Throughout her 26 years ascending through the ranks of her industry, Cindy Barrera has carried some advice offered early on to her heart: Hope is not a strategy. As the Vice President of Business Development at Frost Wealth Advisors, as well as the 2025 Chair for the United Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce, Barrera balances the weight of her dreams alongside steadfast motivation and a plan to forge those dreams into realities.
As the eldest daughter of a large family from Edroy, Texas, Barerra has long felt confident at taking the lead in advocating for herself. From speaking in front of thousands of people as a child in faith-based settings to being the glue that brought different parts of her family together, she always saw the worth of deepening her involvement wherever she went. She credits watching her parents develop relationships with people within their small community with opening her eyes to the needs of others and to a deeply ingrained sense of giving unto others.
“My confidence came from the love of my family, but they also instilled in me the love of giving back to others,” Barrera explained, recalling her dad spending weekends mowing lawns for neighbors as far back as she can remember. “My parents are endless givers. And that’s where my heart for service came from.”
Starting her own family came early in life, along with the question of how she would support them. Without the luxury of time to pursue an education, Barrera quickly set to work at her first job as a motor teller with Frost Bank. Within her first year, she was offered an opportunity in its trust department and, though she left the company for 14 years, she would eventually return to the same department in wealth management where she currently serves.
While the work itself may mistakenly be seen as merely dollars and cents, for Barrera, the act of wealth management means many things for the individuals and families she serves—whether it’s buying time, comfort or freedom to enjoy their lives, or to continue building toward those hopes in the future.
“During the time I had been working at Frost, they recognized my abilities and created the position I’m in now, Lead for Business Development,” she said. “I tell people I have the best job at Frost. I truly believe that.”
A strong sense of self-worth coupled with a desire to forge a path to success for herself and her family always drove Barrera to strive for more. She recalled the small-town girl in her wanting to take advantage of all the big-city benefits and connections Corpus Christi had to offer. Still early in her work as a teller in the 2000s, she positioned herself in places with people she wanted to work alongside. She found mentors in Connie Geary, the first female financial advisor she met at Paine Webber, as well as Robert Tamez, who she said was instrumental in encouraging her early involvement with the former Hispanic Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce.
Barrera described the pesky inner voice of imposter syndrome, which would nag at her throughout her career, as quieting with every year of experience and each accomplishment she accrued along the way. “My years of experience were the substitution for my lack of education. All I’ve ever done in my adult life has been in the financial services industry. I have felt this deep gratitude for the opportunities I have been given,” she said. “A few years ago, I said to myself, ‘I know what I bring to the table,’ which allowed me to ensure I was valued accordingly.”
The road to success was not without its challenges, with life dealing difficult hands in a personal battle with cancer while raising her two kids, Ashleigh and Luke, amid the stress of a busy career. For Barrera, the gift of resilience and gratitude rested along the way of a hard path. Turning lemons into lemonade, Barrera has become a champion of many causes through the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, Pink Connection, Triumph over Kid Cancer Foundation and Lemonade Day of the Coastal Bend, where local children can take part in a national effort to raise financial literacy and gain entrepreneurial skills.
The natural pitfall for givers may be to give too much of themselves, something Barrera has learned to rein in by way of self-care and not losing focus on the things she has gained in her journey. Taking refuge in a home with two dogs and her son, she celebrates having more love than she can say grace over, and credits her faith as a grounding power in her life.
As a Hispanic woman in an industry typically dominated by men, Barrera hopes the strides she makes in her own path might make the way more accessible for others who come after her, especially in thinking of her daughter. “I have found purpose in how I choose to live my life [and] to know I’m making a difference for other women,” she shared. “Even if the impact is just on my daughter, if [what I am doing] makes other women smile, if it gives them hope, that is a job well done.”
