As Mexican-American Anna Maria Chávez tells it, when she came home from elementary school one day in tiny Eloy, Ariz., and announced she wanted to go to Girl Scout camp, her abuelita was not pleased.

“Oh, no, no, m’hija,” said the woman she called Nana. “We came from the migrant camps; we don’t want to go back!”

Thankfully, the confusion was cleared up, and then 10-year-old Chávez was able to attend sleepaway camp. It was, of course, worlds away from the fields in which her father had labored. But both would turn out to be the key to Chávez’s success. Her parents’ toil, she says, provided their three kids with “the gift of education and the ability to reach out and live that American dream.”

Chávez attended Yale University, went to law school and worked a number of state and federal government jobs -- including one for Janet Napolitano, former Arizona governor and current secretary of Homeland Security -- before going back to her Girl Scout roots. This summer, she was tapped to become the next CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA -- the first person of color in the organization’s 100 years.

“I truly am living the American dream,” says Chávez. With 2.3 million girl members and nearly 880,000 adult members, the Girl Scouts is one of the nation’s largest nonprofits. Like many, it is increasingly trying to make inroads among Latinos: A concerted push on the organization’s part resulted in the numbers of Hispanic Girl Scouts rising 55 percent between 2000 and 2010.

“They need encouragement,” says Chávez of her charges. “They need someone to tell them that anything is possible.”

According to Chávez, kids also need to believe in themselves in order to combat issues such as bullying.

Step No. 1: Understanding that gossiping, teasing and exclusion aren’t just kid stuff.

Step No. 2: Building confidence. “It’s a crucial step towards empowering them to prevent relational aggression before it starts and stopping it when they see it,” she says. “Girls truly are the future of this country.”

“I want all youth -- and girls in particular -- to understand that anything is possible as long as you study hard, give back to the community and stay positive when obstacles get in the way.”

When we first knew her, she was MTV’s first Latina VJ: tough, fun and trendsetting. Her chunky blond highlights became the beach-blown look of the ’90s, and New Jersey sounded cooler through her pink-frosted lips. As the blond strips gave way to subdued sun-kissed tresses, Fuentes became an international fashion icon. Here, her secret of how her bright, sassy style became an $800 million clothing, perfume and accessory line.

You started your business when celebrities shunned the idea of licensing their names to retailers because it was considered “selling out.” Why did you see it differently?
I don’t turn down an opportunity just because it’s not what everybody else is doing. I’m not an actress. I’ve hosted many shows about fashion, so it made sense to me. I just do what feels authentic.

What gives a brand staying power?
I started with sportswear and added categories one by one. You have to take the time to establish identity. In my line, the looks go from day to night and work to weekend. It’s classy and affordable, which is exactly what I would want!

What category would you love to develop next?
I love beauty, skin care and hair. I study the latest news, ingredients and formulas. I love new challenges. I would also love to develop my own wine!

Photo: Getty Images

As the temperature drops, don’t waste time mourning the passing of your sun-kissed summer glow. Instead, take the opportunity to give yourself a winter makeover! These beauty trends will have you looking radiant for all the upcoming holiday festivities.

Go Nude
The no-makeup look never really goes out of style with its fresh, modern and totally pulled-together vibe. A perfectly even skin tone is the key to pulling this off. If, like most of us, you don’t wake up with a naturally flawless complexion, there are lots of great products to enhance your glow. Look for foundations that smoothen and hydrate your skin and contain at least SPF 15, like Prescriptives Flawless Skin Total Protection Makeup SPF 15. Whether you go for concealer, mineral powder or liquid foundation, choose one that’s a shade or two lighter than your summer hue. To ensure a perfect match, test a strip on your cheek in daylight; it should virtually disappear against your skin.

Bold Brows and Ruby Lips
Latinas everywhere, rejoice: Bold brows are back! Emphasize your beautiful features with a well-defined arch and crimson lips for a strong, sexy and ultra-polished look. The Nuance Salma Hayek Shape & Define Brow Kit makes it a snap. For lips, as long as you choose a shade that complements and enhances your skin tone, rich red lips can brighten your whole face. If you have golden/yellow undertones, go for warm orange or brownish lip colors. If you have pink undertones, go for cool pink or bluish hues. A moisturizing formula like COVERGIRL LipPerfection Lipcolor wards off the elements and keeps your lips silky smooth.

Navy Liner and Lashes for Days
Set aside your summer pastels, laid-back neutrals and beachy corals. Go for smoldering winter drama with smoky navy eye shadow and liner. Navy adds gorgeous depth to brown eyes and makes blue eyes pop, plus it’s a lovely alternative to basic black. Create long, luxurious lashes with lengthening mascara -- like Maybelline’s The Falsies Volum’ Express -- to really amp up the intensity.

Photo Credit: @iStockphoto.com/JohnnyH5

By all accounts, Cuban-American sculptor Teresita Fernández is reaching her pinnacle. Her works recently became part of the permanent collections at New York City’s Museum of Modern Art and Los Angeles’s Museum of Contemporary Art, among other nationally respected art institutions.

Now based in Brooklyn, Teresita also debuted her prints, (named “Silver Screen/30 Dissolves”) inspired by the moon and shades of silver, at the 10th Art Basel Miami Beach, which ranks top among the most prestigious art shows in the Americas.

The moon-spun inspiration came to her during a month-long stay in Ubud, a lush island town in Bali, in August, as the first-ever artist in residence for the John Hardy fine jewelry house.

In October, Fernández was appointed by President Obama to serve a four-year term on the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, a seven-member advisory group that consults with the president and Congress on national matters of design import, such as prospective sites of future national memorials and museums. She won the 2005 MacArthur Genius Grant and was the youngest artist to be commissioned by the Seattle Art Museum for the recently opened Olympic Sculpture Park. Her laminated Cloud Cover offers visitors a view of the cityscape through shifting glass.

Fernández is most celebrated for her room-size installations and impressively large-scale public sculptures, often made with uncanny materials, such as graphite. Her work is influenced by natural phenomena and landscapes. It challenges perception and explores the psychology of seeing. Her pieces evoke natural wonders -- fire, sunlight, rainbows, water -- and breaks new sculptural ground by embracing architecture and landscape architecture as powerful influences. In a few words, her art is raw and contemplative, edged with a playfully direct the-bigger-the-better attitude.

Photo Credit: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

Shayla Rivera was the type of kid who took things apart to understand how they worked. “I was such a geek,” she says. So when the family uprooted from Puerto Rico to Houston, Texas, it wasn’t entirely surprising that she would attend Texas A&M University, graduate with an aerospace engineering degree, and become a rocket scientist for NASA’s Space Shuttle and Space Station programs.

What shocked Rivera instead was how she felt after attending her first motivational work training session. “I was blown away,” she says. “In that moment, I decided I wanted to make other people feel something positive.”

In 1993, Rivera quit her job and began traveling around the country to give motivational speeches. Then, people started telling her, ‘You should be a comedian.’ Hearing the suggestion so often, she finally tried it out. “Once I did my first five minutes, I knew I had arrived at the place I needed to be.” She then merged her standup comedy routines with motivational speaking, creating an “entertational” career.

In her spare time, Rivera devotes herself to motivating young Latinas to reach for their goals. “As a whole, they’re a tremendous force, apt to accomplish great things.” But from a cultural standpoint, she says, they are not encouraged to study in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and math). “I have a lot to tell them about that,” she says. “I really believe in their potential because I believe in mine.”