Miami Chapter
Luis Sergio Hernandez, Jr., CHCI-AA Miami Chapter President, CHCI Fellowship 2006-2007
Ines Flores, CHCI AA Miami Chapter Member, CHCI Scholarship 2005
1. What was the most impressive aspect of the CHCI Hispanic Heritage Month events that you attended?
There were many impressive aspects of the CHCI Hispanic Heritage Month events from presentations and discussions that included Cabinet level panelists throughout the conference, to the elegance and excitement of the Gala that was attended by a host of dignitaries, celebrities, and political leaders. For example, it was certainly thrilling to meet Justice Sonia Sotomayor, but it was an even more humbling and impressive moment when President Barack Obama not only called Sotomayor “royalty” but added, “And obviously one of my proudest moments as President, in fact, probably the proudest moment as President that I’ve had was the day that Justice Sotomayor formally ascended to our nation’s highest court.” To witness the outpouring of love and admiration from our community to our first Latina Supreme Court Justice was certainly one of the most moving, impressive, and unforgettable moments among many during CHCI’s Hispanic Heritage Month events.
2. What would you say is the value of attending the CHCI Hispanic Heritage Month events for someone that has never attended it before?
Among many other things, the value of attending the CHCI Hispanic Heritage Month events is the opportunity to network with many individuals from various different backgrounds from across the country. Networking is key, and the CHCI Hispanic Heritage Month events provided the opportunity to not only get to interact with different people, but also discover the issues that affect them, their motivations to succeed or continue to succeed, and what may be most important, to have the priceless opportunity to take the best of each and every one of them back home to our local communities.
3. What activities has your Chapter organized this year?
This year the Miami Chapter partnered with the University of Miami Law School’s Miami Youth Leadership Retreat program and co-sponsored the Inaugural Mentor-Mentee reception. Miami alumni joined with CHCI colleagues from Washington, DC in contributing to Ready to Lead Miami by participated on panels and leading workshops. The Chapter also held an end of summer get-together dinner last month, and we are looking forward to launching a recruitment drive at various local colleges to boost local applications for CHCI’s fellowship, internship, and scholarship programs.
4. Why should Alumni in your area join your chapter?
Alumni are uniquely poised to practice CHCI’s mission of “empowering the next generation of Latino leaders” because we have benefitted directly from the various scholarship, internship, or fellowship programs. As Alumni we understand that as rewarding as it is to benefit from these programs, it is even more rewarding to help the next generation. Alumni should join because CHCI is all about giving back to the community. If there is one thing we have learned from being a CHCI alumnus, it has been the importance of sharing your experiences and knowledge so that others can take advantage of the many opportunities that are available to them. Of course, reaching out to the maximum number of people can not be done without the help of our members. Joining the Alumni Association is also a great opportunity to create and maintain a network of former CHCI participants from across the country. As we help others, we help ourselves.
New York Chapter
Cynthia Medina, CHCI-AA New York Chapter President, CHCI Fellowship 1995-1996
Fabiola Carrion, CHCI-AA New York Chapter Secretary, CHCI Fellowship 2003-2004
1. What was the most impressive aspect of the CHCI Hispanic Heritage Month events that you attended?
What impressed us by far was the unbelievable number of prominent, thoughtful and driven leaders that attended the events. Event after event, speaker after speaker, the audience was left thrilled, inspired and impressed by the quality of, candor and access the platform provided.
2. What would you say is the value of attending the CHCI Hispanic Heritage Month events for someone that has never attended it before?
The biggest value of the events is that you can sit in one place for a few hours and learn about the pressing issues of the day for Latinos and find out what your Government representatives and appointees are doing to resolve these concerns.
3. What activities has your Chapter organized this year?
The New York Alumni Chapter of CHCI has worked on several major initiatives: At the beginning of the year, it conducted a chapter survey in order to assess the professional needs of members and plan ways to better serve the Latino community in New York. The Chapter has held several networking events to recruit new members and to stay connected to alums. The Chapter was well represented at the New York Ready to Lead and held a successful workshop on “Community Organizing 101.” In late October, the New York chapter will co-sponsor an event with the Brennan Institute of Justice/NYU on “Reforming Albany: How is it broken and ideas to fix it.”
4. Why should Alumni in your area join your chapter?
We are active in many ways that are important to alumni, from community service to networking to education and political advocacy; moving our community forward is our mission.
Los Angeles Chapter
Cynthia Gutierrez, CHCI-AA Los Angeles Chapter President, CHCI Fellowship 2006-2007
1. What was the most impressive aspect of the CHCI Hispanic Heritage Month events that you attended?
There were a couple of events during conference that impressed me the most. The Ready to Lead (R2L) program was a great workshop and I was stunned at the student attendance. Participants were great and students were engaged. It was a wonderful turnout and it was humbling to see students so well versed in issues pertinent to their communities.
I poked my head into a couple of the plenary sessions. I particularly thought the morning plenary with Secretary Solis was extremely informational. Her perspective of the workforce and the economy sincerely hit home. Latinos have been severely hit by the recession and it was motivating to hear her address all those issues and what the Department of Labor is doing to alleviate some of these concerns.
The Gala was the best I’ve ever been to thus far. CHCI has great expectations to meet in years to come. I was star-struck, for lack of a better term. While President Obama spoke, all of his staff was standing behind us. It was an extravagant evening. I really appreciate CHCI giving Chapter Board members the opportunity to attend Gala every year.
2. What would you say is the value of attending the CHCI Hispanic Heritage Month events for someone that has never attended it before?
Obviously, one of the most important aspects of Conference is the opportunity to network. For young professionals, this is an instrumental part of our personal and professional growth. To be able to share your thoughts and ideas with someone who has the same interests as you is invaluable. I only wish more people had the opportunity to attend and participate. A lot of information is given at the Conference and a lot of contacts are made. These are the same people you will work with in near future. The general knowledge received at Conference is tremendous and cannot be measured.
3. What activities has your Chapter organized this year?
Right before R2L this year in Los Angeles, we organized the Chapter’s first welcome reception to create buzz around the Chapter and find potential candidates to fill our Board. We hope to engage our Board and membership to be able to serve as a resource for alum in the area. We look forward to collaborate with other organizations in California to help fundraise for the Chapter.
4. Why should Alumni in your area join your chapter?
The Los Angeles Chapter has gone through a number of changes these last couple of years. Our biggest challenge has been growing our membership. Los Angeles is extremely large and it has been difficult to locate alumni in the area and bring them together. Once we have our Board retreat sometime this or next month, I believe we will have a more vivid idea of what we want and expect from our Chapter. We are ready to begin working to help our Chapter become a stronger, larger, and more effective resource and provide a wide range of useful services to our membership.