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Julio A. Fuentes is President & CEO of Hispanic CREO. He currently serves as the President of the Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and founded the organization in response to the tremendous growth of Florida's Hispanic population.
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Julio A. Fuentes, President & CEO of Hispanic Council for Reform and Educational Options (Hispanic CREO). Mr. Fuentes’s mission is to create awareness of the educational crisis that exists within the Hispanic community nationally by empowering Hispanic parents to become advocates for their children. Mr. Fuentes is also the President of the Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (FSHCC). In 2000, he founded the chamber in response to the tremendous growth of Florida’s Hispanic population. Today the chamber has grown to 38 chapters and manages a database of over 80,000 minority-owned businesses. Mr. Fuentes, of Cuban descent, received his degree in Business Administration from Iona College, located in New Rochelle, New York. After graduating, he began his career as an Investment Associate with Merrill Lynch from 1990-1992. For the next six years, Mr. Fuentes continued his career on Wall Street as an Investment Banker. He currently serves on the Step Up for Students’s Governance Board, the Board of Directors for Florida Kidcare, Chairman of Latin CEO, appointed by Former Gov. Charlie Crist as the Commissioner for A Blueprint for Juvenile Justice Reform, served on Gov. Rick Scott’s Education Transition Team, and appointed to Former Gov. Mitt Romney’s Education Policy Committee. In addition, Florida Trend Magazine ranked Mr. Fuentes as one of Florida’s 100 Most Influential Leaders. Mr. Fuentes resides in Wellington, Florida with his wife and two kids, Nicholas and Gabriella.
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Christina M. Martínez is the Owner and CEO of Adelante Public Affairs and Communications, a company specializing in corporate and community positioning, government advocacy and multi-media marketing solutions at the local and national level for Fortune 500 companies and nonprofit organizations.
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Christina serves as the Arizona State Director for the Hispanic Council for Reform and Educational Options. In just a short amount of time, Christina has worked to mobilize community leaders and elected officials across the state to address the needs of students in failing schools and students needing special assistance. Along with her partners, she has touched the lives of thousands of Latino children and given them hope for a better future. A resident of the Valley of the Sun, Christina is the Owner and CEO of Adelante Public Affairs and Communications, a company specializing in corporate and community positioning, government advocacy and multi-media marketing solutions at the local and national level for Fortune 500 companies and nonprofit organizations. Christina attended Benedictine University at Springfield and the University of Illinois graduating with a Bachelors degree in social work and sociology and a Master's degree in communications with a focus in interpersonal relations. Christina is also a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government Executive Leadership Program, the Center for Creative Leadership and the National Hispana Leadership Institute Executive Fellowship historic 25th anniversary class. Christina's passion for politics, community service and education takes her around Arizona and the country as an advocate for her diverse portfolio of clients. She serves on the board of Emerge Arizona and is the volunteer national media and communications coordinator for the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute.
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Albert Collazo is the Progam Director Hispanic CREO. Mr. Collazo has vast experience in multicultural marketing and communications with extensive networks at the national, local and state levels.
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Mr. collazo's experience in strategic alliance development, public relations, advocacy, and marketing have taken him to the national scene as one of the leading spokespersons and advocates in the areas of health and wellness, education, civil rights, economic/Hispanic-owned business development. He is an integral part of the Latino corporate and policy leadership focusing on community-based outreach and education, social marketing and cultural competency. Albert has extensive experience managing Ford Motor Company’s National Hispanic Communications team in Latino markets in the U.S., and also oversees Miami’s Enhanced Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Prevention Planning for the White House Initiative on HIV/AIDS. Albert has worked with other global corporations including Pfizer, Coca-Cola, and AstraZeneca. Albert also ran the U.S. Hispanic Alliance Development program for PhRMA for over 10 years. Albert is an integral member of the Hispanic CREO team, overseeing state programs in key Hispanic markets in the U.S. Albert currently serves on numerous boards including the National Puerto Rican Coalition Executive Board of Directors, National Hispanic Council on Aging Corporate Board of Advisors, the CNC Business Advisory Council, LULAC Corporate Board, Board member of the Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Little Havana Activities & Nutrition Centers Executive Board, and the Health Council of South Florida. Albert was born in Puerto Rico and is of Cuban decent. He has resided in Florida since the age of 4 and chooses to make Florida home because of its cultural mix, proximity to the Caribbean and Latin America, and mostly because of Florida’s rich diversity, tropical climate, its beaches and exciting tourism industry.
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Lorena Castillo is Chairwoman of CHISPA and a proud teacher with 17 years experience in the public school system.
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Lorena Castillo is a proud teacher with 17 years’ experience in the public school system. She was born in Managua, Nicaragua, where she received her advanced degree as a school teacher in Natural Science and Biology. She later founded a school, Jardin de Infantes Rubenia, and served as its director. Her mother taught herself how to read and write in a closet so her father could not see her and she instilled in Lorena the deep rooted belief that every child, rich or poor, male or female, and of any ethnic origin has the God given right to a quality education. She arrived in the United States over 20 years ago to provide her children with a better future due to the civil war in Nicaragua. She received a Master’s Degree in Science Education in Florida State University and began her PhD in Curtin University in Australia. For the past 20 years Lorena has devoted her life to her mother's vision that every child she comes across walk away from her class knowing how important an education is to their future. This is her passion, her mission and her purpose in life.
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Dr. Rene Rodriguez is a Board Executive of Hispanic CREO. He founded the Interamerican College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1972 and continues to serve as president.
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Dr. Rene Rodriguez founded the Interamerican College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1972 and continues to serve as president. He has received numerous awards for his talents and progress in the field of medicine, including the Leadership Award from the National Unity of Hispanic Physicians and the Honor Leadership Award from the National Hispanic Medical Association. Affiliations include American Medical Association, American College of Surgeons, Spanish American Medical Society of New York, Association of Foreign Medical Graduates, Pan American Medical Association, Sociedad Hispanic-Americana de Ortopedia y Traumatologia, World Medical Association, Association of Military Surgeons of U.S.A. and the PanAmerican Medical Society. He is a published author and certified through the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery.
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Melissa Myers is a Board Executive of Hispanic CREO and a founding trustee and Houston businesswoman with 10 years of experience gratefully serving inner-city, predominantly Latino communities working in the Real Estate and mortgage industries.
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Ms. Melissa Myers is a founding trustee and Houston businesswoman with 10 years of experience gratefully serving inner-city, predominantly Latino communities while working in the Real Estate and mortgage industries. She is also a co-founder of Ambuhealth, Inc., a durable medical equipment/prosthetic company, servicing the diabetic minority community in Houston. Ms. Myers's commitment and passion for the improvement of education for underserved children began when she was invited to serve as a Director of Business Development for Advantage Schools, Inc., an education management organization, concentrating on the development and management of charter schools. She visited and worked in unban inner-city areas that experienced severe challenges in public education and could greatly benefit from a quality choice in states such as Texas, Atlanta, Florida, Louisiana, and California. She has traveled to research school districts, visited with mayors, school board members, city council members, concerned parents and community leaders that had serious concerns about inadequacy in their community schools and that wanted more information about the charter school option. Ms. Myers is grateful to serve on this board and wishes to create a new improved paradigm in improving our children's education through quality choice.
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Edwin Rodriguez is Board Executive of Hispanic Creo and president of Connectiv Solutions, LLC, a government relations, business development, general management, and management consulting firm as well as Connectiv NMTC Solutions, LLC. Ed’s career spanned the public, private and non-profit sectors as well as military service.
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Edwin Rodriguez is president of Connectiv Solutions, LLC, a government relations, business development, general management, and management consulting firm as well as Connectiv NMTC Solutions, LLC, a state-wide certified community development entity focused on new markets tax credit project financing; both firms are based in Tallahassee, Florida. In addition, Mr. Rodriguez is Florida Director of Progress through Business, Inc., a not-for-profit organization focused on stimulating business and economic development in U.S. underserved communities. A native of San Juan, Puerto Rico Mr. Rodriguez speaks Spanish and some Portuguese. Mr. Rodriguez’s education includes a BA from the University of Texas at Austin, an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, and an MPA from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Also, he is a graduate of the National Community Development Lending School. Mr. Rodriguez was founding chair of the Florida Black Chamber of Commerce, chaired the Florida A&M University International Business Advisory Council, served on the U.S. Department of Treasury Community Development Advisory Board (presidential appointment) as well as the U.S. Small Business Administration Regulatory Fairness Board, and currently serves on the SBA North Florida District Advisory Council as well as the boards of the Hispanic Council for Reform and Educational Options, the Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Florida Black Chamber of Commerce.