The Hispanic Coalition NY, Inc., a statewide organization committed to highlighting and celebrating achievements in the Latino community, announces their 2012 NY’s 40 Under 40 Rising Stars and Rising Star of the Year Award Annual Recognition Reception program lineup. The list of Rising Stars is scheduled to be announced in early February.
Monica Arias Miranda, President and CEO stated, “We are very proud to announce that this year’s Recognition Reception will once again take place during the Somos Legislative Conference, on Saturday, March 24, 2012; we are grateful for the opportunity to present the Rising Stars during the largest NYS Latino conference.” She continued, “We have an incredible program planned with amazing speakers who serve as role models for the community. We are especially honored to announce that Captain Iván Castro, Special Forces with the US Army will be our Key Note Speaker. Jerusha Ramos, NYSFHCC, has been named Honorary Rising Star, and our hosts for the program will include one of our own team members Fanny Villareal with Maria Elena Ferrer.”
Ana Lorena Diana, Vice President noted, “the 40 Under 40 program recognizes members of the Hispanic/Latino community under the age of 40 who have demonstrated outstanding accomplishments and achievements in the areas of business, educations, politics, non-profit sector, community service, and more.” She continued, “the Rising Stars have demonstrated a quality of performance that indicates they are Leaders among their peers and will continue to develop into distinguished members in their community.”
The 2012 Key Note Speaker is Captain Iván Castro, a US Army officer who has continued serving on active duty in the Special Forces despite losing his eyesight. He is one of three blind active duty officers who serves in the US Army and the only blind officer serving in the United Sates Army Special Forces. Castro currently serves on active duty at the Special Operations Recruiting Battalion as the Assistant Operations Officer /Total Army Involvement Recruiting Coordinator. He is an advocate of rehabilitation, employment and education for wounded warriors and participates in various races and marathons as a contestant.
The event co-chairs are Fanny Villareal and Maria Elena Ferrer. Ms. Villareal serves as Treasurer/Chief Financial Officer for the Hispanic Coalition NY and is the Founder & Executive Director of NOSOTROS Radio, Inc. Your Latino Voice, the first Hispanic bilingual radio program in the Syracuse region, for which she received an award from the Syracuse University. Ms. Villareal has served in various leadership positions in the local business and non-profit communities and currently serves as a Board Member for Elmcrest Children’s Services, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Syracuse, and Fair Housing of Central New York, Syracuse Neighborhood Initiative. Ms. Villareal is the Founder of the 2010 Census Hispanic Complete Count Committee of Syracuse and a co-founder of the Onondaga Latino Caucus.
Ms. Ferrer is currently promoting her work as facilitator for the Migratory Mourning initiative in the NYS region; she has facilitated migratory-mourning workshops for an immigrant-women’s association in Valencia, Spain, since 2004. Ms. Ferrer also works with immigrants individually in a life-coaching private practice. Her personal and organizational-development firm Humanamente, established in 2005, offers professional education and training and organizational consulting in Valencia and Kingston, N.Y. She serves as Executive Director for Humanamente.
This year’s Honorary Rising Star is Jerusha Ramos, Investment Advisor for NL Financial and community leader with many advocacy organizations. Ms. Ramos is a business professional who works with business owners and other high-earning employees providing them with quality financial analysis and strategies. She is active in organizations such as the National Association of Women Business Owners. Ms. Ramos serves as President for the New York State Federation of Hispanic Chambers of Commerce. Ms. Ramos is a strong advocate for the benefit of minority and women-owned businesses. Ms. Ramos was recently named US Army Advocate of the Month in April 2011.
For Sponsorship Opportunities and additional information visit http://www.hcnewyork.com/
The Hispanic Coalition NY is committed to empowering through education and by serving as a forum for engaging the public in a cultural exchange of ideas and views on social, civic, educational, and economic issues affecting the Hispanic-Latino Community.