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Latina Authors
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Cristina Benitez
For two decades, Cristina Benitez has developed a wide range
of branding and marketing programs that target the growing Latino population in
the U.S. In 1998, she founded Lazos Latinos, a specialty Hispanic, strategic
branding and advertising company based in Chicago. Its mission is to build
leadership by embracing, understanding and respecting Latino employees and
consumers. Formerly senior vice president of ethnic marketing at DraftWorldwide
where spearheaded Dimensión Draft, a nationally recognized study on Hispanics
and direct marketing. This
research was the first of its kind to examine direct opportunities targeting
Hispanic consumers. Before entering the field of marketing, Cristina spent
eight years teaching Spanish at the secondary and college levels. Fluent in
Spanish with conversational skills in French, Italian and German, Cristina
attended the University of Georgia and received her undergraduate and Master's
degrees from Furman University. Cristina is a board member of the Chicago Public Library, the Gateway
Foundation, the Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement, Luna Negra Dance
Theater, and serves on the Audience Development & Diversity Committee of
the Museum of Contemporary Art. She served on the Governor’s Commission on the
Status of Women in Illinois, the Lt. Governor’s Ethnic Advisory Council, and
the Advisory Council of the Women’s Business Development Center. Cristina is
former vice chairman of Directo, the Hispanic Marketing Council of the Direct
Marketing Association and a member of the American Association of Hispanic
Advertising Agencies. She teaches
courses on Hispanic marketing at Columbia College and the Instituto Cervantes
in Chicago and is a mentor to Latino youth for the Youth Economic Empowerment
Initiative. Cristina is a frequent
speaker at national conferences on “Trends in the U.S. Hispanic Market” and
“The Latinization of the United
States”. In 2007, she wrote her
first book, Latinization…How Latino Culture is Transforming the US, garnering
the distinction of being its best selling book in 2007.
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Suzanne Moreno
Suzanne is the Founding President/CEO of Encourage Tomorrow
established in 1997. This educational nonprofit organization was formed to
focus on the needs of young Latinas and has grown from a 10 student pilot
project in Fresno, California, to serving 1,500 students and families
statewide. She also is the President of Ed-Ventures in Education, which
provides trainings and resources. Suzanne received an M.Ed, teaching credential
and an M.S. in Business Management. She is a graduate of HOPE (Hispanas
Organized for Political Equity) and is a founder of the Central California
Latina Network which was formed to address the needs of Latinas in Central
California. She also developed the “Las Hermanitas” Mentoring Program. She was
recently awarded Business Woman of the Year at the Latina Women’s Conference
through the Central California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. She serves on the
Fresno Nonprofit Advancement Council and is involved in many community events
and volunteers with other local non-profits. She is co-author of the book The
Latino’s Guide to Parenting. |
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Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez
Alisa is a journalist and former staff writer for both the Boston
Globe and The Los Angeles Times. Fueled by creative inspiration and the desire
to write the book that she always wanted to read but could never find, she
wrote “The Dirty Girls Social Club.” A publishing phenomenon, released in both
English and Spanish, the novel set off a bidding war between major publishing
houses and became one of the most anticipated novels of the season. Time
Magazine recently named Alisa one of America’s “25 Most Influential Hispanics,”
calling her “The godmother of Chica-lit.” Her other novels include: "Playing
with Boys", "Make Him Look Good", "The Haters", and most recently, “Dirty Girls on
Top”. She is currently the new managing editor for Latino Perspectives magazine, an English-language monthly aimed at Latinos with a household income
above $85,000—“the ‘forgotten’ segment of our population” in her words.
In partnership with the magazine, Alisa will soon be delivering a weekly
broadcast called “Latino POV,” covering various issues affecting the Latino
community including the upcoming election. Her honors include being named one
of the 25 Most Influential Hispanics in America by Time Magazine and Woman of
the Year by Latina Magazine, and Hispanic Business Magazine has twice named her
among the 100 most influential Hispanics in the nation. She lives in
Albuquerque, New Mexico. |
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