Hispanic Enterprise - June/July 2008 - (Page 17)

TRENDSETTER TOMORROW’S LEADERS CHCI’S ESTHER AGUILERA WORKS TO READY YOUNG LATINOS FOR LEADERSHIP. of “the diversity, the opportunity” she saw there. Aguilera was in Washington to stay. Her ﬁrst job in 1990 as a neophyte policy analyst for the National Council of La Raza think tank caught the eye of Washington insiders, who a few years later brought her on board the Congressional Hispanic Caucus as executive director. Then Energy Secretary Bill Richardson, now governor of New Mexico, tapped her in 1998 as his senior advisor and executive director of the Department of Energy’s Small Business Ofﬁce, where she increased the DOE’s small-business contracting through a nationwide Hispanic outreach program. Her ﬁrst in-depth encounter with the private sector came several years later as a principal of the Dewey Square Group, a consultancy for Fortune 100 companies as well as trade associations and non-proﬁts. With her now massive experience in corporate and public affairs, policy, legislation, fundraising and the non-proﬁt sector, she could not have been better ﬁtted for her current post as president and CEO of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, and more importantly, for carrying out its mission—developing the next generation of Hispanic leaders. “We have a community that is still struggling,” she says, but sees the CHCI as “an amazing tool” to provide Latino youth with just that kind of empowerment they needs “It takes a community of leaders to develop tomorrow’s leaders,” she says, and “the CHCI board of directors includes 25 members of Congress as well as top-ﬂight business and professional people who have made it a priority to open doors for the next generation.” And from coast to coast, the next gen- By Conrad Dahlson A trip to Washington D.C. after graduating from college in California opened Esther. Aguilera’s eyes about the country her parents brought her to when she was just 4 years old. Her mom, a seamstress, and her dad, a landscape gardener, came north from Mexico with their six youngsters, and by dint of hard work and perseverance managed to put them all through college. With a degree in public policy from Occidental College in Los Angeles, she almost inevitably gravitated to the seat of policymaking and power on the Potomac. In the shadow of the Capitol she stood in awe DOSSIER Name: Esther Aguilera Position: President/CEO Age: 40 Organization: Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) Employees: 20 Programs: Congressional Internship Program, Scholarship Awards, Public Policy Fellowships. Funding: $6 million Country of Origin: Mexico Education: Occidental College, Los Angeles (BA, Public Policy) Resources: Educational publications, Alumni Association, educational resources Quote: “We need Hispanic leaders on the international front. Our double culture and languages make it a natural.” eration is responding, with the best and brightest beneﬁting from the CHCI Scholarship Program to attend universities, community colleges and graduate schools. Or they apply for the Congressional Internship Program that provides them with a closeup experience of lawmaking by working in U.S. representatives’ ofﬁces all summer. The more advanced can get a Public Policy Fellowship in government or the corporate sector. “They’re coming to us, looking for opportunities,” Aguilera says proudly. And pride is what it’s all about: pride in the nation, pride in the community that is such a big part of the nation’s future, and pride in her own role in bringing it about. “To academics, unions, corporations and government we say ‘We have the young people, give us the opportunities,’ ” Aguilera says. While she has greatly expanded CHCI’s funding, operations, staff and systems, her greatest satisfaction is summed up in just three words. “We transform lives,” she says. 17 HISPANIC ENTERPRISE June/July 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Hispanic Enterprise - June/July 2008

Hispanic Enterprise - June/July 2008 Contents Briefcase: BIZBUZZ: Business Briefs Briefcase: Dynamic Trends Briefcase: Q&A Briefcase: Trendsetters BizLife: BizTech BizLife: Travel Feature: Target: Hispanics Cover Story: A Legend in His Own Time Feature: Top 25 Franchises Success & Motivation: The Talent Scout Education: Success by Degrees Finance & Investing: A Tough Sell Social Events: Emerge Dallas Politics & Government: The Accidental Americans Managing: Deconstructing Networking

Hispanic Enterprise - June/July 2008

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