PRESS RELEASE
March 24, 2014

NHLA AND POLITICAL PARITY KICK OFF INITIATIVE ON CAPITOL HILL TO RECRUIT MORE LATINAS TO PUBLIC OFFICE
Administration and Latina Elected Officials join launch of “LatinasRepresent”, a convening highlighting a roadmap for Latinas to elected office and federal appointment

WASHINGTON, DC – Political and civic leaders from around the country gathered today for the Washington, D.C. launch of LatinasRepresent and the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda’s (NHLA) Latina Task Force. This summit serves to launch the new Latina Task Force while increasing awareness around NHLA’s Latino Appointment Program, which seeks to increase Latino representation in political appointments made by the President and Governors, and LatinasRepresent, a new non-partisan partnership of Political Parity and NHLA that seeks to raise awareness around the fact that although there are 25 million Latinas in the U.S., Latinas hold just one percent of seats in state and federal elected office (109 of 8,236).

Hector Sanchez, Chair of the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda and Executive Director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, stated: “There are 25 million – and growing every day – Latinas in our nation, yet our legislative bodies look nothing like the diverse constituencies of our country. The LatinasRepresent movement is about much more than fairness. It is about ensuring that the voices of millions of women are represented at all levels of government.”

LatinasRepresent is the first initiative of its kind. The DC launch is an all-day event where policy experts will highlight the Latina perspective on key issues such as civil rights, economic empowerment, education, health, immigration reform and more. Inspirational Latina elected officials, appointees, and leaders will join throughout the day and share advice and reflect on their personal experiences with political leadership. The day will close with a special networking reception celebrating the Latina leaders who are making a difference in the nation’s capital -- the nine Latina Members of Congress.

“We are excited to launch the NHLA’s Latina Task Force. As our community continues to grow, our hope is that this task force will play a key role in the advancement of diversity, equity and inclusion of Latina women at all levels. We now have a platform that will allow us to help ensure that issues of particular importance to Latinas or that disproportionately impact Latinas are given voice and integrated into the national conversation,” said Rosie Hidalgo, Co-Chair of the NHLA Latina Task Force and Director of Public Policy, Casa de Esperanza: National Latin@ Network for Healthy Families and Communities.

Panelists and speakers at the event included Latina Members of Congress; Philadelphia Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez; Marni Allen, Director of Political Parity; Alejandra Ceja, Executive Director of the White House Initiative for Educational Excellence for Hispanics; Vilma Colom, former President of the National Conference of Puerto Rican Women and former Alderman to the 35th Ward in the City of Chicago; Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, Executive Director of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health; among others.

To join the conversation, you can engage with the hashtag #LatinasRepresent on Twitter or visit www.latinasrepresent.org.

For more information, contact Stephen Eisele at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 617.995.1913 or Melody Gonzales at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 202-508-6917.

Established in 1991, the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA) brings together Hispanic leaders to establish policy priorities that address, and raise public awareness of, the major issues affecting the Latino community and the nation as a whole. Follow @NHLAgenda.

Political Parity is a platform for a wide field of leaders, researchers, and funders who are dedicated to increasing the number of women serving in the highest levels of government. Follow@PoliticalParity.

__________________________________________________________

American GI Forum | ASPIRA Association, Inc. | Avance | Casa de Esperanza | Cuban American National Council | Farmworker Justice | Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities | Hispanic Federation | Hispanic National Bar Association | Labor Council for Latin American Advancement | Latino Justice PRLDEF | League of United Latin American Citizens | MANA, A National Latina Organization | Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund | National Alliance of Latin American & Caribbean Communities | NALEO Educational Fund | National Association of Hispanic Federal Executives | National Association of Hispanic Publications | National Association of Latino Independent Producers | National Conference of Puerto Rican Women, Inc. | National Council of La Raza | National Hispana Leadership Institute | National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators | National Hispanic Council on Aging | National Hispanic Environmental Council | National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts | National Hispanic Media Coalition | National Hispanic Medical Association | National Institute for Latino Policy | National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health | National Puerto Rican Coalition, Inc. | SER – Jobs for Progress National, Inc. | Southwest Voter Registration Education Project | United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce | United States Hispanic Leadership Institute | United States-Mexico Chamber of Commerce | U.S.-Mexico Foundation