Educational Workshop Hosted by NSHMBA

In response to current economic challenges, many professionals are considering going back to school to acquire new skills and enhance their competitive edge. The National Society of Hispanic MBAs (NSHMBA) is hosting an MBA workshop on April 2, 2009 from 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm. All the major business schools of the DC metropolitan area will be represented at this workshop to showcase their educational programs.

The workshop will take place at The Johns Hopkins University’s Dupont Circle Campus. ALPFA-DC members and friends are invited to attend. For more details, a flier is available at: http://www.nshmba.org/email/washingtondc/040209event.htm

ALPFA-DC Represented in Tax Assistance Event

On Saturday, March 21, 2009, Noel Nazario, ALPFA-DC Director of Communications, represented our Chapter at the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program at the Falls Church, VA SkillSource Center. Mr. Nazario helped by translating for Spanish speakers having trouble communicating with volunteer tax preparers. This event coincided with the IRS’s Super Saturday tax assistance event where approximately 250 IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TAC) and hundreds of community-based free tax help sites nationwide opened their doors to assist people who earn $42,000 or less and others having problems paying their taxes.

Tax assistance is provided at the Falls Church SkillSource Center on Wednesdays and Saturdays. There is great need for Spanish speakers that can assist with translation. ALPFA-DC is organizing a group of volunteers that will come to the Falls Church SkillSource Center on April 4 from 9am to 11:30 am. Both translators and IRS-certified tax preparers are needed. If you are interested in participating please write to Communications@washingtondc.alpfa.org and write VITA on the subject line.

During the event, we also learned about the following:
-- The Fifth Annual MEGA Job Fair & Entrepreneurship Expo will take place on Saturday, March 28, 2009 from 10 am – 2 pm at the Fairfax County Government Center. The Center is located at 12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax, VA 22035. For more information, please call 703-533-5754.
-- The organization Our Daily Bread is offering a 6-week financial education program. This program takes place during 6 Tuesday evenings, from on April 14 through May 19, 2009. The location is the Falls Church Human Services Building at 6245 Leesburg Pike in Falls Church. There is a nominal charge of $10.00 to cover administrative costs and materials. If interested, please contact Our Daily Bread at 703-273-8829.

ALPFA Career Center

ALPFA and iHispano.com are working together to provide Hispanic professionals with career opportunities from the nation's premier employers. In the last week, ALPFA's Career Center has received over 2,300 new job postings. With almost 600,000 newly unemployed people last month, competition for new job opportunities is strong. Part of ALPFA's mission is to provide members with access to new job opportunities and robust career enhancement tools. As Fortune 1000 companies come out of this economic downturn, they are posting their career opportunities on ALPFA's Career Center because of the quality of our members and the fine quality of the candidates on our site.

Don't let these opportunities pass you by, login to the Career Center and click on Job Search now to find your next great career opportunity. If you're not actively seeking employment right now, you can prepare for uncertain times by setting up a Job Agent now. A Job Agent is a personalized, automated job hunting tool that searches ALPFA's database every day for new postings that meet your desired location and industry criteria. When matches are found, our Job Agent forwards you those job announcements by e-mail. To enable your Job Agent, click on Manage Job Agent on your Job Seeker homepage.

CNC Honors Velazquez and Diaz-Balart

On March 11, 2009 ALPFA-DC Board members Angela De Jesus and Noel Nazario (KPMG) attended the Cuban-American National Council’s (CNC) Hispanic Leadership Celebration honoring Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), and Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL). The Cuban American National Council (CNC) is a non-profit organization providing human services to persons in need from all racial and ethnic groups. CNC assists individuals to become self reliant, and builds bridges among America’s diverse communities. (http://www.cnc.org/)

Guarione M. Diaz, President and CEO Cuban-American National Council and Alicia Díaz, Director Legislative Policy & Government Relations welcomed everyone and introduced the honorees. Congresswoman Velázquez and Congressman Diaz-Balart recognized the CNC’s achievements, particularly in providing affordable housing and supporting the education of
Hispanic students at risk.

Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez (pictured here with Mr. Nazario) has represented New York's 12th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives since 1993. Congresswoman Velázquez, the first Puerto Rican woman to be elected to Congress, is the first Hispanic woman to serve as Ranking Democratic Member of the House Small Business Committee. She oversees federal programs and contracts totaling $200 billion dollars annually. She also serves on the House Financial Services Committee and is the current chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. (http://www.house.gov/velazquez/)

In her remarks, Congresswoman Velázquez said that there has been "no better time to be a Latino in this country" and added that there is now a record of 24 Hispanics in Congress and that 10 million Hispanics voted in the last election. In the midst of these positive developments many problems still remain. Of the 47 million uninsured in the US, one third are Hispanics and the school drop-out rate of Hispanics is twice that of the general population. She also said our immigration system is broken and called for reform and an end to the immigration raids.

Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart has represented Florida's 21st Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives since 1993. In 1994, Congressman Diaz-Balart became the first Hispanic to be named to the powerful House Rules Committee, which decides what legislation may reach the House Floor and what amendments may be debated. Congressman Diaz-Balart is a senior member of the House Rules Committee and the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Legislative and Budget Process. (http://diaz-balart.house.gov/)

In his remarks, the Congressman praised the work of the CNC and thanked them for their impact in areas such as Little Havana and Hialeah. He also noted he had visited the low-income housing developed by the CNC and seen first hand the impact it has made in many lives.

Just Announced "Women of ALPFA" Event

ALPFA-DC announces our 2009 Women of ALPFA (WOA) event. This event is part of the National WOA program and is one of our Chapter's premier events. As in previous years, Prudential will be the lead sponsor of this event. While WOA is oriented towards the development of women as leaders, this is an inclusive event and all are welcome. Save the date and stay tuned for further details. If you are not an ALPFA-DC member and are not on our Friends of ALPFA mailing list, please send your contact information to Communications@washingtondc.alpfa.org with "WOA Mailing List" in the subject line.

Getting Noticed and Making the Right Connections: Tools For The Current Crisis
Date: Wednesday, May 27th
Time: 6:00pm to 9:00 pm
Location: Renaissance Washington DC Hotel
Address: 999 9th St NW / Washington, DC 20001
Metro: Chinatown/Gallery Place

ALPFA-DC Represented at Congressional Hispanic Caucus Roundtable

Luisa Fernandez, ALPFA-DC President, participated in a roundtable meeting hosted by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) on March 10, 2009 on Capitol Hill. At this roundtable over 50 national Latino advocacy groups presented their concerns and legislative priorities for the 111th Congress. The morning’s discussion provided an opportunity to discuss how the Hispanic advocacy community can best address the challenges facing this country’s 47 million Latinos and further strengthen Hispanics nationwide. Today’s event is the first and most comprehensive roundtable, preparing for a series of more narrow roundtables centered around particular topics varying from the census, healthcare, and veterans’ issues to ensuring Latinos are included in the emerging green economy.

For more details, you can read the full text of the CNC’s press release at http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/ca38_napolitano/morenews/pr031009.html

Joint NABA – BMBA Meeting

In February, our Chapter Vice President, Jason Howell attended the 4th Annual joint General Body Meeting of the National Association of Black Accountants (http://www.nabametrodc.org/) and National Black MBAs (http://www.dcbmbaa.org/home.htm). The event was held at the Vienna, VA offices of PricewaterhouseCoopers (http://www.pwc.com/) and hosted over 100 attendees for the panel discussion "In My New America: Am I Living the Dream?" Panelists that included recruiters, a congressional staffer, a lawyer and PwC Director lead a discussion that centered on what President Barack Obama's election means to minorities. It was a spirited discussion that led to controversial topics surrounding race and professionalism in America. This topic elicited a lively and enlightened discussion involving the presenters and audience members in an environment where all opinions were valued and respected.

ALPFA-DC looks forward to continued participation in events such as this to further relations with other diversity groups in the Washington, DC Metro area.