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POSTPONED: LULAC Women’s Conference
After careful consideration of the recent events related to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and out of an abundance of caution for everyone planning to join us, the LULAC Women’s Conference scheduled for April 24-25 at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York, NY is being postponed for a future date.
LULAC leaders have been working together in assessing the situation and reached a consensus decision to postpone the Conference until August, depending on the availability of the Roosevelt Hotel and official advisories. LULAC will be evaluating all of our upcoming events for this year and will continue to monitor the situation while seeking alternative solutions.
Read the full message from Elsie Valdes, LULAC National Vice-President for Women.
Latino Flash Pitch
Deadline: Tuesday, March 31
The Latino Flash Pitch has been created to provide pre-seed funding to help grow promising Latino Startup concepts. Whether that means capital to expand your team or grow your marketing budget, our goal is to get you in front of a network that is looking to nurture Latino ideas and give you an influx of cash fast!
Visit LULAC.org/technology/latino_pitch or contact Alberto Vargas, Program Coordinator, at [email protected] for more information.
Winning Prizes
Trailblazer Award - $10,000
People’s Choice Award - $5,000
Social Media Fan Favorite - $2,000
Key Dates for Flash Pitch
March // Flash Pitch Submission form goes live
March 31 // Deadline for submission 11:59 p.m. EDT
April 13 // People’s Choice Video Post via a poll on LULAC.org
April 17 // Voting for People’s Choice Video closes
April 18 // Social Media Fan Favorite Video Poll Post
April 22 // Voting for Social Media Fan Favorite video closes
May 8 // Flash Pitch Winners are announced
Tentative // Awardees are recognized at the 2020 LULAC National Convention and Present Flash Pitch
Apply here or share the flyer with someone who you think may want to know more!
#VoteEarlyDay
Saturday, October 24
LULAC is proud to be one of the founding partners of Vote Early Day, the first national holiday designed to help all eligible voters learn about their voting options and celebrate the act of voting early. Vote Early Day is a collaboration that includes media companies, nonprofits, technology platforms, and election administrators. Our goal is to create a national holiday that taps into the unprecedented energy around the 2020 Election and mobilize the largest early voting turnout in U.S. history.
The national event is set for Saturday, October 24 when the majority of states have in-person early voting options and most voters will still have enough time to request absentee ballots for Election Day. Save the Date and stay tuned for more information about how we will be activating around Vote Early Day!
These were the sights and sounds of LULAC’s special series of events...
EMERGE Latino Conference
Tuesday, February 25 - Thursday, February 27
2020 marks the sixth year that LULAC held this week-long training and leadership development program for college-aged leaders from communities throughout the United States.
The program kicked off with a community outreach volunteer project in partnership with the D.C. Mayor’s Office on Latino Affairs. Participants trained, prepared and were eager to engage with local small businesses and community members to increase awareness about the 2020 Census. Across D.C., another group of EMERGE participants were invited to tour the Department of the Interior and speak with experts from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service about the state of the environment.
Description: EMERGE participants pose for a group picture in front of a large, square banner in the middle of a community circle located in Columbia Heights, Washington, D.C. The banner reads “I commit to getting counted in the Census” (as translated from Spanish).
The clear takeaway message from this year’s EMERGE Latino Conference for our cohort of young advocates is that NOW is their time to lead. Yadira Sanchez, Co-Executive Director of Poder Latinx was dynamic in her dialogue during the Latinos in Leadership panel:
“Young Latinos have the opportunity to seize their futures faster and more effectively than ever. So why wait? I tell young men and women to get going, run for office, serve in your communities, do what you can to lead – those are the learning moments that make you better as you go.”
State of Latino America Summit
Wednesday, February 26 - Thursday, February 27
The 2020 State of Latino America Summit is a program created by LULAC to highlight the top concerns Latinos are facing in the United States and Puerto Rico. This showcase event includes the sixth-annual EMERGE Latino Conference held at the AT&T Forum for Technology, Entertainment & Policy. Advocates from throughout the U.S. gathered for a series of workshops and leadership sessions on current issues including disaster recovery in Puerto Rico, elections, education, LGBTQI+, immigration, the U.S. Census, criminal justice reform, and the environment.
Description: U.S. Representative Tony Cardenas (CA, 29th District) inspires attendees of the State of Latino America as the first speaker with the message of staying true to our visions by holding ourselves accountable and ignoring the desire to prove something to others.
For example, student leaders were briefed on the status of educational opportunities for Latinos. “Folks telling you that Latinos can’t go to college is very disheartening,” says Emmanuel Caudillo, Senior Advisor at the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics. “However, the fact is that we’re going to college in numbers bigger and better than ever before. We should celebrate the achievements that we have made so far. The question is how can we move into other areas of our country where we aren’t making those strides,” he added.
23rd Annual LULAC National Legislative Awards Gala
Wednesday, February 26
The historic Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium located just blocks from the White House was transformed by the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Wednesday evening with a magical celebration honoring elected members of Congress for their advocacy on behalf of Latinos in the United States and Puerto Rico. The event was accented by the iconic LULAC seal splashed as a gigantic mural in tones of blue on the three-story high dome overlooking a sold-out audience. Take a look!
Description: Domingo Garcia, LULAC National President, stands center-stage at a podium and addresses the audience sitting at circular tables throughout the auditorium as two large monitors project his image on either side of the stage.
“LULAC is back!” clamored Domingo Garcia, National President before an audience of nearly 500 people. “We are being seen, heard and felt in every corner of America and LULAC is taking action on the issues that matter most to Jose y Maria. This morning before dawn millions of Latinos were already in the fields picking the food that’s on our table, they went into our homes to care for our children and they went to work in construction, hotels, restaurants and other work sites in our towns, cities, and states all across the nation. They are why LULAC is helping register tens of thousands of new voters, making an impact in Wisconsin, Iowa and Nevada with presidential town halls and we’re winning in the nation’s federal courts to stop those trying to keep Latinos from voting in 2020,” he added.
Dignitaries present for the program, “Vote, Our Lives Depend on It” recognized the service of three members of Congress: Sylvia Garcia (TX, 29th District) from Houston, Veronica Escobar (TX, 16th District) from El Paso and Will Hurd (TX, 23rd District). Garcia and Escobar are the first two Latinas ever elected to represent Texas after successful political careers in their respective cities. Hurd is the sole African-American in the House of Representatives who has defended people of color including Latinos against racial hate baiting, called for the fair application of laws in sanctuary cities and supported a proposed National Museum of the American Latino in Washington to celebrate the history and contributions Latinos are making to America.
LULAC’s Advocacy Day
Thursday, February 27
Latino leaders took their concerns and questions to Capitol Hill Thursday to meet with elected leaders and their legislative staffs. The visits to Congress were an opportunity to apply what participants learned through the State of Latino America. The group of more than 80 EMERGE participants, LULAC members, and community advocates held discussions to raise awareness and seek action from elected leaders on the critical issues facing our community.
 Description: EMERGE participants pose for a group photo with Sindy Benavides and other LULAC leaders on the steps of the U.S. Capitol Building.
“One of the matters we presented was the issue called advance parole for DACA recipients,” said Laura Muñoz, a student who traveled from Miami, Florida and was part of a student delegation that visited the office of U.S. Representative Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR). “These are people who are needing to travel outside the country for humanitarian reasons or work permits, job opportunities, training or to study abroad. This experience helped me to learn about the challenges our community faces in other regions. I will be better prepared to make sure that everybody’s included and helps to make me more thoughtful and nuanced in my discussions on issues of the day,” added Muñoz
WeRun National Campaign Training Institute
Friday, February 28
This one-day event concluded the week of activities on Friday by providing robust leadership training and campaign development sessions to empower young leaders with the tools to launch their political careers. WeRun was created in 2019 to ensure our communities are actively prepared to close the political leadership gap and envision themselves in elected positions.
Description: WeRun participants pose for a group photo at this year’s exciting and very successful event. Congratulations!
WeRun Institute's vision this year is to increase access in the political space by recognizing the power of people and the importance of our identities and experiences when creating public policies and social change. Prominent leaders and Latino elected officials directed interactive conversations to inspire and provide guidance on getting elected. Activities throughout the day included the ABCs of a political campaign, fundraising, building a field plan, getting endorsements and communications training. At WeRun, 24 aspiring leaders committed to running for office in their communities ranging from school board positions to state congressional leaders.
A big thank you to all our participants and speakers for growing a powerful space of leadership with us.
We’d also like to give a special thank you to all our sponsors for EMERGE, Gala, and WeRun. LULAC is very grateful to AT&T for hosting us for this week’s events as our premier presenting sponsor. | 
