Over 6,000 attend USHLI’s annual conference

The United States Hispanic Leadership Institute (USHLI), based in Chicago, hosted its 25^th annual leadership conference March 14-18, 2007, at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers.

It is becoming one of the most celebrated gatherings for Latinos in the United States, according to Ohio Commission Hispanic/Latino Affairs Commissioner Richard Romero, who attended.

“This year we estimated that over 6,000 representatives from 40 states attended. This conference has become one of the most important and talked about events in the nation,” Romero informed La Prensa.  

 L-R: Richard Romero, Vice Pres. OCHLA; Charles Louis Kincannon, Dir. U.S. Census Bureau; Marylou Olivarez-Mason, Dir. Michigan Commission on Spanish Speaking Affairs; Ezra Escudero, Dir. Ohio Commission on Hispanic/Latino Affairs (OCHLA); Lee McElveen, Latino Coordinator of the South Carolina Commission for Minority Affairs; and Elias García, Dir. Kansas Hispanic & Latino American Affairs Commission.

“With two-thirds of our participants being less than 34 years of age, female, and over 80 per cent having completed or currently attending college, this conference is truly cultivating the next generation of Latino leaders.

“The conference, though not a youth conference, consistently attracts more youth than any Latino youth conference. The College Recruitment Fair, one of the largest in the nation, was attended by over 2,500 high school students and recruiters, representing over 100 colleges and universities throughout the United States. In addition, over 1,500 college students attended,” continued Romero.  

Event speakers included:

• Janet Murguia, Pres. & CEO NCLR - Washington D.C.

• LTC Ret. Consuelo Castillo Kickbusch;

• Henry G. Cisneros, Chairman & CEO CityView – San Antonio;

• Alma Morales Riojes, Pres. MANA – Washington D.C.

• Jesse Jackson, Pres. Rainbow/PUSH Coalition;

• Arturo Vargas, Exec. Director NALEO Educational Fund;

• Rosa Rosales, Pres. LULAC;

L-R: Dr. Juan Andrade Jr., President of the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute; Richard Romero, Ohio Commission of Hispanic Latino Affairs; and Joseph T. Hansen, International President, United Food & Commercial Workers.

• Luis V. Gutiérrez, Congressman, 4^th District (Illinois) U.S. House of Representatives;

• Lupita Colmenero, Pres. NAHP;

• Dr. Gabriela Lemus, Exec. Director LCLAA;

• Jesse L. Jackson, Jr., (Illinois), 2^nd District U.S. House of Representatives;

• Ken Salazar (Colorado), U.S. Senate Washington, D.C. and

• Christopher Dodd (Connecticut), United States Senate Washington D.C.

Themes focused on leadership, education, immigration reform, and the importance of the 2010 census to the Latino community.

USHLI is guided by Dr. Juan Andrade Jr., its president. For more information on this conference visit: www.25th.ushli.org

Left to right: Manuel Mirabal, Richard Romero, Lupita Colmenero, U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd, Alma Morales Riojas, Deborah Martínez, and U.S. Congressman Xavier Becerra

Jesse Jackson Jr., U.S. Congressman, Richard Romero, Vice President Ohio Commission of Hispanic Latino Affairs