Mission, Goals and Constitution

The Alumni Association envisions an organization of former CHCI program participants for the purpose of establishing a forum to maintain strong professional and amiable ties to each other and to our communities.

The vision of the Association is to be a national network of Hispanic/Latino professionals and leaders dedicated to the advancement and development of alumni of CHCI's programs.

The mission of the Association is to establish an intranet of shared resources, information, and experiences for alumni.

The Association has three primary goals:

  • to promote active, visible leadership in the community;
  • to create opportunities for networking and professional development;
  • to serve as mentors to the current class of program participants.

    CHCI Alumni Association Constitution

    • Article I. Name
    The name of this national association shall be the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) Alumni Association, hereafter referred to as the CHCI-AA or “the Association.”

    Article II. Mission and Membership

    Section 1
    The CHCI-AA is a national network of Hispanic/Latino professionals that have served as past CHCI Interns, Fellows, or Scholars. The Association’s mission is to promote active, visible leadership in the community, expand the CHCI-AA leadership network to future young leaders and provide opportunities to CHCI-AA members for professional development.

    Section 2
    Membership is open to all graduates of the CHCI Internship, Fellowship, and Scholarship programs.

    Section 3
    Active members shall be those in good standing, who participate in CHCI-AA activities and those who have indicated their support of the CHCI-AA’s vision and mission. Good standing is defined as program participants who graduated without a probationary status on their record, per the CHCI contract and compliance memorandum for participants of CHCI programs. Active membership is determined by the Executive Board based on past participation in CHCI-AA events and activities.

    Article III. Rights and Responsibilities

    Section 1
    The Association may engage in fundraising activities that promote the mission and purpose of the association. The Association must abide by laws governing 501 (c)(3) fundraising and will coordinate such activities with the CHCI CEO and staff.

    Article IV. Elections and Executive Officers

    Section 1
    Elections shall take place in the fall on every even numbered year. Winners will be announced during the Annual Alumni Association Breakfast. . All voting will be conducted online and presided by an elections officer to be selected by the Executive Board. Candidates receiving a plurality of votes will be declared the winner. Under extraordinary circumstances, Executive Officers may request a vote to postpone elections. However, new officers must be elected by November of a CHCI-AA election year.

    Section 2
    All persons pursuing an officer position are required to present themselves to the members and state the reasons and goals of said pursuit. In order to be eligible to run, alumni must have been members of the CHCI-AA for at least one year.

    Section 3
    There will be a 30-day transition period where the exiting Executive Officers will update new officers on current projects and provide all necessary documentation. During this time, neither outgoing nor incoming Executive Officers may hold a vote before the members on any issue.

    Section 4
    The rank order of the Executive Officers shall be as follows: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Programs Coordinator.

    Section 5
    In order to run for Executive Office, a member must have been active and in the organization as defined in Article II, Section 3.

    Section 6
    The Executive Officers shall be elected in the manner provided by the constitution. In order to be elected, Executive Officers must be residents of the Metropolitan Washington DC area. The length of tenure of any Executive Officer position is two years. Terms begin in January of the year following the elections.

    Section 7
    No Executive Officer may hold more than one office at one time.

    Section 8
    An Executive Officer may resign from office by submitting the intention to do so in writing to the Executive Board. The resignation becomes effective as soon as the resigning position is refilled.

    Section 9
    Any officer that misses three consecutive meetings without good cause will be placed on probation. Officers will review and evaluate performance and determine appropriate action.

    Article V. Duties of the Officers

    Section 1
    The President is charged with:

    1. Presiding over all general and executive CHCI-AA meetings.

    2. Exercising general supervision over regular organization activities.

    3. Presiding over the Executive Officers.

    4. Delegating responsibilities.

    5. Acting in the best interests of the organization at all times.

    6. Advocating for and representing the CHCI-AA on the CHCI Board.

    7. Reporting back to the CHCI-AA on discussions and decisions made at the CHCI Board meetings.

    8. Serving as the principle liaison between the CHCI CEO and Programs Director, and the CHCI-AA.

    9. Attending, on a need to participate basis, CHCI staff meetings (i.e. September prior to Issues Conference/Gala events.)

    10. Reporting back to CHCI-AA, on a timely basis, the decisions and discussions with CHCI staff.

    11. Gaining approval from CHCI for all AA, or chapters thereof, events, activities, and sponsorship.

    Section 2
    The Vice President is charged with:

    1. Taking over duties of the President in the temporary or prolonged absence of the President.

    2. Assisting the CHCI-AA Programs Coordinator.

    3. Coordinating the scheduling and announcement of CHCI-AA meetings in a timely manner.

    4. Attending all regular and special CHCI-AA meetings.

    5. Coordinating the CHCI-AA elections.

    6. Coordinating the quarterly newsletter with the other Executive Officers.

    Section 3
    The Secretary is charged with:

    1. Keeping the minutes of all meetings. Minutes must be filed and posted no later than two weeks after each meeting.

    2. Maintaining an attendance log of all meetings.

    3. Presenting minutes of the previous meeting at CHCI-AA meetings.

    4. Soliciting input from members for meeting agendas and disseminating agendas prior to meetings.

    5. Making conference call arrangements, as needed, for each meeting.


    Section 4
    The Treasurer is charged with:

    1. Attending all regular and special CHCI-AA meetings.

    2. Collecting dues and maintaining a list of paid active members (when and if necessary).

    3. Managing budget and all financial activities of CHCI-AA with CHCI Chief Financial Officer.

    4. Coordinating fundraising efforts with the President.

    Section 5
    The Programs Coordinator is charged with:

    1. Coordinating events to enhance awareness of the CHCI-AA to others.

    2. Keeping the CHCI-AA in contact with the local community.

    3. Coordinating all social/cultural events held by the CHCI-AA.

    4. Organizing community related activities.

    5. Attending all regular and special CHCI-AA meetings.

    6. Coordinating mentoring opportunities with current program participants.


    Article VI. Meetings

    Section 1
    CHCI-AA general membership meetings shall take place quarterly. The meeting date, time and place will be decided upon by the Executive Officers. All general membership meetings, will be open to the entire CHCI-AA membership and at least one Executive Board Officer should be present at CHCI-AA general membership meetings. Executive Board meetings are open only to Executive Board members.

    Section 2
    CHCI-AA Executive Board meetings shall occur monthly.

    Section 3
    The President may call special meetings if the need arises.

    Section 4
    In order for voting to take place at CHCI-AA Executive Board meetings, a quorum of officers must be present. A quorum consists of three Executive Officers present at an alumni association meeting. This is only required when a vote is being discussed.

    Article VII. Expansion

    Section 1
    The CHCI-AA Executive Board reserves the right to recognize regional chapters that represent the interests of CHCI and the CHCI-AA at the local and state level.

    Section 2
    Each Chapter shall be governed by the CHCI-AA constitution and comply with the Chapter Governing Agreement.

    Section 3
    Alumni who wish to establish a Chapter should voice their intent in the form of a letter to the Association and sign the Chapter Governing Agreement.

    Section 4
    There shall be only one CHCI-AA Chapter per metropolitan area.

    Section 5
    The CHCI-AA Chapters must receive CHCI-AA Executive Board approval for all Chapter events, activities and sponsorship.

    Article VIII. Amendments

    Section 1
    An amendment to this constitution may be proposed, in writing, by any active member at any general membership meeting.

    Section 2
    All proposed amendments shall be circulated among the general membership for the purpose of soliciting feedback for a period of 30 days. The proposed amendment shall be voted on at the next general membership meeting.

    Section 3
    Passage of the amendment requires a plurality of votes from all members attending the meeting.

    For further information please contact Saul Pena at spena@chci.org

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