NAA is proud to join as Founding Partner of The Cisneros Center for New Americans and to honor the legacy of NAA Co-Founder Henry Cisneros. The Cisneros Center will be launching their American Dream Fellowship, which Henry Cisneros explains, "employs the talent, energy and optimism of the next generation of leaders to build and lead a movement aimed at driving immigrant integration." Mr. Cisneros was also recently recognized with The World Affair Council's International Citizen Award presented by President Clinton as The Cisneros Center for New Americans was announced for the first time. See NAA announcement HERE.

Governor of Puerto Rico Alejandro García Padilla appointed Cyril Meduña to a group designated as "Puerto Rico Se Transforma - Mesa de Acción para la Competitividad y el Crecimiento" charged with presenting concrete recommendations to address economic challenges. Some of the issues to be undertaken are the informal economy, youth emigration, aging of the population and low level of labor participation. The selective multisectorial group includes 24 leaders charged with issuing a report in 5 weeks. See press release HERE.

NAA Treasurer Tommy Espinoza, President and CEO of Raza Development Fund, funded Guadalupe Centers, Inc to acquire the Saint Paul School of Theology Campus in Kansas City, MO. The Guadalupe Centers, Inc plans to repurpose many of the buildings on the site to support individuals and families, and over time to offer local institutions a wide range of programs and services including a charter elementary school, family support services and independent senior housing. Tommy Espinoza remarked, "We are proud to partner with an organization that shares our commitment and mission of serving low-income Latino families and children. This investment will preserve a valuable community asset that will benefit the residents of Kansas City." View press release HERE.

NAA Board Member and Capital Advocacy Co-Chair Juan Sabater, Managing Director of Valor Equity Partners, for personally co-funding GamePlan4Me. GamePlan4Me is a multi-platform initiative dedicated to bringing awareness to young Americans about the importance of planning for the future by taking necessary steps to ensure success in career and health. View NAA's announcement HERE.

NAA Board Member Martín Chavez, Managing Partner of New Mainstream Capital, announced investment and partnership with Ettain Group, a national IT Staffing and IT Talent Solution company. New Mainstream Capital will invest in Ettain alongside management, and provide additional capital to further support Ettain's future growth through incremental resources, expanded service offerings and strategic acquisitions. View entire article HERE.

NAA Non-Profit Member Maria Teresa Kumar, President and CEO of Voto Latino, on being named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum for her professional accomplishments and commitment to society. Maria Teresa has led Voto Latino for the past 10 years, working to empower Latino Millennials to claim a better future for themselves and their community through civic engagement and participation. The 2014 Young Global Leader is chosen by committee chaired by Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of the Heshemite Kingdom of Jordan, candidates are selected based on their proven track record of professional accomplishments, breadth of expertise, commitment to society, and ability to overcome adversity, among other criteria. View press release HERE.

NAA Immediate Past Chair Roel Campos, Partner with Locke Lord, LLP and NAA Member Marcos Ronquillo, Managing Partner with Beirne, Maynard & Parsons, LLP join The Smithsonian Latino Center National Board of Directors. View press release HERE.

NAA sends our sincerest condolences to CalPERS and the family and friends of Joseph A. Dear, Chief Investment Officer of CalPERS, who passed away on February 26. A dedicated public servant, Mr. Dear worked at the highest levels of state and federal government service until he was hired by the CalPERS Board of Administration in 2009 when the financial industry was suffering from the global meltdown which led to the great recession and loss of one-fourth of CalPERS assets in its portfolio. With Mr. Dear's leadership CalPERS recouped all of its financial losses and reached new heights of more than $283 billion in assets. Mr. Dear graduated from Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, he was nominated by President Clinton in 1993 to head OSHA, previously served as chief of staff for Washington Governor Gary Locke, and became head of Washington State's public pension fund before taking lead at CalPERS.

NAA honors the legacy of the late Adelfa Botello Callejo, a longtime civil rights champion and Dallas attorney. Mrs. Callejo was the first Latina to obtain a law degree at Southern Methodist University in 1961. Her crusades range from protests over the police shooting of 12-year old Santos Rodriguez in 1973, city council redistricting in the late 1980s, to strategizing over harsh immigration policies in 2006. Mrs. Callejo's vast leadership, honors and awards stretch back over 50 years, the SMU Dedman School of Law named the Adelfa Botello Callejo Leadership and Latino Studies Institute in her honor and last year the Adelfa Botello Callejo Elementary School of Dallas ISD was dedicated to her. A larger than life, extraordinary woman, her legacy of 90 years will ripple throughout our nation for generations to come. Mrs. Callejo is pictured with her husband Bill Callejo and NAA Co-Founder Henry Cisneros.

The California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) will allocate an additional $200 million to its emerging manager program on the Private Equity asset class. Chief Investment Officer Ted Eliopoulos remarked, "This new allocation is a reflection of CalPERS ongoing commitment to emerging and diverse managers. Our goal is to generate appropriate, risk-adjusted investment returns by identifying early stage funds with strong potential for success." See full press release HERE.

The Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund (CTPF) releases Minority, Female, or Disabled Owned Brokers Request for Information. We commend CTPF on their commitment to providing opportunities for minority, female or disabled broker dealers. View RFI HERE.

According to agency data obtained by American Banker, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's own managers have shown distinctly different patterns in how they rate employees of different races. The Greenlining Institute Executive Director Orson Aguilar speaks out about how this controversy sparks an opportunity for the entire financial services sector to have broad, healthy dialogue about the role of people of color in the financial sector and the need for diversity initiatives that work. NAA looks forward to working with The Greenlining Institute, Congress, Offices of Minority and Women Inclusion, the CFPB leadership along with other financial agencies, individuals and organizations within the financial sector to create a stronger nation that reflects the full strength and diversity of American society. See full article HERE and see The Greenlining Institutes's report Racial Equity Framework: Strengthening the Financial Sector Through Diversity HERE.

American Immigration Council (AIC) released a new report discussing cities and metropolitan regional initiatives to attract, welcome, and encourage immigrant entrepreneurship, see full report HERE. Also see America Society/Council of the Americas (AS/COA) report on the 5 ways immigrants make cities more economically competitive HERE. See more from the AIC on how immigrants positively effect entrepreneurship and innovation HERE.

Join The Vanir Foundation in Memory of H. Frank Dominguez, NAA Founding Board Member, at their special educational fundraiser Building Blocks for the Future, featuring Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on Thursday, March 27 from 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM at the City Club Los Angeles, 555 S. Flower Street, 51st Floor in Los Angeles. View more information HERE and download invitation flyer HERE.

We invite you to join us for the 2014 Reinventing Puerto Rico Conference, presented by the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce, UBS and El Nuevo Dia, on Wednesday, April 9 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. NAA Inc Chair of the Board Frank Herrera will be in attendance and NAA Board Members Cyril Meduña, Juan Sabater along with NAA CEO Pilar Avila will participate as panelists. View more information HERE and view agenda HERE.

Join the Small Business Investor Alliance (SBIA) for their Western Private Equity Conference onThursday, April 17 in Los Angeles, CA. View more information HERE.

Join New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer for their Annual Investment & Emerging Manager Conference on Friday, April 25 from 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM in New York City.

Join the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute (CHLI) as they celebrate their 10th Annual CHLI Gala & Awards Dinner on Thursday, May 8 from 6:00 AM to 11:00 PM at Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington, DC. View more information HERE.