!).
What was the scariest part of pursuing your career goals and how did you push through?
In our book, we talk about how disorienting it was to step into spaces where no one was like us – a first-gen Latina in the startup space, and Christina as one of the only Latinas in finance in the mid 00s. You just push through, create boundaries, don’t let people push you around (it took me a while to learn this), and don’t change yourself to fit anyone else’s standards of what you should be.

How do you stay connected to your cultural roots?

I have this weird habit — whenever I am having a hard time with something, feeling bad about what’s happening to our community, or feeling not healthy, I envision my great grandmother or her grandmother doing the same thing – like, how would they have done this, one hundred years ago? What would they think about this? How would they solve this? This could be brewing some non-trendy tea like matico, telling my daughter everyday life hacks I learned from them, or trying to plant things from Latin America – like I just bought banana trees and I was looking into lucuma trees. These things keep me grounded.

What was the scariest part of pursuing your career goals and how did you push through?

In our book, we talk about how disorienting it was to step into spaces where no one was like us  — a first-gen Latina in San Francisco and Silicon Valley and Christina as a Latina in finance in the mid ’00s. You just push through, create boundaries, don’t let people push you around, it took me a while to learn this, and don’t change yourself to fit anyone else’s standards of what you should be. 

What do you wish more people understood about what you do?

We get critiqued sometimes on our viral TikTok videos that we are telling people to stop working. I wish more people understood that our work isn’t about telling women to stop working or check out of life, at all, full stop. It’s about showing how critical rest actually is. For many of us who come from immigrant families, rest has especially felt like a luxury we couldn’t afford. We were raised to believe that worth comes only from sacrifice and endless work. That mindset helped our families survive, but it also left us exhausted. What we are doing through Radical Señora Era is reframing that story. We want people to see that small, everyday rituals like gardening, cooking, taking a walk, and making a cup of tea are not boring things that only señoras do. They did these things for a reason. They are ways of restoring ourselves, ways of finding joy, ways of protecting our well-being. Rest and joy is not weakness or selfishness; it’s the foundation for a more grounded, balanced and happy life.

What motivates you?

Creating joy, and reminding our community that rest is needed, and that those are both acts of resistance. Whether you’re advancing in your career, getting a masters degree, or improving your community, remember that there is nothing wrong with recharging and doing things sometimes out of pure joy and creativity.

How did you end up on the professional path you’re on now?

My path was very vertical and zigzagged and un-planned. I started in public relations in the tech and startup space. That led to our beauty brand, Vamigas, and then our book. We also did a little bit of investing in companies too as angels and helping young companies. Each step has been about telling stories. I’ve never had a plan because plans always laugh in our face, I have just gone where I see opportunity and excitement.

What is your greatest professional achievement so far? Personal achievement?

Professionally, co-authoring Radical Señora Era with Christina Kelmon – because it’s a way to bring back gems from the past that can help us today during these chaotic times. It’s something we need now more than ever. Personally, raising my little one in a way that lets her celebrate her full heritage, Chilean and American.

Often we are the only Latinas in the room or one of a few, what has it been like being a Latina in your field?

It’s isolating at times, but it also forces you to actively seek out others who are like you and create communities.

What pop culture moment made you feel seen as a Latina?

When Isabel Allende’s novels started getting mainstream U.S. recognition, starting with when The House of the Spirits was made into a film. As a Chilean, seeing her magical realism and her political narratives resonate globally was affirming — it showed me that our stories can be as unique and authentic and not have to make anything bland just to appeal to the general public.

How do you practice and prioritize self-care?

I wrote a book about self-care but this is still hard for me. It’s as simple as doing things that make me feel really good when I’m feeling crappy. It could be making my home cozy for fall, making things with my hands, like skincare (we share a few recipes in our book) or trying out new teas from my local apothecary, or herbs for my latte from the magical Latina-owned herbalist brand Anima Mundi. It might be reading a book and avoiding my screen on purpose, I’m currently reading a Latin American haunted mansion story, Bochica by Carolina Flórez-Cerchiaro. Taking online classes is also self-care for me – I might take a class from Herbal Academy one week and learn how to blend teas.

Quick Fire:

Shoutout your favorite Latina owned business and why?

Ocoa Beauty (@ocoabeauty), a curly hair care brand we’ve known since we started. The founders are so impressive and they just launched at Ulta.

Shoutout a Latina’s IG account that could use more love and tell us why you’re a fan: Hady Mèndez (@calladitanomorebook) because she is the author of the coolest new book, Calladita No More

Digame is a monthly series featuring prominent Latinx leaders, activists, entrepreneurs, and public figures uplifting the community and making a difference.