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2005 Conference Highlights

Our 2005 Conference & Gala was held at the Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines in San Diego, California. This event brought together terrific Latina keynote speakers, leadership training, professional development, financial advice, entrepreneurship experts, artists and authors for a full day of networking, inspiration and training. NHLI also celebrated the accomplishments of two inspirational Hispanic women for their lifetime commitment to the Latino community. Consuelo Castillo Kickbusch, Founder and President of Educational Achievement Services, Inc. (EAS) and a retired Lieutenant Colonel with the U.S. Army received the prestigious National Mujer Award and Eva Pagán Hill, a Clinical Manager for La Nueva Vida Project for The Center for Drug Free Living, Inc. was presented with the Regional Mujer Award.

The conference kicked off on Thursday, November 3rd with a Latina Golf Clinic. On Friday, November 4th we began with an opening keynote address by Maria Marín, President of Voice of Empowerment where she addressed The Art of Negotiations in Business and in Life. Next, the world-renowned Center for Creative Leadership presented a workshop entitled Leadership in Times of Change.

At lunch we had an exciting and empowering panel presentation featuring Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, author of Dirty Girls Social Club; Hon. Nell Soto, California State Senator; Beatriz Olvera Stotzer, CEO of New Capitol; and Ysabel Duron, weekend anchor of KRON 4 Weekend Morning News. The panelists discussed their secrets for success and obstacles they have overcome in life to be successful Latinas in their respective careers.

In the afternoon, there were four concurrent sessions on diverse topics, such as Latina Wealth Building with Wells Fargo Bank; Traveling and Doing Business in Latin America with the U.S. Commerce Department, Continental Airlines, and the Small Business Administration; Leveraging Technology to Compete in the 21st Century with Dell, Inc.; and Meet the Voices Behind Latina Authors, a panel of Latina authors.

In the evening, our Mujer Awards Gala began with an art exhibit reception by featured artists Sina Sutter, Laura Cano, Irene Carranza and Ruth Borges. Sina Sutter donated and commissioned the piece Mujeres Forjando la Paz Mundial to NHLI as the commemorative poster for this event.

NHLI paid tribute to two exceptional Hispanic women who have made lifetime commitments to serving the Hispanic community. This year’s recipient of the National Mujer Award was Consuelo Castillo Kickbusch from Laredo, Texas. Consuelo has dedicated her life to empowering a new generation of Hispanic leaders and she has a strong dedication to saving the youth of America living in the same barrios she did as a child. She has worked with over one million children across the country. EAS is not her first success. She is also a retired Lieutenant Colonel that broke barriers and set records in the military. As a senior officer, she became the highest-ranking Hispanic woman in the Combat Support Field of the United States Army. Consuelo is known as a charismatic, passionate and influential speaker and she carries her powerful message of preparing tomorrow’s leaders today. With her dedication to Latino youth and her distinguished military career, she represents the NHLI’s ideal recipient of the 2005 National Mujer Awards.

Eva Pagán Hill was this year’s recipient of the Regional Mujer Award. Eva’s dedication, selflessness, and inexhaustible service to the Hispanic community of Central Florida is visible in every sector of her community. She is a mental health and human services specialist with over fifteen years of progressive accomplishments, and a Latino advocate from Orlando, Florida. She also writes a bi-weekly newspaper column on family strengthening subjects. She is fully committed to helping the Latino community and exercises her skills and mentorship qualities as a specialist on behalf of the community. She is a gifted speaker and writer who maximizes opportunities to carry her community’s message to everyone with whom she interacts. She is a trusted source of information and an inspiration to many Latinos and is most deserving of the 2005 Regional Mujer Award.

This event was made possible by the sponsorship of: Coors Brewing Company, State Farm Insurance, Nordstrom, Wal-Mart, Wells Fargo, American Airlines, AT&T, Center for Creative Leadership, Dell, Inc., ExxonMobil Foundation, General Motors, MBNA, Microsoft, U.S. Army, Verizon, American Family Insurance, Anheuser Busch, Brinker International, Continental Airlines, AARP, General Mills, Southwest Airlines, Lifetime Television, Sodexho, Washington Mutual, The Cartel Group, Goya Foods, Inc., Darden Restaurants, U.S. Postal Service, Walt Disney Company, Nationwide Insurance, MGM/Mirage, PhRMA, McDonald’s, Discovery Learning, Ford Motor Company and LatinaStyle Magazine.