NCLR is delighted to invite you to join this year’s grand Latino event: the 2012 NCLR Annual Conference and National Family Expo in Las Vegas, themed “Lead the Way.”
Whether you are a businessperson, professional, family member, advocate, or other person interested in improving the lives of Latinos in the U.S., the NCLR Conference will give you practical knowledge, expert insight, and cutting-edge tools to achieve this goal. Las Vegas, our host city this year, will provide the opportunity for attendees to profit from our Conference resources in a fun and relaxed atmosphere—right in an election battleground state with a large and influential Hispanic population.
Now the details:
When and Where?
Lasting four days, the Conference will take place on July 7–10, 2012 at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Convention Center in Las Vegas.
General Overview
The Conference will host over 50 workshops, four town halls, two featured sessions, two summits, and the 2012 National Latino Family Expo®. Click here for a list of upcoming live stream events that you can watch from home, including town halls and meal events!
Workshops
Conference workshops were designed to create an intimate setting for experts to discuss issues of importance to the Latino community and receive input and questions from attendees. This year, workshops will be presented by UPS, Prudential, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Central Intelligence Agency, and many others, along with NCLR staff from around the country. Workshop tracks include Community and Family Wealth-Building, Workforce Development, Education, The Latina Perspective, Community Empowerment, Policy, Affiliate/Nonprofit Management, Digital Business, and The LGBT Familia. A complete list of Conference workshops may be found here.
Featured Sessions
The Conference will also include two featured sessions that explore topics of current particular importance to Latinos in the U.S. This year’s sessions include: “A Defining Moment: The Supreme Court’s Arizona Decision and Beyond,” which explores the passage of Arizona’s anti-immigrant law, SB 1070, in April 2010; and “The Adelante Movement (Move Forward!),” which explores a grassroots movement founded by Nely Galán that unites and empowers Latinas socially, economically, and politically in the U.S. To learn more about the featured sessions, check out our Conference Pocket Agenda.
Town Halls
Getting the Latino community acquainted with the political representatives in charge of creating and enacting policy is key to NCLR. In this spirit, Conference presents a series of town halls to inform and empower Latinos in areas of critical importance to Hispanic communities. The town halls being presented this year include: “We Have Seen the Future, and the Future Is Ours” (Líderes youth summit town hall), “From Vote to Voz: Harnessing the Power of the Latino Electorate” “¡Salud! Eliminating Disparities That Block Good Health among Latinos,” and “Don’t Quit the Dream: A Vision for Homeownership Beyond 2012.” For details on the town halls visit our site here.
Other Events
If you have attended an NCLR Conference before, you know there is always something going on. This year, special events being presented include the Health Summit immediately preceding Conference and the Líderes Summit—a four-day leadership summit for students.
The most popular events always include our evening concerts; some of the artists performing this year include Intocable, Prince Royce and A.B. Quintanilla with special appearances by Pepe Aguilar and Taboo from The Black Eyed Peas.
The National Latino Family Expo is free and open to the public (and great for families!) and will feature displays and entertainment from Walmart, Johnson & Johnson, Walgreens, Honey Nut Cheerios©, BMW, McDonalds USA, PepsiCo, among others, as well as appearances by telenovela star Juan Soler, renowned food and lifestyle expert Ingrid Hoffmann, actor and singer Pee Wee, and other stars.
Featured Speakers
In extending personal invitations to this year’s speakers, NCLR was aiming for valuable and inspirational talks. NCLR is incredibly pleased to be hosting such keynote speakers as the Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden, and the U.S. Attorney General, Hon. Eric Holder; motivational speaker Suze Orman, Housing and Urban Development Secretary, Shaun Donovan; and President and CEO of NCLR, Janet Murguía. Other featured speakers include Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto; Nely Galán, founder of The Adelante Movement; and actress Gina Rodriguez. This is only a snapshot of an impressive list of speakers who will address participants at the 2012 Annual Conference.
Get Involved
As this event moves forward, we will be keeping you updated via Facebook and Twitter. And we want to hear from you! Use the #NCLR12 or #LeadtheWay hashtags to contribute your ideas, suggestions, or questions on Twitter, or comment and “Like” posts on our Facebook page.