2nd American Latino National Summit

August 05, 2014 - August 08, 2014

Hyatt Regency San Antonio Riverwalk | San Antonio, TX

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Last month, the NAA Institute convened its 2nd American Latino National Summit with the same laser-focused vision, unwavering commitment and steadfast resolve that inspired its founding 15 years ago. Leaders across sectors emphasized the economic case for American Latino advancement, including education, immigration, civic participation, healthcare, wealth building, and American Latino leadership across sectors. Action recommendations were outlined in the 2014 American Latino Agenda Report released during the National Summit.

DOWNLOAD 2014 AMERICAN LATINO AGENDA REPORT

The National Summit Opening featured an outstanding lineup including The Honorable James H. Shelton III, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Education and Joaquin Zihuatanejo, Nationally Awarded Poet.

National Summit Opening from Left to Right: Ana-María Fernández Haar, NAA Institute Chair of the Board & Managing Partner, Victoriana, LLC; The Honorable James H. Shelton, III, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Education; Frank Herrera Jr., NAA Inc Chair of the Board & Founder, The Herrera Law Firm

National Summit Opening from Left to Right: The Honorable Henry Cisneros, NAA Co-Founder & Executive Chairman, CityView;The Honorable Raúl Yzaguirre, NAA Co-Founder & Former U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic; Sebastien De La Cruz, El Charro del Oro; Joaquin Zihuatanejo, Nationally Awarded Poet

The first day of the Summit was devoted to addressing solutions to the educational challenges facing the Latino community and our nation.

The first session of the forum, Innovation in Promoting Achievement in K-12: Getting to the Finish Line, addressed innovative ways to achieve student success in K-12 education and the economic upside when Latinos focus on college and career attainment.

K-12 Session from Left to Right: Moderator Marco Davis, Deputy Director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics; Laura Saldivar Luna, Executive Director, San Antonio Corps, Teach For America; Dr. Dana T. Bedden, Superintendent, Richmond Public Schools; The Honorable Pete Gallego, Member, U.S. House of Representatives; Raúl Mateo Magdaleno, Chief Education Officer, IDQ Group, Inc. & NAA Young Leader Member

The Higher Education: Access & Equity in Preparing America's Workforce to Meet New Global Industry Demand session covered issues surrounding Latino college enrollment and completion, strategies to connect Latino students to the workforce, and the gap of Latino leaders in higher education.

Higher Education Session from Left to Right: Joseph Acevedo, Principal, Pharos Capital Group, LLC & Board Member, NAA Inc; Moderator Dr. Ana "Cha" Guzman, Ph.D., President Emerita, Palo Alto College; Dr. Antonio Flores, Ph.D., President & CEO, Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities (HACU); Dr. Juliet V. García, Ph.D., President, The University of Texas at Brownsville; Dr. Ricardo Romo Ph.D., President, The University of Texas at San Antonio; Marvin Martinez, President, East Los Angeles College

The final session of the day, Investing in Education & Funding Our Future, identified current educational funding distribution, funding gaps, and opportunities to better address fund allocation in preparing America's young people to meet transforming workforce demands.

Investing in Education Session: Ana-María Fernández Haar, NAA Institute Chair of the Board & Managing Partner, Victoriana, LLC; The Honorable Alejandra Ceja, Executive Director, White House Initiative On Educational Excellence for Hispanics, U.S. Department of Education; The Honorable Diego M. Bernal, City Councilman, City of San Antonio

Investing in Education Session from Left to Right: Tina Gridiron, Senior Strategy Officer, Lumina Foundation; Aleta Stampley, Director, K-12 Education & Community Relations, Texas Instruments; Victor Maruri, NAA Institute Board Member & Co-Founder, HCP & Company

We concluded the day with our National Summit Opening Reception Co-Hosted By Excelencia in Education and Co-Sponsored by Walmart, with remarks from The Honorable Leticia Van de Putte,Texas State Senator and Candidate, Lieutenant Governor of Texas; Jose H.Villarreal, Chairman of the Board, The Cisneros Center for New Americans and Consultant, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP and Sarita Brown, President, Excelencia in Education.

National Summit Opening Reception from Left to Right: Yazmin Garcia Rico, National Organizer & Youth Director, Student Action with Farmworkers, The Honorable Leticia Van de Putte, Texas State Senator; Candidate, Lieutenant Governor of Texas; Diana Urieta, Extensive Associate, Youth, Family & Community Sciences, North Carolina State University; Juana Hernández-Urquiza, Triangle for Latino Student Success (TLSS), Wake County, North Carolina

National Summit Opening Reception from Left to Right: The Honorable Jacob Candelaria, Member, New Mexico State Senate & Majority Caucus Chair; Sarita Brown, President, Excelencia in Education; Deborah A. Santiago, COO & Vice President for Policy, Excelencia in Education; Arturo Vargas, Executive Director, NALEO Educational Fund

National Summit Opening Reception from Left to Right: Jose H. Villarreal, Chairman of the Board, The Cisneros Center for New Americans & Consultant, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP joined on stage by young education leaders Nicolas Perilla, Executive Director, The Cisneros Center; Miguel Solis, President, Board of Trustees, Dallas ISD; Erika Beltran, District 13, Texas State Board of Education

The second day was launched with remarks from The Honorable Trey Martinez Fischer, House Member, Texas House of Representative & Chair, Mexican American Legislative Caucus; Ramiro Cavazos, President & CEO, San Antonio Hispanic Chamber Commerce (SAHCC); and Dina Siegel Vann, Director, Latino and Latin American Institute, American Jewish Committee (AJC).

Day Two Opening from Left to Right: The Honorable Trey Martinez Fischer, House Member, Texas House of Representative & Chair, Mexican American Legislative Caucus; Ramiro Cavazos, President & CEO, San Antonio Hispanic Chamber Commerce (SAHCC)

From Left to Right: Ana-María Fernández Haar, NAA Institute Chair of the Board & Managing Partner, Victoriana, LLC; Victor Maruri, NAA Institute Board Member & Co-Founder, HCP & Company; Dina Siegel Vann, Director, Latino and Latin American Institute, American Jewish Committee(AJC); Maria del Pilar Avila, Chief Executive Officer, New America Alliance

The first session of the day was Co-Sponsored by Univision and devoted to the American Latino Vote with discussion on Latino voter participation, voter right protection, and Latino participation in the local, state and national electorate.

American Latino Vote Session from Left to Right: Mark Hugo Lopez, Director of Hispanic Research, Pew Research Center; Dr. Sylvia Manzano, Ph.D., Principal, Latino Decisions; Moderator Teresa Rodríguez, Co-Anchor, Aquí y Ahora, Univision Communications, Inc.; Dr. Steve Murdock, Ph.D., Director, Hobby Center for the Study of Texas, Department of Sociology & Allyn and Gladys Cline Chair in Sociology, Rice University; Thomas A. Saenz, President & General Counsel, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF); Arturo Vargas, Executive Director, National Association of Latino Elected & Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund

National immigration experts addressed the national crisis caused by a broken immigration system by focusing on how we can achieve sensible immigration reform during a time of overheated rhetoric and controversial legal remedies that leave millions of families in the balance and miss the opportunity of benefiting from the economic impact of a fully-engaged population of immigrants.

Immigration Session from Top to Bottom and Left to Right: The Honorable Roel C. Campos, NAA Inc and NAA Institute Board Member & Partner, Locke Lord LLP; Cristina Jimenez, Executive Director, United We Dream (UWD)

Immigration Session from Top to Bottom and Left to Right: Randy K. Johnson, Senior Vice President, Labor Immigration and Employee Benefits, U.S. Chamber of Commerce; Alfonso Aguilar, Executive Director, Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles; Ali Noorani, Executive Director, National Immigration Forum

Immigration Session from Top to Bottom and Left to Right: Dr. Juan Hernandez, Co-Founder, Hispanic Leadership Alliance & CNN Español Political Contributor; Tamar Jacoby, President & CEO, ImmigrationWorks USA; Ali Noorani, Executive Director, National Immigration Forum

Following a networking lunch sponsored by Valor Equity Partners, we heard remarks from Estuardo Rodriguez, Executive Director of Friends of the National Museum of the American Latino, on the efforts to establish a museum in our nation's capital to educate, inspire and encourage respect and understanding of the richness and diversity of the American Latino experience.

Estuardo Rodriguez, Executive Director, Friends of the National Museum of the American Latino & Principal and Counsel, Media and Communications, The Raben Group

For the first time, NAA presented a session addressing the impact of healthcare on the workforce and economy, the challenge presented by the high rate of Latinos without healthcare and the under representation of Latinos within healthcare professions. The session was followed by a networking coffee break co-sponsored by CityView and Pharos Capital Group, LLC.

Healthcare Session from Left to Right: George B. Hernández, Jr., President & CEO, University Health System; Dr. Joseph Mario Molina, M.D., NAA Founding Board Member & President & CEO, Molina Healthcare; Dr. Elena V. Rios, M.D., M.S.P.H., President & CEO, National Hispanic Medical Association & President, National Hispanic Health Foundation

As NAA reaches our 15^th Anniversary, we continue to celebrate journeys of entrepreneurial success & contributions in forging a stronger America, the theme of our closing session. We explored inspiring tales of entrepreneurs across communities, with extraordinary accounts of business leadership, political and civic engagement, and giving back.

Journeys Session from Top to Bottom and Left to Right: The Honorable Henry Cisneros, NAA Co-Founder & Executive Chairman, CityView; Kneeland Youngblood, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Pharos Capital Group, LLC; Maria Boyazny, Founder and CEO, MB Global Partners, LLC

Journeys Session from Top to Bottom and Left to Right:Dorene C. Dominguez, NAA Founding Member & Chairwoman of the Board, Vanir Group of Companies; Marcos Ronquillo, Partner, Beirne, Maynard & Parsons LLP & NAA Member; Linda Alvarado, President & CEO, Alvarado Construction, Inc.

The day came to a close with remarks from the Honorable Alberto Bacó Bagué, Secretary of Department of Economic Development & Commerce of Puerto Rico, and a Reception sponsored by the Puerto Rico Economic Development and Rums of Puerto Rico. Secretary Bacó Bagué and Puerto Rico's participation follows an effort by NAA and a millennial-led group from Puerto Rico, ConPRmetidos, to activate influential Puerto Ricans in the U.S. to support the Island's economic development.

National Summit Closing From Top to Bottom and Left to Right: The Honorable Alberto Bacó Bagué,Secretary of Economic Development & Commerce of Puerto Rico; Cyril Meduña, NAA Board Member & President, Advent-Morro Equity Partners, Inc

National Summit Closing From Top to Bottom and Left to Right: Dr. Ivonne Díaz-Claisse, Ph.D., President & CEO, Hispanics Aspiring Students' Performance and Achievement (HISPA) & Consultant, Educational Testing Service (ETS), Univision Communications Inc., Secretary Bacó Bagué; Juan Carlos Suárez Izquierdo, Executive Assistant to the Secretary, Department of Economic Development & Commerce of Puerto Rico

We thank our Co-Hosting Organizations, Sponsors, Media Partners, and Supporting Organizations for their continued support and collaboration!