New America Alliance Launches
14th Annual Wall Street Summit & 15th Anniversary Gala
Prominent Leaders to Showcase Economic Power of American Latino Community
NEW YORK, NY – Today, the New America Alliance (NAA), an organization of the most influential Latino business leaders committed to leading the process of Latino empowerment and wealth building, launches the 14th Annual Wall Street Summit and 15th Anniversary Gala to be held at the Waldorf=Astoria in New York City on November 18-20, 2014.
The Alliance is proud to announce the 14th installment of its flagship event convening NAA members with CEOs, entrepreneurs, institutional investors, Wall Street leaders, members of the Administration, state elected officials and public pension fund executives to examine the state of the U.S. economy from the standpoint of the American Latino community.
“It gives me great pride to kick off another Wall Street Summit and showcase the valuable contributions by American Latino businesses to the U.S. economy,” said Frank Herrera, Jr., NAA Inc Chair of the Board, and Founder of the Herrera Law Firm. “The NAA welcomes collaboration from all sectors to ensure that the American Latino community seizes new opportunities to spur job growth and build wealth while increasing our political participation and educational attainment.”
The Summit will also feature the 15th Anniversary Gala commemorating the NAA’s role as an advocate addressing critical issues facing the American Latino business community such as access to corporate and pension fund boards, greater availability of investment capital, and investing in education and mentorship for Latino students and entrepreneurs. “
The NAA 15th Anniversary celebration is a testament to the generosity of NAA members who have given their intellect, time and treasure to the organization, aggregating small business membership contributions of over $5 Million since 1999,” stated Maria del Pilar Avila, CEO of the Alliance. “We will celebrate the unique strength and character of the American Latino community as we continue our work to build on American Latino success to forge a stronger America.”
Throughout the Summit, participants will examine American Latino contributions in growing and strengthening the U.S. economy. This year’s event features national leadership headlined by such luminaries as The Honorable Alejandra Castillo, National Director, Minority Business Development Agency, U.S. Department of Commerce; Alejandra Ceja, Executive Director, White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics; The Honorable Alberto Bacó Bagué, Secretary of Economic Development & Commerce, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; The Honorable Pedro Segarra, Mayor of Hartford, CT; The Honorable Angel Taveras, Mayor of Providence, RI; Mayor-elect Jorge Elorza of Providence, RI; The Honorable Mickey Ibarra, Chairman, Latino Leaders Network; The Honorable Eric Schneiderman, Attorney General, New York City; The Honorable Scott Stringer, Comptroller, New York City; Ted Eliopoulos, Chief Investment Officer, California Public Employees’ Retirement System; and Scott Evans, Chief Investment Officer, New York City Pension System.
The Alliance is also proud to announce two new themes in the agenda. First, the session A New Generation of American Latino Leaders: Renovate, Remix, Rise will focus the dialogue on the coming wave of Latino leadership from the ranks of younger generations.
Second, the panel American Latinas: Leadership and Economic Force will serve to announce the launch of NAA’s American Latina Leadership Caucus intended to aggregate 100 influential Latinas across sectors - entrepreneurship, corporate, appointed and elected office, nonprofit and academia, with the single purpose of promoting leadership of Latinas. The Caucus will collect information on leadership opportunities and vacancies, and work to identify and promote Latinas to a variety of high-level positions.
Returning to the Summit, the U.S. Mayors Forum & Luncheon session will feature the economic development efforts taking place in urban communities. The NAA will highlight cities and the work of mayors because they understand firsthand what it takes to revitalize the nation’s economy.
Finally, as NAA advocates for higher participation of Latino and minority financial services firms in the institutional investor space, the Summit will once again feature the Pension Fund Diversity Day. In 2003, NAA reported a total of approximately $500 Million of private equity capital managed by American Latinos. By 2014, NAA estimates total institutional assets managed by Latino and diverse firms within the NAA membership to be close to $25 Billion. While this signals substantial improvement in the participation of Latinos in asset management, there is still significant advancement to be made as we consider the $33 Trillion pool of capital within the U.S. pension system.
Founded in 1999, the New America Alliance is comprised of a 501(c)6 and a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to building on American Latino success to forge a stronger America. The Alliance is organized on the principle that American Latino business leaders have a special responsibility to lead the process of building the forms of capital most crucial to Latino progress – economic capital, political capital, human capital and the practice of philanthropy.
For more information on the 14th Annual Wall Street Summit, please visit our website – www.naaonline.org/wss14
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