Business leaders to showcase economic power of Latinos at a summit

Latino business leaders will gather this week for the 14th Annual Wall Street Summit in New York City to showcase the critical role Latinos play in the U.S. economy.

The three-day summit, held on Nov. 18-20 at the Waldorf Astoria New York hotel, will convene Latino business leaders and connect them with government officials, entrepreneurs, investors and Wall Street leaders. More than 300 participants are expected to attend the event hosted by the New America Alliance (NAA), which is composed of Latino entrepreneurs and business leaders committed to giving back to their communities.

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Frank Herrera, Jr., who chairs the NAA board, said the summit presents an opportunity to “showcase the valuable contributions by American Latino businesses to the U.S. economy.”

“The NAA welcomes collaboration from all sectors to ensure that the American Latino community seizes new opportunities to spur job growth and build wealth while increasing our political participation and educational attainment,” Herrera added.

At the summit, participants will examine how Latinos are strengthening the U.S. economy. They will also have an opportunity to attend various panel discussions, including one focused on young Latinos moving up the ranks and another one highlighting the work mayors have done to revitalize local economies.

Participants will also have an opportunity to learn about the NAA’s American Latina Leadership Caucus, which will be launched at the summit. One of the purposes of the caucus will be to promote Latinas to a variety of high-level positions.

In addition, the summit will also feature the 15th Anniversary Gala commemorating the NAA’s role in advocating for issues that are important to Latino business leaders. Those issues include access to corporate and pension fund boards, greater availability of investment capital and investing in education and mentorship for Latino students and entrepreneurs.

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Maria del Pilar Avila, CEO of the NAA, said the NAA’s 15th anniversary celebration “is a testament to the generosity of NAA members who have given their intellect, time and treasure to the organization, aggregating small business membership contributions of over $5 Million since 1999.”

“We will celebrate the unique strength and character of the American Latino community as we continue our work to build on American Latino success to forge a stronger America,” she added.

The NAA was founded in 1999 shortly after Henry Cisneros, former U.S. secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and Raul Yzaguirre, former U.S. ambassador to the Dominican Republic, organized a meeting with about 30 prominent Latino leaders. They shared the same vision of working together to advance the economic development of Latinos in the U.S.

Today, the group is made up of more than 100 Latino entrepreneurs and business leaders.

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