Washington, D.C., our nation’s capital, was the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Legislative Summit venue.
USHCC hosted most of the country’s Hispanic chambers of commerce in a three-day event filled with great seminars, breakfasts and luncheons, and of course, networking.
On Monday, March 20th, presidents and business executives from all the Hispanic and Non-Hispanic communities arrived at the Intercontinental at the Wharf hotel, a luxury class hotel right by the harbor and with views of the water, the National monuments, and of course, the cherry blossoms that started to bloom when we arrived.
Laura Sosa, Program and Events Manager for USHCC, and a fantastic team, organized and coordinated every detail that made this Summit a huge success.
Ramiro Cavazos, president and CEO of USHCC, welcomed everyone at the Welcome Reception held at La Vie, an amazing venue with waterfront views where everyone relaxed and mingled while enjoying complimentary Hors d’oeuvres and drinks.
Nelson Reyneri, chair of USHCC, Angela Franco, President and CEO of D.C. Chamber of Commerce, and Juan Jara, Chairman of the Board of CWHCC, welcomed everyone with kind words and inspired all to look forward to the rest of the Summit.
Tuesday, March 21st, started with AMERICA’S BUSINESS FUTURE Breakfast. Wally Adeyemo (Deputy Secretary), Patty Juarez (Head of Hispanic/Latino Affairs WELLS FARGO), Nancy Galvan (CEO of Unica Enterprises LLC), Frank García (President/CEO of PERIKIN), Francisco Castellanos (Director of Bank of America), Clarissa Ramon (Civil Rights Manager for Google), Mayra Pineda (President of Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana) and Jennifer Rodriguez (President of Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce) along with Ramiro Cavazos and Nelson Reyneri were among the speakers that inspired everyone while having a delicious breakfast.
The rest of the day was filled with very interesting seminars that varied in theme, from the importance of Digital Ads for Hispanic-Led Small Businesses to How your Business can Benefit from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, CHIPS Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act.
Networking, running into familiar faces of the Hispanic Chambers of Commerce communities, and the good vibe of acknowledging how Hispanics are a very strong workforce for the economic growth and stability of our United States of America had everyone in a good mood.
Building Back America Through Hispanic Businesses Luncheon taught us that more than 5 million Hispanic-Owned businesses contribute $800 billion annually to the American economy. Today, Hispanics are a powerful force responsible for $2.8 trillion of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Isabella Casillas Guzman (Administrator of US Small Business Administration), Vivek Murthy (U.S. Surgeon General), Robert Santos (Director of U.S. Census Bureau), Cristobal Alex (Head of D.C. Office), Jackie Puente (Vice President of Comcast), Ruben Barrales (Senior V.P. of Wells Fargo), Victor Arias (Managing Director of Diversified Search Group), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Senior Advisor of Akin Gump Strauss & Feld), Rosa Navejar (President of The Rios Group), Lori Montenegro (Bureau Chief of Telemundo), Diana Doukas (Economic Opportunity & Advocacy Meta), Oscar Cristancho (Assistant V.P., Budgets & Analysis Valencia College) along with Ramiro Cavazos were the speakers of the luncheon. All the attendants were mesmerized and inspired by so many positive things coming to the Hispanic community and businesses.
The second day ended with a reception at the Odyssey, a docked cruise ship that hosted a wonderful ‘end of the day’ party where more networking and socializing took place.
Wednesday, March 22nd was the third and final day of the Summit, where we all got to have lunch a Capitol Hill with Senator Robert Menendez for the State of New Jersey, Senator John Cornyn for the State of Texas (who emphasized that we can have an excellent relationship with Mexico and that the border is simply something that is there for security but when it comes to business and commercial activities, it is as if there were no border crossing lines); Senator Amy Klobuchar for the State of Minnesota, and Pete Aguilar, Member of Congress that made us feel proud of having a good percentage of representatives from the Hispanic community in Congress.
Special shout out to Kelsey Flitter from Chemistry Agency for always thinking about La Revista Binacional and ensuring we can connect with key speakers, like Evelyn Barahona, Senior Vice President of Educational Fund at USHCC.
Thank you, United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, for having La Revista Binacional yet again in another one of your events. We are ready for the next one in April.
