1999 - 2015
José L. Pérez and former State Senator Richard G. Polanco
History and Purpose of the Latino Leaders’ Reception for Constitutional Officers, Legislators and Appointees Latinos comprise over 40%, or about 14 million, people in California. Latino community access to quality education and economic development is urgent, and, increased civic participation is essential. Attaining these goals remains the Latino community’s greatest challenge and critical task. In 1999, the Latino Journal created the “Latino Leaders’ Reception for Constitutional Officers, Legislators and Appointees” with the support of then chair of the Latino Legislative Caucus, Senator Richard G. Polanco (D – Los Angeles). The purpose of the reception is to help bridge the huge divide between 14 million Hispanics and their government. Since then, some progress can be noted, however, much more needs to be done. In 2015, the Latino Journal will be working with the State of California to seriously consider creating a California Commission on Hispanic Affairs to help develop solutions to major challenges in education, economic development, civic participation and engagement, health care and the list goes on. A goal of this non-partisan commission would be to increase Hispanic economic and social contribution to California’s robust economy. California’s Hispanic community must be effectively engaged at the public policy table in the government sector. Policy issues include education, energy, health, telecommunications, environment, water, economic development, housing, employment, insurance, and more. The Latino Journal, in collaboration with Latino community leaders, will explore ways to increase Hispanic engagement. The goal will be to add value to the stakeholder discussions taking place on these important policy matters. On behalf of all the Latino Journal community and friends, we thank all those leaders and stakeholder groups and companies for supporting this key gathering. This is just another step toward realizing the great potential and capacity of the California Latino community and its contribution to this great State. Warm regards, José L. Pérez
Secretary of State Alex Padilla
Senator Kevin de León Senate President pro Tem Senator Ben Hueso Senator Ed Hernández Senator Ricardo Lara Senator Tony Mendoza
Latino Senate Members
Latino Assembly Members
Assembly Member Luis A. Alejo Assembly Member Anthony Rendón Assembly Member Ian C. Calderón Assembly Member Nora Campos Assembly Member Miguel Santiago Assembly Member Rocky Chavez Assembly Member Cristina García Assembly Member José Medina Assembly Member Susan Talamantes Eggman
Assembly Member Tony Thurmond Assembly Member Jimmy Gómez Assembly Member Roger Hernández Assembly Member Henry T. Perea Assembly Member Patty Lopez Assembly Member Rudy Jr. Salas Assembly Member Lorena González Assembly Member Freddie Rodríguez Assembly Member Eduardo Garcia Assembly Member Eric Linder
Latino Leaders’ Reception Program Constitutional Officers & Legislators Tom Torlakson, Superintendent of Public Instruction Awards Outstanding Public Service Award • Senator Kevin de León, Senate President pro Tem • Assembly Member Luis Alejo, Chair, Latino Legislative Caucus Outstanding Private Sector Leadership Award • Dennis Arriola, President, Southern California Gas • Dorene Dominguez, Chairman, Vanir Group of Companies Special CAFÉ de California & Latino Journal Award • Carlos Gutierrez, Consul General, Mexico Latina Spirit Awards Program ends and networking continues
With distinguished Co-Hosts: LBA CLSBA COFEM TELACU ARCHES GROW Elect SACLATINO El Observador United Latinos SHPE LA Chapter Congress of Seniors Latino Med Journal American GI Forum Hispanics In Energy District XIII LULAC Lorenzo Patino LULAC CAFÉ de California, Inc. The Greenlining Institute Eastern Group Publications Spanish Language Academy Latino Social Work Network Chicano/Latino Caucus, CDP Latino Physicians of California Latino Leadership & Policy Forum Chicano Consortium of Sacramento California Latino Legislative Caucus California Latino Capitol Association California Latino Physicians Consortium San Francisco Latino Builders Association American GI Forum – Cesar Chavez Chapter Service Disabled Veteran Business Owners, Inc. CA Legislative Caucus Institute for Public Policy Latinos in Information Science Technology, Nor Cal
Special thanks to CAFÉ de California, Inc.
A Special Tribute To Some Latino School Board Members and Executives Diana Rodriguez, Sacramento City Unified School District Gustavo Arroyo, Sacramento City Unified School District Tony Perez, Elk Grove Unified School District (Highest vote getter in State with over 40, 000 votes, 4th largest in California) Rene Aguilera, Roseville Joint Unified School District Saul Hernandez, San Juan Unified School District Rebecca Sandoval, Twin Rivers Unified School District Walter Garcia Kawamoto, Twin Rivers Unified School District Michelle Rivas, Twin Rivers Unified School District Dr. Susan Heredia, Natomas Unified School District Deborah Ortiz, Los Rios Community College District Brian Rivas, Sacramento County Board of Education Alicia Cruz, Washington Unified School District Katie Villegas, Washington Unified School District Angel Barajas, Woodland Unified School District Sam Blanco III, Woodland Unified School District Dr. Cirenio Rodriguez, Woodland Unified School District Xavier Gamez, Yolo County Board of Education Dr. Jesse Ortiz, Yolo County Board of Education Dr. Jorge O. Ayala, YCOE Supt. Xavier Tafoya, Yuba Community College District Sara Cazares, Stockton Unified School District Sal Ramirez, Stockton Unified School District David Varela, Stockton Unified School District Kathy Garcia, Stockton Unified School District
Partial List of Past Award Recipients Former Governor Gray Davis Former Lt. Governor Cruz M. Bustamente Former State Senator Deborah Ortiz Former Assembly Member Gil Cedillo Former Assemblymember Robert Pacheco Commissioner Catherine J.K. Sandoval, CPUC Commissioner Timothy Alan Simon, CPUC Carlos Ramos, Secretary, California Technology Agency Former Assembly Member Gwen Moore Ron Litzinger, President, Southern California Edison Vicki Zeiger, VP, Human Resources, San Diego Gas & Electric Frank Quevedo, VP, EEO, Southern California Edison Melanie R. Martel, Publisher, Stars of the Savanna Orsen Aguilar, Executive Director, Greenlining Institute Ruben Guerra, Chair, Latin Business Association Roy M. Perez, Chair, California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce Melinda Guzman, Former Trustee of the CSU System Former Governor of New Mexico, Jerry Apodaca Joan Kerr, Director of Supplier Diversity, PG&E David & Priscilla Lizarraga, TELACU Education Foundation Scott Drury, VP Human Resources & Inclusion, SDG&E Rafael Sanchez, Former Treasurer, U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Neptaly Aguilera, President, CAFÉ de California Superior Court Judge David De Alba Nancy Zarenda, Spanish Language Academy President Michael R. Peevey, CPUC Joe Alderete, Director of Supplier Diversity, So Cal Edison Cynthia Marshall, VP External Affairs, AT&T Ken McNeely, President, AT&T External Affairs Anna Caballero, Secretary, State & Consumers Services Agency Jerry Apodaca, Governor, New Mexico Fred Millar, Chair, Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Thanks The 2015 Reception Sponsors
On behalf of the Latino community, the Latino Journal sincerely thanks these sponsors for their consideration and support for this important leadership gathering.
& CAFÉ DE CALIFORNIA HONOR Carlos González Gutiérrez Consul General of México in Sacramento, California
Carlos González Gutiérrez was appointed Consul General of Mexico in Sacramento, California, on May 4th, 2009, with jurisdiction over twenty-four counties in Northeastern California. He has been a member of the Mexican Foreign Service since 1987 and has held the following posts in Mexico and abroad:
Consul for Community Affairs at the Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles, Ca. (1989-1995).
Director for Community Affairs at the Program for Mexican Communities Abroad at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico (1995-1999).
Counselor for Latino Affairs at the Embassy of Mexico in Washington, D. C. (19992003).
Executive Director of the Institute for Mexicans Abroad at Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2003-2009).
In September 2011, he was promoted to the rank of Ambassador.
Consul General Gonzalez Gutiérrez has a BA degree in International Relations from El Colegio de Mexico and a Master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Southern California. He is the author of several publications about the Mexican population in the United States. He is married and has two daughters.
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CAFÉ DE CALIFORNIA
SPIRIT OF LATINA AWARDS ON THIS 14TH DAY OF JANUARY 2015
IN RECOGNITION OF EXEMPLARY ACHIEVEMENTS WHICH SERVE AS A MODEL FOR AND STRENGTHEN THE REPRESENTATION OF LATINAS IN PUBLIC SERVICE AND LEADERSHIP ROLES.
LATINO LEADERS RECEPTION LATINA ADVISORS CAROLINE CABIAS VIANEY NUÑEZ ALICIA BUGARIN NANCY ZARENDA ANITA MACALUSO
Spirit of Latina Award Margarita Maldonado Vice President of Bargaining Service Employees International Union Local 1000 Margarita Maldonado has dedicated a quarter of a century to public service. While working as an Information Systems Analyst for the California Department of Justice, she got involved with her union and soon became the Chair of Local 1000’s Bargaining Unit 1, the largest civil-sector bargaining unit in the State of California. From there she was elected Local 1000’s Vice President of Bargaining, where she’s led contract negotiations for over 95,000 state workers. Leadership development is at the heart of Margarita’s work as a union leader. Whether she’s collaborating with Local 1000 shop stewards on improving working conditions, sharing information with union activists on legislative issues, or working with colleagues at SEIU’s California State Council where she serves on the Executive Board, Margarita’s approach has always been to help provide information, resources and moral support to those interested in growing into leadership. Margarita grew up–and is raising her family–in Sacramento, but maintains deep ties to the Central Valley, where her extended family lives. It is there where she has participated in coalition-building between regional churches, community groups and labor organizations fighting for jobs, better wages and retirement security for residents in the area. Forging strong ties among community stakeholders committed to the struggle for economic and social justice has been Margarita’s passion from the beginning
Spirit of Latina Award
Virginia Madueno President - IMAGEN, LLC. Virginia Madueno is the President of IMAGEN, LLC, a communications firm she established in 2001, President of AAEC, Inc. (American Agriculture Export Company), she is also Vice President of US Government Relations for the Sino American Trade Development Association in Beijing China. Her advocacy work has touched many complex and social issues in the San Joaquin Valley including gangs, narcotics, childhood obesity, environmental justice, sustainable communities, higher education, health care access, economic development, global trade, land use and transportation planning. She is a former council member and Mayor for the City of Riverbank California. She has a BA in Communications from CSU Stanislaus and is a graduate of the 2006 JFK School of Government at Harvard National Hispana Leadership Institute (NHLI), a fellowship program which recognizes 22 women in the nation to further develop their leadership abilities. Virginia was awarded the 2008 Trailblazer Business of the Year by the National Association of Women Business Owners and Wells Fargo and was awarded the 2008 Latina Style Magazine Business of the Year Award, where she was awarded the Anna Maria Arias scholarship to attend the Dartmouth School of Business Minority Enterprise Program in 2009. Most recently, Virginia was awarded the 2014 La Raza Award by El Concilio (Council for the Spanish Speaking) and was appointed to the California Commission on Boating and Waterways by Governor Jerry Brown in March 2013. Virginia serves on the Board of Directors for the Gallo Center for the Arts, Board of Directors for the Central Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Board Member for the Stanislaus Family Justice Center, Board Member for Communities for a New California and Advisory Member to the President's Council at California State University Stanislaus.
Spirit of Latina Award
Cynthia Moreno Capitol Correspondent for Vida en el Valle Cynthia Moreno is a Capitol Correspondent for Vida en el Valle, the bilingual newspaper of the Sacramento Bee and the second largest bilingual newspaper in the country (and the best bilingual newspaper in the country for the last 11-years in its 23-year history by the National Association of Hispanic Publications). She covers the Latino Community with a special focus on politics, education and culture, reporting from California’s State Capitol in Sacramento. She is the recipient of the prestigious McClatchy President’s Award two years consecutively for stories on Latinos. Last year, she was selected as a New York Times FelIow for The Changing Face of America: Immigration and the Politics of Reform at the University of California, Berkeley, Graduate School of Journalism. She was also the only print reporter selected at the National Association of Hispanic Journalists Special Reporting Session with CNN News Network Vice-President of Talent and Recruitment, Ramon Escobar. She has reported on cultural issues in Mexico, has spoken about Latino politics on NPR public radio in both Mexico and the United States following the re-election of President Barack Obama and has sat on panel discussions to speak on the State of Latinos in issues ranging from immigration, education and culture. She was formerly the general assignment reporter for Vida en el Valle in Fresno and a television talk show host for the program, ‘Acento Comunitario’ on Azteca America—one of the Central Valley’s Premier Spanish Language Television networks.
Spirit of Latina Award
Rachel Rios Executive Director of La Familia Counseling Center, Inc. Rachel Rios believes you don’t need a title to be a leader. She enjoys encouraging and supporting others in reaching their potential and shared that creating leadership opportunities is the best part of her job. Rachel is proud of La Familia, an organization with over 40 years of service to the community. Through the years, the organization has stayed true to the original mission and values keeping the community’s interest at the forefront, which has earned a trust and respect within the community. Rachel credits that reputation to past and present staff for their dedication, culture of compassion, talents, skills, and professionalism. Rachel has had a unique and exciting career path, starting as a counselor in non-profit agencies, and then becoming a Parole Agent, holding increasing levels of responsibility and leadership in the Division of Juvenile Justice (formerly the California Youth Authority). Eventually, she became the Director of Juvenile Parole and as the second female in the history of California Youth Authority to be the Director of the entire state Juvenile Justice system. As she says, “not bad for a kid who was a runaway”. Rachel enjoyed a long and successful career in juvenile justice, but is most proud of making the full circle to once again work in the community. As a youth, the assistance of community agencies made a difference in her life and so she is very proud to be working with an amazing organization like La Familia.
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