FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:
July 9, 2015 Julian Teixeira
(202) 776-1812
jteixeira@nclr.org
NCLR also welcomes new executive officers and Board members
WASHINGTON, D.C.—NCLR (National Council of La Raza) is pleased to announce that Renata Soto, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Nashville-based nonprofit Conexión Américas, has been elected Chair of the NCLR Board of Directors. She has served as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors since 2012 and is the first Central American and Tennessean to fill the position.
“Through her exemplary work at Conexión Américas, Renata has built a reputation as a fierce advocate for Latinos and a valuable asset for the Nashville community with the leadership skills and vision to achieve everything that she sets out to accomplish,” stated Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO. “Conexión Américas has become a model for nonprofits across the country thanks in part to Renata’s determination to help Latinos achieve the American Dream. We are excited to welcome Renata as the new Chair of the Board of Directors at NCLR, a position in which she will certainly leave her stamp on the organization.”
Under the leadership of Soto, who co-founded the organization in 2002, Conexión Américas has flourished as a premiere nonprofit in the Nashville area, using a comprehensive approach to promote the social, economic and civic integration of Latino families. The organization currently assists nearly 6,000 families annually through its nationally recognized programs that help Latino families and individuals learn English, pay taxes, start a business, become homeowners, and help their children succeed in school and go to college. Soto was also instrumental in the creation of Casa Azafrán, which houses Conexión Américas and a number of other nonprofits, serving as a community gathering place and social services hub for Nashville residents. Last year, President Obama held a town hall on immigration at Casa Azafrán.
“I’m delighted to become the new Chair of the NCLR Board of Directors,” Soto said. “I have worked closely with NCLR for many years and look forward to continuing to partner with Janet, the Board, staff and affiliated community-based organizations to create greater opportunities for Hispanic Americans. This is an exciting time as we head toward the 2016 elections with growing recognition of the importance of Latinos to the future of our great nation.”
Soto has also helped to ensure that Nashville remains a vibrant and inclusive community as a founding member of the Nashville for All of Us coalition, which helped defeat an “English-only” referendum in 2009. She has been repeatedly honored for her leadership and commitment to the Nashville community, earning her induction into the YWCA Academy for Women of Achievement in 2012 and receiving recognition as the 2013 “Nashvillian of the Year” from the Nashville Scene. She was recently selected for the 2015 Pahara-Aspen Education Fellowship.
In addition to Soto, the members of the NCLR Board of Directors’ Executive Committee are:
• Maria S. Salinas, Vice Chair (Los Angeles)
• Catherine Pino, Secretary (Falls Church, Va.)
• Beatriz Olvera-Stotzer, Treasurer (Los Angeles)
• Jorge A. Plasencia, Immediate Past Chair (Miami)
• Janet Murguía, President and CEO (Washington, D.C.)
The Members at Large are:
• Luis Avila (Phoenix)
• Sergio Gonzalez (Miami)
• Dr. Edwin Meléndez (New York)
• J. Walter Tejada (Arlington, Va.)
The NCLR Board also welcomed several new members:
• Ruby Azurdia-Lee, President, CLUES (Minneapolis)
• John Esquivel, retired Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer and Associate General Counsel, Shell Oil Company (Houston)
• Michael G. Johnson, Chief Human Resource Officer and Vice President of Human Resources–Global Employee Services, UPS (Atlanta)
• Celena Roldán-Moreno, Executive Director, Erie Neighborhood House (Chicago)
• Rossana Rosado, Distinguished Lecturer, John Jay College (New York)
NCLR’s Board is a 24-member body composed of elected officials and representatives of community-based organizations, the corporate sector and academia. Board members reflect the diversity of Hispanic nationality groups and the geographic distribution of the U.S. Hispanic population. By mandate, the Board must include equal representation of men and women.
NCLR—the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States—works to improve opportunities for Latinos. For more information on NCLR, please visit www.nclr.org, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
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