For Immediate Release                                                          Contact: Octavio Hinojosa

April 7, 2008                                                                             (202) 347-8280

Miami, FL- The Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute (CHLI) held its second CHLI Future Leaders Conference on Friday, April 4, 2008 at Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus. CHLI highlighted leadership opportunities for South Florida students with local, national, and recognized leaders from throughout the Americas. The CHLI Future Leaders Conference was held in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank and the Inter-American Investment Corporation, being held in Miami, FL, from April 4 to 8, 2008.

A diverse group of students from South Florida’s leading institutions of higher learning participated in the half-day long conference which centered on the theme: “Empowering Future Leaders throughout the Americas.” Overall, students gained a greater appreciation of career opportunities available to them in the private and public sector, as well as international development organizations.

“It is a great privilege for CHLI to host this conference series which connects the leaders of tomorrow with the leaders of today throughout our hemisphere,” said Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (FL-21) and CHLI Chairman. “I thank Miami Dade College along with our corporate sponsors for making this conference possible. Their generous donations and support has helped make students’ dreams become a reality.”

"Miami Dade College is the largest Hispanic institution and we are proud to host CHLI’s Future Conference,” said Dr. Rolando Montoya, President of Miami Dade College, Wolfson Campus. “Events such as this conference provide the Hispanic community with future benefits.”

“CHLI continues to empower our future Hispanic leaders through events such as this annual conference, which promote growth and the need for civic involvement so that we can achieve our goals as a community,” said Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-25).

The CHLI Future Leaders Conference gave students the opportunity to participate in policy briefings, workshops, networking and presentations from local and national leaders. Participating students also had the unique opportunity to attend the Opening Session of the Inter-American Development Bank’s Annual Meeting at Miami Beach Convention Center where they participated in a leadership forum featuring Latin artists as Ricky Martin, Founder of the Ricky Martin Foundation, Juanes, Founder of the Fundación Mi Sangre, as well as Shakira, Alejandro Sanz and Juan Luis Guerra.

Among the leading organizations which participated included the U.S. Department of State, Civica Americana, and Service for Peace. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc, Altria Group, Inc and Freddie Mac were the leading corporate sponsors.  Those interested in finding more information for future programs or conferences offered from CHLI should visit www.chli.org. 

Established in 2003, CHLI works to promote new and alternative approaches to challenges faced by the 45 million Hispanic and Portuguese Americans living in the United States today.  Through educational partnerships, scholarships, leadership programs, academic seminars and other events, CHLI provides opportunities for discussion and exploration of strategic solutions for community challenges that in turn, benefit the nation as a whole.

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