Hispanic Public Relations Association Announces New Leadership
With new leadership comes new energy and ambition, making this a year for continued growth for the Hispanic Public Relations Association, Los Angeles chapter (HPRA-LA) as it announces the new incoming board and welcomes new members. With the new board, HPRA-LA will build upon strategic partnerships and strengthen its commitment to provide PR professionals and students the resources to thrive in this evolving Hispanic public relations industry.
“Our commitment to fostering key strategic partnerships and increasing our membership continue to be significant goals for the organization in 2012,” said Delia L. López, HPRA-LA president. “Building on our history and on our principle of serving as a resource to PR professionals, HPRA-LA will continue to be a platform for advancement and enrichment for those in Hispanic PR and those seeking expertise in the Hispanic market.”
HPRA-LA executive board members include:
- Delia L. López (President): bilingual Communications Consultant with more than 12 years of experience in the field of strategic public relations, having worked with large national and regional brands, and specializing in the Hispanic market.
- Jacqueline Quintanilla Aker (Vice President): senior vice president, Health & Multicultural Marketing at Edelman, has more than 12 years of experience leading award-winning campaigns for LIVESTRONG®, the California Department of Alcohol & Drug Programs and Nestle®.
- Leslie Smith (Secretary): senior vice president of Business Development and Marketing, Leslie is responsible for all new business opportunities at New American Dimensions, a Los Angeles based Marketing Research and Consulting Firm that focuses on multicultural research.
- Hilda Delgado (Treasurer): Western Region communications director for Coca-Cola Refreshments where she oversees and implements internal and external communications and public affairs campaigns for California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Hawai’i.
HPRA-LA also welcomes the following board committee chairs:
- Programs – Chalena Cadenas, Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences
- Marketing – Mariluz Gonzalez, Vesper Public Relations
- Social Media Integration – Jose Xicohtencatl, Edelman
- Membership – Chuck Sifuentes, PR Consultant
- National Chapters – Stephen Chavez, Chavez Marketing & Communications
- Scholarship/College Outreach: Denisse Montalvan, Ketchum
In addition, HPRA-LA is strengthening its leadership with the addition of Oralia Michel, President of OMAGEN Marketing & PR, as senior advisor. Michel’s 30-year career in Hispanic marketing will provide expertise and thought leadership to expand programs and resources to Hispanic PR professionals. Michel, a seasoned PR practitioner and former journalist, believes the tenets of journalism are core skills that all communicators would be well served to embrace and practice, while keeping a pulse on the ever changing technology that makes marketing communications an exciting and always evolving profession.
“Public relations and marketing communications continue to evolve making our industry ever energizing,” says Michel. “Augmenting and forging new partnerships will enable HPRA to provide our members with the best learning from the best minds. Our members’ insights are also highly valuable and we will drive thought leadership that better serves the Hispanic market. In this era of integration, strategic messaging capabilities will continue to be king and we must be the leaders in delivering the right messages via the best channels.”
A large initiative this year for the board is the Association’s partnership with Hispanicize. Now in its third year, Hispanicize will be held in Miami on April 10-13, 2012. PR-focused sessions at the conference will spotlight HPRA 2011 PRemio award-winning programs/case studies from some of the nation’s most renowned multicultural PR professionals. The annual event focuses on Latino trends and brings trendsetters together in PR, social media, entertainment, marketing and media. More details and information about Hispanicize is available on the HPRA website.
About Hispanic Public Relations Association (HPRA):
Founded in 1984, the Hispanic Public Relations Association (HPRA) is the foremost organization of Hispanic public relations practitioners in the U.S. HPRA is a resource for communications professionals and for those seeking Hispanic market expertise. It is dedicated to the recognition and advancement of Hispanics in public relations through year-round programs and hosts one of the industry’s most anticipated events: the PRemio Campaign of the Year Awards and Scholarship Gala in the fall. To date, HPRA has awarded a quarter million dollars to college and university students of Latino descent pursuing careers in communications. With a solid record of achievement and a committed membership, HPRA continually strives to increase the value of public relations as the industry increasingly gains clout and expands. For more information please visit www.hpra-usa.org.
