Latino News
News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASELatino Promotions, the Latino Educational Resource and Speaker’s Bureau Celebrates Five Years of Serving the Latino CommunityIrvington, NY — July 27, 2004 — “When I started this company five years ago I was committed to promoting the positive contributions Latinos have made to this country,” says Elizabeth Garcia, President and Founder of Latino Promotions. Founded in 1999, Latino Promotions serves as an educational resource for those interested in learning about Latinos in the United States by promoting dynamic and motivational Latino Speakers.
“As a college student at Brown University, I remember craving for models of highly educated Latinos,” says Garcia. “I wanted to create an alternative way for Latino students to have access to such role models. That was the driving force behind Latino Promotions.” For the past five years Latino Promotions’ Speakers have presented in colleges and universities throughout the country.
Latino Promotions’ Speakers include notable poets and literary writers such as Martin Espada and Aurora Levins Morales, performers such as Maria Aponte and Magdalena Gomez, Latino diversity experts such as Jorge Zeballos and Victor Rodriguez, and numerous Latino scholars specializing in areas of Latino culture, history and politics.
So how is she celebrating her five years of serving the Latino community? Garcia states, “ We are reaching beyond the college and university audience and have put an expansion plan in place. We will be actively looking for new speakers, particularly those with topics that are of interest to a wider audience including the business sector.”
True to its original educational mission, Latino Promotions is also tailoring their services to teachers and school administrators. “ As the Latino population continues to increase, teachers and school administrators are feeling the pressures of an influx of Latino students in their schools. They are rarely equipped with the skills to understand and serve the needs of these students, ” says Garcia. Speakers such as Leticia Garza-Falcon, Felix Padilla, and Luz Maria Umpierre with their diverse training and background are experienced in issues related to creating multicultural curriculums and learning environments that are educational and empowering for Latino students.
Although humble about her own achievements, Elizabeth Garcia is quite a role model herself. While running Latino Promotions, she had her first child and received her PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. “I always knew my life was meant to be one of service. I just never imagined how fulfilling and personally empowering it would be.”