The National Society of Hispanic MBAs' 2010 Brillante Award for Excellence Recipients Named

This year's Brillante Award Winners comprise companies and individuals making the most difference in and around the Hispanic community

DALLAS, July 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Each year the National Society of Hispanic MBAs (NSHMBA) awards outstanding individuals, businesses, non-profits, educational institutions, and companies for work coinciding with the NSHMBA mission while simultaneously fostering the advancement and recognition of Hispanics and Hispanic communities across the nation.

Despite this group's desire and energy to selflessly elevate Hispanics across all walks of life, their efforts can hardly go unnoticed. And recognizing an opportunity to congratulate and applaud these "Bright Flames (llamas brillantes)," NSHMBA created the Brillante Award for Excellence, the most prestigious honor given by the organization. Each year recipients are acknowledged during the organization's Annual Conference & Career Expo, which is being held this year in Chicago, October 21–23.  

The organization and its Board of Directors and Corporate Advisory Board proudly recognize this year's winners:

"This list of winners serves as a beacon to both the public and private sectors, and sets the stage for our future winners – knowingly or unknowingly – already doing great things within our community," said Steven Ramos, NSHMBA Interim CEO. "They are selfless in their goals and in return they should be recognized selflessly, and it's our job and honor to do so."

Nominations ran from April 7 through May 17, 2010, and yielded a long list of deserving and talented nominees.

Recipients will be recognized at the NSHMBA 2010 Conference and Career Expo during the Brillante Awards Gala, which is the spectacular finale to the NSHMBA conference. The 2010 Conference and Career Expo is expected to be an overwhelming success with the presence of over 8,500 of the best and the brightest Hispanic MBA professionals and students, and over 250 corporations, non-profits, government agencies, and academic institutions.

The National Society of Hispanic MBAs established the Brillante for Excellence Awards in 1989. This award is given to bright, radiant, and shining leaders who illuminate the paths for many ambitious MBAs while radiating positive energy to encourage and motivate others. In addition to the gala, winners receive a custom designed award, a seal to post on their website, as well as recognition on the NSHMBA website, its monthly newsletter, The Bottom Line, the organization's official magazine, Hispanic MBA, and within national press releases.

Raymond Arroyo:

Raymond Arroyo is Chief Diversity Officer at Aetna, one of the nation's leading diversified healthcare benefits companies. Prior to joining Aetna, Raymond worked at Altria, PricewaterhouseCoopers, HSBC, and Domino Sugar.

Currently Raymond serves as: A member of the Board of Regents of the University of Hartford; an Officer of the Board of Trustees of The Wheeler Clinic; the Chairman of the Corporate and Philanthropic Council of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU); a member of the Board of Governance of HACU; and a member of the Executive Editorial Board of The Business Journal of Hispanic Research. Raymond also has served on the Corporate Advisory Board of ALPFA for 9 years and as President of PRIMER for 5 years.

Raymond has a M.S. degree from Polytechnic University and a B.A. degree from NYU. He completed the Harvard Business School Corporate Governance: Leadership in the Boardroom program.

America Baez

Since 2000, America Baez has been a key contributor to the evolution of NSHMBA at the chapter and national levels. NSHMBA has equally been integral to her leadership development and professional growth.  

America currently serves NSHMBA as co-chair of the National Leadership Task Force and previously held the positions of National Director, Regional Director representing 7 chapters, President of the Chicago Chapter and active member of the San Antonio Chapter.

Her board accomplishments include raising NSHMBA's national profile, strengthening corporate relations, developing best-in-class organizational governance, improving the educational pipeline and increasing Hispanic representation on corporate boards. As president of the Chicago chapter, America increased membership by 70% over 2 years, revenue by 400%, quadrupled corporate sponsorship and spearheaded innovative professional development programs.

America is a recognized leader in multicultural talent acquisition, human resources and project management. She has enhanced the diversity footprint for several Fortune 500 and leading organizations, including Comcast, PepsiAmericas, U.S. Cellular, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, Government of Tamaulipas (Mexico), and many others.

She has held numerous board positions including the Roosevelt University College of Business Dean's Executive Advisory Council and National Association of African Americans in Human Resources Chicago Chapter Board of Directors. America has been frequently featured in the media.

Congressman Ruben Hinojosa

Congressman Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX) was elected to Congress in 1996 and is currently serving his seventh term as the representative of the 15th District of Texas.

Congressman Hinojosa serves on two House committees: the Committee on Education and Labor and the Committee on Financial Services. 

As a senior member of the Education and Labor Committee, Congressman Hinojosa is widely recognized as a champion for investing in human capital through education. He is a powerful voice for the aspirations of communities traditionally left behind in America's education system: low-income families, minorities, students with disabilities, English language learners, and the children of migrant and seasonal farm workers. He is also committed to making sure that every child graduates prepared and able to afford a college education. 

In January 2007, Congressman Hinojosa was appointed Chairman of the Subcommittee on Higher Education., Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness. As incoming chair, Congressman Hinojosa helped guide into law the historic College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007. Congressman Hinojosa's leadership has also enabled the passage of an unprecedented number of measures in the 110th Congress that boost the achievement of Hispanics and African Americans in higher education.

In 2008, Congressman Hinojosa played an instrumental role in successfully ushering through Congress the first reauthorization of the Higher Education Act in 10 years.

In recognition of Congressman Hinojosa's achievements in Congress and service to his community, he has received numerous awards and recognitions including the naming of two new elementary schools and the Ruben Hinojosa Highway and the Industrial Park in the Delta Region. 

Prior to his election, Congressman Hinojosa served twenty years as President and Chief Financial Officer of a family-owned food processing company, H&H Foods. He earned a Bachelor in Business Administration and a Master in Business Administration from the University of Texas in Austin and in Edinburg, respectively. He is married to Martha Lopez Hinojosa and has one son, Ruben Jr., and four daughters Laura, Iliana, Kaitlin and Karen.

Murray Mann

Murray A. Mann is a nationally respected thought leader delivering more than 30 years of diversity-inclusion and human resource management stewardship.

Murray and Rose Mary Bombela-Tobias founded Global Diversity Solutions Group LLC (GDSG) to create systemic and sustainable organizational changes that build inclusive workplaces. GDSG focuses on integrated client-centric solutions that expand internal capacity and forge strategic partnerships to successfully recruit, develop and retain a diverse workforce. GDSG clients range from Fortune 500 corporations, mid-size employers, universities and professional associations.

Murray co-authored Barron's The Complete Job Search Guide for Latinos, has been featured in national media and is a sought after speaker. His groundbreaking work in multicultural career management services has assisted thousands of individuals and organizations to achieve their goals.

Murray conceived and launched NSHMBA's Career Management Center, professional webinar series and chapter-based career services. Murray is a founding board member of the Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement (HACE), Society of Latinos in Human Resources (SOLHR) and holds leadership positions in professional, multicultural and disability associations.

State Farm:

State Farm®, well known for being a "good neighbor," was founded in 1922 and insures more cars and homes than any other insurer in the United States. A mutual company owned by its policyholders, State Farm is currently ranked 34 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies, and offers nearly 100 products and services that help build strong communities by supporting programs that enable home ownership, create safe neighborhoods, and make homes and highways safer. In schools and communities, online and offline, through statefarm.com or one of its more than 17,000 agents, State Farm is there.

University of Notre Dame-Mendoza School of Business:

The Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame is a premier Catholic business school that fosters academic excellence while promoting the ideals of individual integrity, effective organizations and the greater good. Notre Dame has enjoyed a longtime relationship with the Hispanic community, which includes the establishment of the Institute for Latino Studies to support interdisciplinary research initiatives and the activities of the Inter-University Program for Latino Research (IUPLR), a national consortium of university-based centers dedicated to the advancement of the Latino intellectual presence in the United States. Notre Dame also launched a task force in 2008 dedicated to improving the educational opportunities available to Latino children by doubling their enrollment in Catholic schools. Hispanic Magazine consistently ranks Notre Dame on its list of the top 25 colleges for Latinos.  

The Mendoza College is a member of the NSHMBA University Partner Program, helping to increase the number of Hispanic students completing master's degrees, and also offers the Notre Dame MBA/NSHMBA Merit Fellowship for qualified candidates. Other collaborations between the College and the Hispanic community include a recent partnership with the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce to provide executive education to Chamber leaders, as well as the Cicero Youth Task Force, a certification program that provides executive training to nonprofit leaders in Cicero, Ill.

The Mendoza College offers undergraduate and graduate degrees, as well as both nonprofit and traditional executive development programs. Graduate degrees include the Notre Dame MBA, Executive MBA, Master of Nonprofit Administration and Master of Science in Accountancy. Mendoza currently is ranked No. 1 by Bloomberg Businessweek for its undergraduate program, and No. 20 for both its Executive MBA and its MBA programs.

About NSHMBA

The National Society of Hispanic MBAs (NSHMBA) was created in 1988 as a non-profit organization. Widely known as the "Premier Hispanic Organization," NSHMBA serves 32 chapters and over 8,000* members in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. It exists to foster Hispanic leadership through graduate management education and professional development in order to improve society. NSHMBA works to prepare Hispanics for leadership positions throughout the U.S., so that they can provide the cultural awareness and sensitivity vital in the management of the nation's diverse workforce.

*Based upon 2009 membership data

SOURCE National Society of Hispanic MBAs