Arianna Huffington, Guest Speaker at The 6th Annual Emerge Fundraiser

San Francisco, CA 06/17/10 - The 6th Annual Emerge Fundraiser was a big success. The event took place at the beautiful Merchants Exchange Building. The room was full of great women -and men- and everybody walked out with inspiring and empowering messages.

Arianna Huffington, Author, Columnist & Founder of the Huffington Post was the guest speaker. Her humor and wisdom enlighten us all. Christine Pelosi, daughter of current Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, Speaker pro Tempore Assemblywoman Fiona Ma and 2010 Woman of the Year Andrea Dew Steele, Founder & President of Emerge America were among the attendees.

Emerge is a political leadership training program for Democratic women, inspiring them to run for office and honoring their skills to win. Their goal is to increase the number of Democratic women in public office.

I was delighted to attend the event as a guest of Fiona Ma. The evening was definitely one to remember.

Photos - top right: Arianna Huffington, top left: Christine Pelosi and her daughter, bottom right: Fiona Ma.

Latina Entrepreneur Mrs.Sofia Echeverria Keck scheduled to be a Panelist at The 12th annual LATINA Style Business Series

LATINA Style - A National Magazine for the Contemporary Hispanic Woman
Dear Ms. Echeverría Keck,

We are delighted to share with you that on May 13, 2010 LATINA Style will host the 12th annual LATINA Style Business Series in San Francisco, CA. We would like to extend an invitation for you to speak at our upcoming conference, and more specifically, that you participate as a panelist.

The LATINA Style Business Series (LSBS) is the most successful ongoing business development program for Latina business owners in the nation. Over 27,000 Latina entrepreneurs and professionals have benefited from participating in this exciting and informative one-day business program since it first launched in 1998. It is a natural progression of the extensive work the magazine performs to provide resources to Latinas for personal and professional development.

The event, which will be covered in LATINA Style Magazine, typically attracts 250 to 300 Latina business owners seeking to grow their business and Latina professionals interested in starting a business as well as key business, community and government leaders.

We are delighted to announce our co-chairs for this event, the Honorable Aida Alvarez, chair of the Latino Community Foundation (LCF). Also, Ms. Isabel Valdés, Principal of Isabel Valdés Consulting (IVC), and, we are pleased to confirm our Keynote Speaker, Ms. Barbara Kasoff, President and CEO, and Co-Founder, of Women Impacting Public Policy, Inc.

We respectfully request the honor of your presence on the following workshop:

Role: Panelist: - Lessons Learned: Latina Entrepreneurs’ Financial Survival Guide

(11:50 am – 12:30 pm)

Date: Thursday, May 13, 2010

Location: Grand Hyatt San Francisco on Union Square

(345 Stockton Street, San Francisco, CA 94108)

Workshop focus: Successful Latina entrepreneurs at different stages of business maturity discuss lessons learned, insight gained through their experiences, challenges encountered, and ways to overcome these. The current economic state has caught many ill-equipped. These women will share ways to be ready for growth and new opportunities.

Ms. Echeverría Keck, we would be honored to have you participate in this prestigious panel.

Sincerely,

Robert E. Bard

President & CEO

LATINA Style Magazine

www.latinastyle.com



"A National Magazine for the Professional Hispanic Woman"

HOPE: 16th Annual Latina Action Day

Sacramento, CA. April 21, 2010 - Once a year, Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE) convenes hundreds of Latina leaders from all regions of California in Sacramento for an annual public policy issues conference, Latina Action Day Sacramento.

This one day conference is designed to facilitate dialogue between corporate and community Latina leaders and elected officials on public policies affecting Latinas in California.

This year, Maria Echaveste was HOPE’s keynote speaker for the Super Charge The Advocate in You Luncheon. Mrs. Echavaste is a UC Berkeley Law School Professor and former assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff to President Clinton.

According to HOPE Latinas in California are advocating for:

1. Improving the college pathway for all students: In 2008, California’s average high school dropout rate was 20.1% (slightly over 1 out of 5 students.) Among Latinos the rate was even higher – 25.5%

2. Removing barriers to good health for all children: 28.1% of children in California are overweight and 75% of these children will continue to be overweight into adulthood.

3. Improving the quality of healthcare for all women: 14.5% of minority women in California either receive late initiated prenatal care or no prenatal care at all.

4. Increasing internet access to all communities: 50% of Latinas still don’t have Internet access.

Latina voters are estimated at 1.6 million in California and have a significant political influence. HOPE.ACT.VOTE. is a statewide initiative that aims to mobilize California’s Latina registered voters to become informed citizens, effective policy advocates, and active civic participants. To know more about HOPE visit

Photo - Maria Echaveste and Sofía Echeverría Keck at HOPE's Luncheon.

Governor Schwarzenegger Opens Office of Economic Development

Sacramento, CA – Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger this past Thursday signed an executive order establishing the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GoED,) a one-stop shop to help businesses with the information and resources they need to succeed in California.

“California is the best place in the world to do business, and by cutting red tape and streamlining functions, my Office of Economic Development will make the state an even better partner to the economy,” said Governor Schwarzenegger.

To do business in California you must interact with the state in many ways, such as registering, obtaining licenses and permits and paying taxes. At GoED, experienced staff will guide businesses through the various state requirements and help them access state resources.
GoED is open for business and can be contacted toll free at 877- 345-GoED (4633) or at www.business.ca.gov

Photo : Governor Schwarzenegger and Sofia E. Keck at the grand opening of GoED in Sacramento, CA