NAA Launches 10th Annual Latino Economic Summit

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, kicks off its three-day 10^th Annual Latino Economic Summit, taking place for the first time in Washington, DC.

“The importance of coming together to discuss the economic state of the American Latino community and develop strategies for progress has never been greater,” said The Honorable Roel C. Campos, former U.S. Securities & Exchange Commissioner, Partner in Charge at Cooley LLP and incoming NAA Inc Chair of the Board.  “The American economy is experiencing a historic transformation and organizations such as the NAA have a strategic role in guiding decision-makers to ensure that Latino businesses are positioned to capture new opportunities, and promoting Latino wealth-building, political participation and educational attainment.”

The Summit will be an exciting gathering of key stakeholders in government and Corporate America featuring substantive, in-depth discussions between CEOs, entrepreneurs, top business leaders, legislators, high-ranking administration officials and other thought-leaders.  The Summit will also mark the NAA’s 11th anniversary as an advocate addressing critical issues facing the American Latino business community such as access to corporate and pension fund boards, greater allocation of private equity funding by major institutional investors, and investment in education and mentoring for American Latino students and entrepreneurs.

“At its core, the Summit is a celebration of the spirit of the American Latino community and an opportunity to continue to identify the path for further advancement,” stated Maria del Pilar Avila, CEO of the Alliance.  “It is imperative that we identify opportunities for progress as well as to recognize our wins, both of which will be accomplished at the Summit.”

Summit participants will examine the state of the U.S. economy from the standpoint of the American Latino community around the theme, “Economy in Transformation: Our Proactive Solutions to Our Nation’s Needs”.  The Summit will feature such luminaries as: Cabinet Secretary for the Interior Ken Salazar; U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis; Senator Robert Menendez (NJ-D); The Honorable Rosie Rios, United States Treasurer; The Honorable Luis Aguilar, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissioner; Dr. J. Mario Molina, President and CEO of Molina Healthcare, one of the nation’s largest Hispanic-owned companies; Cesar Conde, President of Univision Networks; S. Todd Maclin, CEO for Commercial Banking, JP Morgan Chase & Co.; Joseph Dear, Chief Investment Officer, California Public Employees’ Retirement System; Jack Ehnes, Chief Executive Officer for the California State Teachers’ Retirement System; The Honorable Henry Cisneros, former U.S. Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Urban Development and NAA Co-founder; and The Honorable Roel C. Campos, former U.S. Securities and  Exchange Commissioner, Partner in Charge at Cooley and incoming NAA Inc Chair of the Board.

A highlight of the event will be the Congressional Town Hall Meeting, billed as “Latinos and Election 2010:  Analysis and Impact on Economic Development, Education and Immigration” co-hosted with the NALEO Educational Fund, the non-partisan leadership organization of the nation’s more than 6,000 Latino elected and appointed officials.  Held at the U.S. Senate only two weeks after the midterm election, the interactive forum will feature an analysis of the recent election and its impact on the American Latino community to be presented by Arturo Vargas, Executive Director of NALEO, as well as an open dialogue between Members of Congress and Summit participants to be moderated by Maria Elena Salinas, co-anchor of Noticiero Univision.

The Town Hall will be followed by an NAA and NALEO co-hosted reception celebrating the new Latino state legislators, municipal and county officials, and school board members from around the country participating in the eighth biennial NALEO National Institute for Newly Elected Officials, November 18-21, in Washington, DC.  Immediately following the reception will be the Latino Leadership Dinner, themed “Celebrating our Milestones and Recognizing the Gap”, also co-hosted by NAA and NALEO.

Additional sessions will include discussion on education, green energy initiatives, finance and banking, Latinos in the media, and higher participation of Latino financial services firms in the institutional investor space.  The Business Awards Presentation will recognize distinguished business achievement in Latino entrepreneurship.

Founded in 1999, the New America Alliance is comprised by a 501(c)6 and a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to advancing the economic development of the American Latino community.  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.

www.naaonline.org

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