Wilmer Valderrama Partners with Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s Ready to Lead (R2L) College Readiness Program

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) today announced a new partnership with actor Wilmer Valderrama to promote its Ready to Lead (R2L) college readiness program.  Valderrama will serve as the official spokesperson for R2L, appearing at workshops, in public service announcements (PSA), and other media campaigns to promote higher education for Latino youth.

“With the fastest growing youth population in America, it is important that we properly educate Latino youth so they can be the leaders of tomorrow,” said Valderrama. “I’m very pleased to work with an organization like CHCI that has a long history of providing opportunities for youth to gain access to college and become successful young leaders.”

CHCI and Valderrama made the announcement at CHCI’s Ready to Lead (R2L) Los Angeles workshop at Occidental College on Saturday, May 23, 2009. More than 100 high school students from the Los Angeles area participated in the training, where Valderrama provided the keynote speech and shot a PSA.

“CHCI is thrilled to partner with Wilmer Valderrama to promote the value of education and leadership to Latino youth,” said Esther Aguilera, CHCI President & CEO. “As a young role model with a broad audience, we look forward to working with Wilmer to expand our reach and touch thousands of young people each year with the message that the sky is the limit.”

Working with the CHCI Alumni Chapters across the country, R2L empowers Latino high school kids to attend college and trains hundreds of kids each year in college planning, financing a college education, and leadership development. The program involves one-day workshops across the country in the most heavily populated Latino urban centers such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, and culminates with a Washington, D.C. two-day workshop during CHCI’s Public Policy Conference each September.

The Ready to Lead (R2L) program is made possible with the support of lead sponsor USA Funds, and State Farm and Univision.

For more information on CHCI’s Ready to Lead program, please visit www.chci.org/ready_to_lead.  For more photos, please contact Scott Gunderson Rosa at sgunderson_rosa@chci.org.

About Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute
Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI), a nonprofit and nonpartisan 501(c) (3) organization, provides leadership development programs and educational services to students and young emerging leaders.  The CHCI Board of Directors is comprised of Hispanic Members of Congress, nonprofit, union and corporate leaders.  For more information call CHCI at (202) 543-1771 or visit www.chci.org.

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