Celebrating 20 Years of Latina Leadership
Honoring the Past and Forging the Future
To view images from the conference, please click here.
NHLI’s 2007 Executive Leadership Training and Mujer Awards Conference proved to be a colossal success as we celebrated 20 years of leadership, enlightenment and Latina excellence. To celebrate this amazing milestone in NHLI’s history, the conference was held in Denver, Colorado, the birthplace of NHLI. NHLI’s 20th Anniversary Celebration brought over 650 eager participants to the Denver Convention Center, making this year’s conference the best attended yet. The two-day conference held on November 8-9, 2007 was jam-packed with executive leadership training, health and career fairs, and culminated with the distinguished Mujer Awards Gala. NHLI’s family spirit was
certainly felt at this year’s conference as we recognized those that have helped shape NHLI into the premier leadership organization it is today.
The conference kicked off on Thursday, November 8, 2007 with the rhythm and style of “Pa’Bailar” at the first-ever NHLI Health & Wellness Fairs. The participants gathered to warm up and exercise to Latin and flamenco music, and learn about Latina health issues. Elena Alvarado from the National Latina Health Network, motivated the crowd to take control of their health and not become part of the startling health statistics for Latinos in the U.S. Maria Marín gave a dynamic opening keynote address that focused on taking control of all aspects of your life by uncovering The Secrets of a Confident Woman. She explained that you must overcome your fears, drop the excuses and take a risk to strive for success. A successful life begins when you commit to your dreams and make it a reality!
The empowering leadership training continued into the afternoon with multiple concurrent sessions. The sessions included: Empowerment: Believe it, Create It, Putting Yourself First: Empowering Yourself to be Healthy & Strong, Healing the Healer, So You Want to Write a Book? How to Get Started in Writing Your First Book, and How to Get Latinas on National Boards.
In the evening, special buses were loaded with excited participants to attend the Welcome Reception – Honoring NHLI Founders and Alumnae at the Denver Art Museum. The museum was packed with fellows and supporters who listened to the wonderful harp music of Lizary Rodriguez Rios and viewed the amazing pre-Columbian art exhibit. It was a time to take a moment to reflect on the past and honor those that made NHLI the brilliant leadership institute we know today. It was with sincere gratitude that we honored founding board members and past NHLI presidents: María Elena Toraño, Hon. María Antonietta Berriozábal, Hon. Grace Montañez Davies, Dr. Jane Delgado, Dr. Mary Jane England, Hon. Ramona Martínez, Richard McGrath, Dr. Marta Romero, Gloria Rodríguez, Carlos Soto, Hector Velázquez Arturo Villar, Raúl Yzaguirre, Juana Bordas and Nancy León. A special surprise was the award given to Marisa Rivera-Albert, NHLI’s president for the past 10 years. In addition, a special “memory book” was created with highlights and images from the last 20 years of NHLI.
After the reception, NHLI had a special documentary screening of “The Sugar Babies: The Plight of the Children of Agricultural Workers in the Sugar Industry of the Dominican Republic by director/producer Amy Serrano at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. The startling images of the documentary left a strong impression on many of the spectators. Amy Serrano answered the intriguing questions from the audience and closed out the first day of the very exciting two-day conference.
Friday’s events began with a burst of energy! The “Leonas” roared into wellness by participating in a morning walk/run or yoga to prepare for the stimulating day ahead. Denise Tryner lead the women in an exhilarating run around the downtown Denver area. The Career and Health Fairs were open during the entire day.
Ltc. Consuelo Castillo Kickbush (ret.), the morning’s keynote speaker, overcame poverty and discrimination to become the highest ranking Hispanic woman in the Combat Support Field of the U.S. Army. She greeted a huge audience anxiously waiting to hear about Servant Leadership and Leaving a Legacy. Speaking from her heart, Consuelo moved the audience from tears to laughter as she gave her message of what is meant by true leadership. She practices what she preaches with her organization, Educational Achievement Services Inc. that prepares tomorrow’s leaders today.
Denver’s Mayor John W. Hickenlooper gave a warm welcome to the NHLI family to Colorado. He highlighted the accomplishments of Latinos in his administration. Nicole Lauria, from the Disney Institute, presented the morning session: The Disney Approach to Loyalty. She taught the audience how to create relationship magic with customers as Disney has done for so many years. David Gonzalez, from the Center for Creative Leadership, followed up with an equally impressive talk on The Pillars of Successful Executive Leadership. A model that is based on 10 years of research by CCL.
By noon, the Latina Authors Book Signing was in full swing! The talented Latina authors included: Mayte Prida, Dr. Ana Nogales, Juana Bordas, Raquel Ortiz, Ltc. Consuelo Castillo Kickbush, and Dr. Joyce Lujan Martinez. The Luncheon and Latina Producers Panel Discussion followed the book signing. Raquel Ortiz moderated this dynamic interactive panel discussion that featured Cecilia Domeyko, Amy Serrano and Mayte Prida.
The luncheon keynote speaker, Carol Evans, President and CEO of Working Mother Media, enlightened the crowd on the importance of unity amongst all women. For the past three years, NHLI has had a fundraising drive during the Conference. This year, the moving fundraising speech of Ltc. Consuelo Castillo Kickbush helped garner over $100,000 in pledges for NHLI’s programs. Microsoft, McDonald’s, Coors Brewing Company, PhRMA and Western Union matched these funds.
Todd L. Pittinsky from Harvard University’s Center for Public Leadership continued the conference with the Developing Your Leadership Skills session. He expressed the need to develop the seven essential competencies of: catalytic, contextual, interpersonal, leadership theory, organizational, personal and social systems. This session jump started the first set of concurrent sessions for the day. The sessions addressed a plethora of subjects like that of Jenny Parra’s Feng Shui for the Latina Home, Latinas in Corporate America with panelists from Verizon, Nissan and Wal-Mart, and Nanci Luna Jiménez’s presentation Pushing the Limits of Sexism: Reclaiming Your Powerful Female Body.
The second set of sessions for the conference included the powerful messages from Mayte Prida, Lillian Roybal Rose and Ysabel Durón panelists on Latinas and Cancer Panel Discussion, Unity Equals Power: Building Partnerships with Women of Color with Juana Bordas. Dr. Mary DeFerreire, Dr. Ana Nogales and Dr. Luisa Medrano discussed the topic of Mental Health: Dealing with Depression and Trauma. Other sessions were Latinas in Government, and From Inspiration to Publication: What Latinas Need to Know About Getting a Book Published. The wide range of topics for this year’s concurrent sessions gave the participants a wide variety.
The stunning Mujer Awards Gala closed out this year’s conference with elegance and cheer with Lizary Rodríguez Ríos setting the mood with beautiful harp melodies. The beautiful artwork of this year’s featured artist, Esperanza Gama, and that of Laura Lopez Cano, Sina Sutter and Rebecca Rosales topped off the festive ambiance during the Gala reception. The Colorado Host Committee headed by Olga Garcia, created a magnificent display of items for the silent auction that raised over $6,300 for NHLI programs.
The Mujer Awards pay tribute to Latinas across this country and around the world. NHLI celebrated the artistry, the wisdom, the activism, and the compassion of the Hispanic woman, La Mujer Latina. The evening’s events began with the recognition of NHLI’s founding partners for their foresight in investing in NHLI’s mission of empowering Latinas throughout the world and their dedication to follow through with their commitment to the Latino community. The awards were presented to Coors Brewing Company represented by Rafael Fantauzzi, the Center for Creative Leadership represented by John Ryan, President, and the JFK School of Government of Harvard University represented by Linda Kaboolian. The 20th anniversary video produced by the Cartel Group was shown to give background information about NHLI’s beginnings.
The magnificent evening continued with Ysabel Durón as Gala Mistress of Ceremonies. The first presentation was the 2007 Regional Mujer Award to Dr. Mary DeFerreire, President of the International and Multicultural Psychological Services in McAllen, Texas. She is the only mental health provider in the Rio Grande Valley providing full psychological services to the Latino and immigrant community. An advocate of Latino families needing health insurance, Dr. DeFerreire has used her skills to rescue, aid and assist over 5,700 families. She prides herself in serving the “poorest of poor” in the communities bordering the U.S. and Mexico. Dr. DeFerreire’s tireless efforts in addressing Latino mental health issues are helping to build a stronger emerging Latino community.
NHLI is proud to call the 2007 National Mujer Awardee, Dr. Gloria Bonilla-Santiago, one of our own as she is a member of the first class (1988) to graduate from NHLI’s Executive Training Program. Dr. Bonilla-Santiago is a Professor with the Graduate Department of Public Policy and Administration at Rutgers University, Director for the Center for Strategic Urban Community Leadership and is the overseer and Board Chair of the LEAP Academy University Charter School. She is a passionate and enthusiastic educator, who has focused on helping people become self-reliant citizens through education and professional development. She truly lives her passion by serving urban communities and molding children and adults into a leading force in the nation.
Current Board Chair, Ingrid Duran presented the 2007 Chair’s Award to actress and activist, Rosario Dawson, for her charitable work in the Latino community and around the world. Ms. Dawson has starred in such big budget films as The Rundown, Rent, Sin City and Men in Black II. In line with her views on social justice and empowering young people, Rosario founded the non-partisan organization, Voto Latino. Voto Latino combines the latest technology, an interactive website, and youth themselves to promote positive change. As the 2008 presidential election approaches, Voto Latino is putting all its efforts forward to encourage Latinos to educate themselves on the political issues, register to vote and exercise their right to vote. Rosario really got into the gala spirit as she demonstrated the Voto Latino hand gesture to the enthusiastic crowd.
The final honors of the night went to the current and past Chairs of NHLI’s Board of Directors present at the gala: Ingrid Duran, Dr. Sandra Madrid, Dr. Fern Espino and Linda Mazón Gutierrez. The gala concluded with the amazing and colorful performance of Ballet Folklórico Netzahualcoyotl, the vibrant sounds of the Mariachi Sol de Mi Tierra and the hip swaying rhythms of Conjunto Colores.
NHLI appreciates and thanks all the participants who helped celebrate NHLI’s milestone 20th anniversary celebration during its annual Executive Leadership Training and Mujer Awards Gala. We thank our sponsors whose continued support for Latina leaders makes NHLI a reality. Their investment in Latina leaders is a contribution towards the future of our country. Thank you to the Denver Host Committee for all their hard work, time and dedication to making the conference a tremendous success. NHLI also recognizes the hard work of the staff and the NHLI Board of Directors in coordinating this memorable event.
For an institution to thrive 20 years is an achievement to be celebrated, and NHLI’s next 20 years promise to be just as exciting and filled with hope for the future. ¡Pa’lante! as we say — “move forward” to a brighter tomorrow for our communities.
