We are grateful for the support and successful outcome of the 2011 SVLLS with over 250 participants exchanging ideas and business cards!

Currently, we have been very busy incorporating your feedback from the evaluations that were received. Many attendees suggested having an all female panel and we listened!  We are currently in the process of confirming the 2012 participants including those who will serve on the all female panel. 

Please check back often or "like" us on Facebook to receive the latest news and special discounts for our fans!

Click here to Register!

We are also very excited to announce that the recipient of the 2012 Silicon Valley Latino Leadership Award for Lifetime Achievement is Dr. Jerry Porras, Lane Professor of Organizational Behavior and Change, Emeritus, Stanford University School of Business and co-author of Built to Last, Successful Habits of Visionary Companies.

Below is a sample of participants that are confirmed for the 2012 SVLLS and their bios.

Jose Antonio Tijerino - Keynote Speaker

Jose Antonio Tijerino is president and CEO of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation (HHF), which identifies, inspires, prepares and positions Latino leaders in the classroom, community and workforce. Mr. Tijerino has led the 25-year-old leadership organization for 10 years.

Tijerino has made “sustainability and measurability” priorities for HHF in meeting America’s priorities. In addition, he strives to project a more positive image of Latinos in America through public awareness campaigns and promote role models in America.

The unique pipeline he developed for HHF begins at the prestigious Youth Awards which feeds other youth programs including a Speakers’ Bureau; a mentoring program called Mi Mentors designed to raise the high school graduation and college attendance rate by supplementing overwhelmed guidance counselors; and the LOFT (Latinos on Fast Track) workforce development program which feeds government and Fortune 500 companies with vetted and prepared Latino talent in various industries. The LOFT Institute prepares a network of more than 50,000 for leadership and for various “vertical” industries including STEM, business, green, education, and others. In addition, Tijerino executive produces the star-studded Hispanic Heritage Awards at the Kennedy Center - which is the most respected honor for Latinos by Latinos - and the television broadcasts on NBC, Telemundo stations and Armed Forces Network.

Prior to this position, Mr. Tijerino was director of public relations for the Fannie Mae Foundation, specializing in strategic planning, public affairs, media outreach and grass roots mobilization campaigns for America’s largest affordable housing nonprofit. Before that, he served as a manager of corporate communications for Nike, Inc.’s marketing department where he developed, managed and implemented communications, public relations and public affairs strategies for the company’s global community affairs department and served as a media spokesperson. Before joining Nike, Mr. Tijerino developed and managed public relations and public affairs campaigns for six years as an executive for Burson-Marsteller and Cohn & Wolf in Washington, DC under parent company Young & Rubicam.

Tijerino is active in the community by serving on various boards including Harvard’s Latino Leadership Initiative in the Kennedy School, America’s Promise, the National PTA, Smithsonian Latino Center, Imagination Stage, the Board of Advisors for Diversity Discover through Howard University, and Voto Latino, among others. He has been recognized as a Latino leader by Presidents Obama and Bush and was invited to participate in the prestigious Renaissance Weekend alongside top leaders in America. Tijerino was also recognized as a Center of Influence by the US Army. He was recognized as an Outstanding Young American, as a Hispanic Hero by the US Hispanic Youth Entrepreneurship, and Brillante Award by National Society of Hispanic MBAs, among others.

In the media: he was featured in HBO’s Habla series alongside celebrities and national leaders and the program aired during Hispanic Heritage Month; was a panelist for CNN’s Latino in America premiere; and was profiled on an hour-long Discovery Channel/TLC program for his work with youth; and his articles have also appeared in major publications. Tijerino has been featured as a spokesperson on Latino issues relating to education and leadership in the national media including NBC, FOX, ABC, Univision, Telemundo and CNN.

Tijerino earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Maryland’s prestigious school of journalism and lives in Chevy Chase, MD with his wife Dinah, daughter Mercedes Grace, son Juan Antonio, daughter Alta Maria and dog Bella.

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Emanuel Pleitez - Breakout Session Facilitator

Emanuel Pleitez is currently a consultant at McKinsey & Company and the chair of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation.  Previously, Emanuel served as the Special Assistant to Chairman Paul Volcker in the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Designated Federal Officer of the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board (PERAB).  His work on the PERAB included delivering recommendations to the President on workforce development, tax reform, financial regulatory reform, infrastructure financing, and residential retrofitting.  Prior to joining the Administration, he was the Director of Investor Relations at EDM Capital Partners and a candidate in California’s 32nd Congressional District 2009 Special Election. 

 During the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition, Emanuel served as a member of the U.S. Treasury Department Agency Review Team.  Before the Transition Team, he was a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs in the Equities Product Group of the Securities Division.  While at Goldman Sachs, he also worked in the Public Sector Infrastructure Group of the Investment Banking Division and Private Wealth Management Group of the Investment Management Division. 

 Emanuel has advocated for increasing opportunities for working Americans during his entire career through various political and non-profit experiences.  Emanuel’s political experience includes being a special assistant to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa during his L.A. City Council tenure and Mayoral candidacy.  During the John Kerry-John Edwards Presidential campaign in 2004, he served as a field organizer inMissouriandFlorida.  Emanuel has also worked forU.S.Senators Tom Daschle and Hillary Clinton on the Senate Democratic Steering and Coordination Committee.  In 2008, he was a member of the National Leadership Council of the Barack Obama Presidential Campaign and founded the Young Latino Professionals for Obama finance initiative. 

Emanuel’s non-profit experience includes working with the United Farm Workers Foundation, Quest Scholars Program atStanfordUniversity, Center for a New Generation of the Peninsula Boys & Girls Club, and Full Circle Fund.  He has served as a director or advisor for C.E.O. Women, CentroNia, Equal Rights Advocates, Free Minds, League of Women Voters of San Francisco, Voto Latino, and the Woodrow Wilson High School Alumni Foundation inLos Angeles.  In 2008, Emanuel was recognized as the Bay Area Young Nonprofit Board Member of the Year.  His innovative leadership has led him to co-found Hispanic Majority PAC, a federal non-connected political action committee dedicated to electing Latino candidates across the country; Latino Legacy Weekend, a retreat space for innovative Latino leaders to build bridges across sectors, and Society for Entrepreneurship in Latin America, a network of entrepreneurs based atStanfordUniversity.  

Emanuel currently serves on the National Advisory Board for New Leaders Council and Chairs the Salvadoran American Leadership and Education Fund, No Labels Latino Leadership Committee, and LA CAUSA Capital Campaign. 

 Emanuel graduated with a B.A. in Urban Studies fromStanfordUniversitywhere he was a recipient of the Jerry I. Porras Visionary Leadership Award and the Cecilia and Tony Burciaga Community Development Award.  Emanuel was born and raised in the Eastside of Los Angeles and currently resides in El Sereno. He is married to Rebecca Medina, the daughter of Mexican immigrants and first-generation college graduate.

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Alex Mendez - Panelist

Alex is a founding managing director of Storm Ventures. Storm Ventures is a venture capital firm focused on investing in seed and early stage companies in the Mobile Internet, Enterprise Cloud, and Internet-enabled Commerce sectors. Storm was founded in 2000 by a seasoned group of industry veterans with the common vision of sharing our collective experience, passion and energy to help talented and driven entrepreneurs build great companies of enduring value. Storm has invested in over 75 companies including  Airespace (Cisco), Appcelerator, BookRenter, EchoSign, IML (TWSE: 3638), JetCell (Cisco), Kidaro (Microsoft), Lightera (Ciena), Marketo, Mobile Iron, NetScaler (Citrix), OSA Technologies (Avocent), Sanera (McData/Brocade), and SandForce.

Alex has served on the board of several companies including Sanera (acquired MCDT), Airespace (acquired CSCO), and McData (acquired BRCD). He currently serves on the board of BookRenter, Cellfire and Qumu. Prior to founding Storm Ventures, Alex spent twenty-one years in high tech at ROLM, IBM, Stratacom, and Cisco, holding several executive positions, most recently as an SVP/GM at Cisco. He was part of the early management team of Stratacom which Cisco acquired in 1996. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Alex holds a BSEE from Stanford University and MBA from Santa Clara University.  He is a private pilot and likes to travel, ski and golf and speaks both Spanish and German fluently.

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Moises V. "Moe" Vela Jr. - Moderator

Moises V. "Moe" Vela Jr. is a partner in the Public Policy & Regulation Group. His focus is on client development, public policy, government relations, strategic communications, regulatory affairs and Hispanic and LGBT outreach. He uses his extensive government, business and community-based network and expertise to enhance the service-offerings to the firm's clients.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Vela served in the Obama Administration as Director of Management & Administration in the Office of Vice President Biden. Vela's main duty in this role was to manage the daily operations of the Vice President's office. He was the first Hispanic in the U.S. to serve twice in the White House in a senior executive role. During the Clinton Administration, Vela served as Chief Financial Officer and Senior Advisor on Latino Affairs in the Office of Vice President Al Gore.

Upon leaving the Clinton White House, Mr. Vela was instrumental in the launch of a cyberspace company. After a stint in cyberspace, Mr. Vela began his own consulting company, Diverse Directions, LLC, where he provided his clients guidance on the development of comprehensive Latino community outreach and marketing strategies, as well as, government, public and media relations strategies. He has developed and produced a variety of successful Spanish-language, bilingual and multicultural advertising and marketing campaigns on radio and television for members of the automotive industry, financial sector, non-profit community and a plethora of other clients.

A member of the State Bar of Texas, Mr. Vela created El Centro Legal Latino in Birmingham, AL, where he concentrated on educating and informing Latinos in the Southeast U.S. of their legal rights, advocating on their behalf and assisting them in obtaining fair and quality legal representation when appropriate. While in Alabama, he was the founder and first chairman of the Alabama Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, where he used his business acumen to create new Latino entrepreneurs and to help grow Latino-owned businesses throughout the state.

Mr. Vela was then recruited to be the executive director of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, a nonprofit trade association whose mission it is to increase Hispanic homeownership by empowering any and all professionals in the home buying process who serve or want to serve the Hispanic consumer. NAHREP boasts over 12,000 members in 48 states and 35 affiliate chapters.

Following that role, Mr. Vela was senior vice president of Multicultural Strategies at United Dominion Realty Trust where he developed the multifamily industry’s first comprehensive multicultural strategy to attract, retain and properly service tenants of different ethnic or cultural backgrounds. Subsequently, he became president of his own consulting business, Comunidades LLC.

Mr. Vela began his career as a staff member in the Texas House of Representatives as the legislative director and committee clerk for State Rep. Rene Oliveira. He went on to serve as a committee clerk for then-Senator Eddie Bernice Johnson's Interim Committee on Minority and Women Business Ownership Opportunities.

Prior to returning to serve in the Obama-Biden Administration, Mr. Vela was a partner and co-founder of The Comunidades Group, a Denver-based cutting-edge business that acquires, develops and operates multifamily and mixed-use real estate in Hispanic submarkets across the nation and “culturally customizes” them to better meet the needs of Latino renters and consumers across the nation.

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Alicia Morga - Panelist

Alicia Morga is the founder and CEO of Refleta, an online consumer data application.  She is also the creator of gottaFeeling, an iPhone application to identify, express and track your emotions.  Formerly, she was the founder and CEO of Consorte Media, a digital media and marketing company focused on the Hispanic market and funded by The Mayfield Fund and Sutter Hill Ventures.  Her articles on online marketing to Hispanics have appeared in publications such as Adotas, DM News and MediaPost.   She is also an expert blogger in Leadership for Fast Company and a regular contributor to the Huffington Post.  In 2011, she was named a Global Leader under 40 by the World Economic Forum and in 2009, she was named one of the Most Influential Women in Technology by Fast Company.  She holds a BA from Stanford University and a JD from Stanford Law School.

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Angélica Pérez-Litwin - Panelist

Angélica Pérez-Litwin, PhD is best known as the creative force, Publisher and CEO of New Latina, a bicultural lifestyle online magazine centered on personal growth for today’s ambitious Latina. The progressive online community is a genuine expression of today’s Latina life experience and an organic platform that evolves at the rhythm of its community readers highlighting user-generated content and features.

Pérez-Litwin’s career has been anchored by a driven desire to empower others, especially women and her Latino community. It is this determination and her background as a clinical psychologist that led her to further explore the varying dimensions of today’s Latina woman thus coining the identity of the New Latina. Defined as a woman that is talented, creative, driven and family-oriented, today’s ambitious Latina fully embraces her modern life and American culture, yet is firmly grounded on her familia and what her cultura has taught her. Established in 2010, New Latina was created to provide a unique platform with relevant and smart content for the New Latina woman who wants more out of life.

Her distinct life experiences as an entrepreneur, psychologist, and ambitious Latina, have positioned her to be an invaluable resource to media seeking greater understanding and insights on the multifaceted dimensions of the growing Hispanic market and their contributions to the ever evolving multicultural American society. Pérez-Litwin appears regularly as a guest panelist on iVillage’s Turbo Talk show and has been featured as a psychologist guest expert on Univision, Telemundo and HITN (Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network) commentating on topics such as depression, dementia, and self-esteem. She recently was featured in Latina Magazine’s May/June 2011 issue providing counsel from a cultural perspective on how to cope with the milestones and pressures of Quinceañera celebrations. Additionally, her leadership in social media and as a successful business entrepreneur led her to be approached by Kmart serving as the official ambassador on their Latina Smart Campaign.

Pérez-Litwin is a 16-year clinical psychologist practitioner whose approach to counseling and therapy has been self-defined as “relaxed but empowering.” With academic degrees from Colombia University (B.A., Psychology, 1989) and Fordham University (Ph.D., 1998 and M.A., 1993, Clinical Psychology) she formerly held a Research Assistant Professor Faculty Appointment from the New York University School of Medicine, and co-Directed their Multicultural Memory Clinic, as part of the Aging and Dementia Research Center.

Married with four children and managing a private practice, she is a proud bilingual Dominican and native New Yorker born and raised in Washington Heights.

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 Ebetuel (Beto) Pallares - Panelist

 Beto has extensive domestic and international start-up experience as an entrepreneur and executive. His broad base of experience includes stints with FMCLA (telecom), CapitalIQ (banking software), Dalmex Business Technology Partners (software), Stax, Inc. (due diligence consulting), AT Kearney (strategy consulting), La Frontera Foods (food services), Joseph Advisory Services (strategic advisory) and as Executive Director of the TransPecos/El Paso Regional Center of Innovation and Commercialization (TPEP RCIC) – the organization that represents the $200M+ TX Emerging Technology Fund in the far West region of the State.

Beto is the co-founder of Cottonwood Capital Partners, the general partner of the Cottonwood Technology Fund, a seed and early-stage venture fund with headquarters in El Paso, TX, and offices in Santa Fe, NM and Los Alamos, NM.  He serves on the boards of edioma, Inc., FibeRio Technology Corporation and Respira Therapeutics, Inc. Beto holds a Bachelors of Arts in Economics from Brandeis University, a MBA from the University of Texas at El Paso, and is pursuing a PhD in International Business. Beto is married, and enjoys fatherhood. When not watching his kids while his wife – a professional photographer – is on assignment, Beto engages in reading, writing and community service.

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Yasmin Davidds - Panelist

Yasmin Davidds, an expert with the world renowned KARRASS negotiation training program in the U.S. andLatin America, has trained and counseled over 2,000 corporate leaders in over 200 blue chip companies throughout 22 countries. Her clients have ranged from senior judges to tribal leaders, from unionized prison guards to accountants, and from railroad officials to diplomatic trainees. Her practical experience includes a wide range of public and private sector efforts inBrazil,Columbia,Argentina,England,France,Spain,South Africa and theU.S. She has helped lead intervention and assistance programs to disputing parties and has advised corporate, non-profit and governmental teams on how to prepare for important negotiations.

Yasmin Davidds is an international best-selling author, women empowerment specialist, television talk-show host, radio personality and self-help guru in both English and Spanish markets within the U.S.and Latin America. Recognized and highlighted as one of the top Leading Latinas by Hispanic Magazine and also as one of the most influential Latinas in the book by acclaimed author Silvia Mendoza “The Book of Latina Women: 149 Vidas of Passion, Strength and Success”; Yasmin delivers through her inspirational speeches a simple but profound message: “People will only treat you the way you allow yourself to be treated. If you want others to respect you, begin by respecting yourself first. That means standing up for yourself and not allowing anyone to mistreat you in any way.”

The groundbreaking Empowering Latinas: Breaking Boundaries, Freeing Lives, Yasmin’s internationally best-selling book, along with her self-help system, The 7 Principles to Self-Love and Personal Freedom, have been dedicated to the empowerment of women and are used as reference books in universities nationwide. To continue cementing Yasmin as an expert in women issues, she signed an agreement with Atria Books (division of Simon and Schuster) to publish “TAKE BACK YOUR POWER: How to Reclaim It, Use It and Keep It To Get What You Deserve” and “YOU GO GIRL: Give Your Daughters the Tools To Be Powerful Women”. Yasmin has served as an empowerment expert and media spokesperson for top tier companies such as Proctor & Gamble, Verizon Wireless, Bayer Pharmaceutical, AOL Latino and Sara Lee. Recently, she received the highest honor of being selected and featured as one of the 150 Most Prominent Latino Writers and Journalists of All Times.

Yasmin broke ground when she hosted her own television talk show, "You Go Girl!" in which she addressed issues and gave powerful solutions to challenges affecting all women. Yasmin has appeared on hundreds of radio and television shows including NBC Evening News and L.A.'s number one radio station, Power 106. She has been featured in numerous magazines and newspaper publications including La Opinión, People en Español and Latina Magazine.

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Jorge Luis Titinger - Panelist

Jorge Luis Titinger brings more than 25 years of industry experience to his role as the President and Chief Executive Officer for Verigy. Verigy recently closed its transaction with Advantest and is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Advantest Group, the largest provider of Automated Test Solutions to the Semiconductor industry.  Mr. Titinger joined Verigy in 2008 as Chief Operating Officer, was promoted to President and COO in July of 2010, and assumed his current role in January 2011. As President and CEO, Mr. Titinger guides Verigy’s strategic direction with an emphasis on innovation, business results, customer focus and employee engagement.

Prior to Verigy, Mr. Titinger served as Senior Vice President of FormFactor, Inc.'s Product Business Groups. He previously held several executive leadership positions at KLA-Tencor Corporation, the leading supplier of process control and yield management solutions for semiconductor and related microelectronics industries. His roles during his tenure at KLA-Tencor from 2002 to 2007 included EVP of Global Operations and Chief Manufacturing Officer, Chief Administrative Officer, Senior Vice President and General Manager of KLA-Tencor's Global Support Services and Field Operations Group. Prior to KLA-Tencor, Mr. Titinger held several executive positions at Applied Materials from 1997 to 2002.

Mr. Titinger holds a B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering and an M.S. in Engineering Management from Stanford University.

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Art Lewin- Panelist

Art Lewin is the owner of Art Lewin & Co, Executive Clothiers, one of the nation's premier custom clothiers. Mr. Lewin is considered one of the leading experts on direct marketing, image consulting and the leading custom clothier to California's most prominent corporate stars, some of Hollywood's movie stars and many other industry leaders for over two decades.

Mr. Lewin has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Hispanic Business Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine, Los Angeles Business Journal, American Express, INC Magazine, Club Corp Magazine and numerous other publications.

Today, Art Lewin & Co. Executive Clothiers is one of the leading custom clothiers in the world. They help plan, coordinate & maintain their client's wardrobes so they are perfectly attired for any occasion. As a second-generation clothier, Lewin says that our clients tell us that our workmanship, knowledge, attention to detail & service makes it readily apparent why we have been able to establish such a loyal following.

Mr. Lewin sits on the Executive Committee & Chairs the Membership Committee of the City Club on Bunker Hill. A prestigious member’s only executive private club. A Platinum & Board Member of Presidential Inner Circle. He's also the Founder of PBN a professional business networking group with over 6000 online members. Lewin, resides in Beverly Hills,CA. In his spare time, he enjoys time with his kids, fine dining, socializing, working out, reading and many weekend getaways.

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Ysabel Duron- Panelist

Ysabel Duron is an award-winning journalist who celebrated 40 years in television news broadcasting this past September. On May 9th, 2011, Duron was one of 10 Latinos nationwide to be awarded the Latino Spirit Award by California Latino Legislative Caucus. She was homored for her long and meritorious media career and her contributions to the Latino community. In June 2009 Duron was inducted into the National Association of Hispanic Journalist’s Hall of Fame. The senior anchor of the KRON 4 Weekend Morning News in San Francisco for the past 20 years, Duron was one of the first Latinas to work in mainstream television breaking through in 1971 in the San Francisco Bay Area in what was mostly a white male domain. As a journalist she has won recognition nationally and regionally with two Emmy’s, a John Swett Award from the California Teachers Association and another from the Society for Professional Journalists. She’s an inductee of the Silver Circle in the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for over 25 years of meritorious work in journalism.

Her career has taken her to Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego and the San Francisco Bay Area.

She’s covered such prominent stories as the 1973 Patricia Heart Kidnap, the 1976 assassinations of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, the People’s Temple, the Black Panthers, Cesar Chavez and the UFW movement, the 1984 Mexico City earthquake, the 1988 death of Chicago’s first black Mayor, Harold Washington, among other historic events.

As a Latina, she has been a role model to and influenced many young Latinas; been named both a Latina Pioneer by the La Raza Media Association of the Bay Area, and received a Living Legacy Award from the Chicana-Latina Foundation of San Francisco. She received the President’s Award from the National Association of Hispanic Journalists in 2006 for her journalism and community work around issues of cancer. She is featured in a 2008 publication Building the Latino Future, Success Stories for the Next Generation by authors, Frank Carbajal and Humberto Medina.

Throughout her career, Duron has turned the spotlight on Latino issues as well as culture, political battles, educational challenges, health needs and labor conflicts. Her own 1998 battle with cancer was turned into an award winning series that touched on treatment, support and research issues. As a result she created a non-profit, Latinas Contra Cancer. The agency celebrated 8 years of survivorship in 2011. LCC offers a Spanish language support group as well as case management, patient navigation, educational workshops and a bilingual resource website.

LCC’s growing support group has served over 250 individuals, one as young as 5 years old. As part of its special service, LCC has also distributed hundreds of bras, wig and prosthesis and sent another $5K worth of product to a breast cancer agency in Mexico. LCC’s signature education program called Health Bingo was piloted by 5 California agencies as well as agencies in Houston, TX and Orlando, FL and Las Vegas, NV. Over 4000 people have been educated in various health bingo events. Over 1000 women have signed up for breast cancer screening among the various agencies. Latinas Contra Cancer convened the first of its kind National Latino Cancer Summit, in San Francisco in 2008, bringing together researchers and health care providers with community agencies and community educators to exchange information around cancer issues in the Latino community, to network and provide opportunities for collaboration. A bi-annual bi-lingual event, 550 people have participated including researchers doing collaborative work in Spain, Argentina, Guatemala, Puerto Rico and Mexico. Summit July 2012 will focus on Latinos, Cancer and the Environment: From Science to Social Justice.

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 More bios to come!