Past Event

Latino Alumni Reunion

THURSDAY April 19, 2007

Student Job Fair

Forum Speaker at John F. Kennedy School of Government (KSG)
Henry Cisneros, M.P.A. ’73
Followed by joint KSG/HLS Alumni Reception

FRIDAY April 20, 2007

Continental Breakfast

HLS ALUMNI CONFERENCE AGENDA:

Welcome Plenary

The Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP Panel on Succeeding in Private Practice: A Comparison of Legal Careers In-House and in Law Firms

A candid discussion by private practitioners of the keys to their success in law firms and corporations—the institutions that employ most HLS alumni—and the struggles of those institutions to promote their internal diversity.

• Ferdinand Alvaro, Jr. ’80, Partner, Adorno, Yoss, Fitzhugh Parker & Alvaro LLP, Boston, MA (moderator)
• Javier (“Jay”) Aguilar ’81, General Attorney & Assistant General Counsel, AT&T Services, Inc., San Antonio, TX
• Filiberto Agusti ’77, Partner, Steptoe & Johnson LLP, Washington, DC
• Jonathan D. Avila ’84, Vice-President–Counsel, Chief Privacy Officer, The Walt Disney Company, Burbank, CA
• Cristina Hernández–Malaby ’95, Partner, Quarles & Brady LLP, Milwaukee, WI
• Carlos J. Spinelli–Noseda '94, Partner, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, New York, NY

Latinos in the Service of our Judicial System  

A candid discussion by alumni who are sitting judges in various capacities in our American judicial system. They will share the varied perspectives they bring as Latino judges to the bench and hopes for the future by recruiting/grooming Latino lawyers as potential judges.

• Hon. Yvonne Campos ’88, Superior Court of California, San Diego, CA (moderator)
• Hon. Laura Cordero ’88, District of Columbia Superior Court, Washington, DC
• Hon. Federico Hernández Denton ’69, Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR
• Hon. Ricardo Hinojosa ’75, U.S. District Court, McAllen, TX
• Hon. Philip Martínez ’82, U.S. District Court, El Paso, TX

Luncheon Keynote Address
Joseph A. Garcia '83, President, Colorado State University–Pueblo

Group Photo

The Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP Panel on HLS Latino Alumni in the Media and Entertainment Industry: Where Are We And Where Are We Going?

A dynamic exploration by alumni currently working in the media and entertainment industry of issues such as digital convergence and privacy concerns as they relate to the Latino community today, as well as how Latinos are portrayed in the media and the behind-the-scenes decision-making regarding what the public will and will not see.

• Antonio González Mora ’81, News Anchor, WBBM-TV, Chicago, IL, (moderator)
• Alfredo Barrios ’94, Independent Screenwriter/Producer
• Raul Perez ’94, Fox & Spillane LLP
• Rita Morales Patton ’88, Senior Counsel, Cartoon Networks Studios
• Dave Morales '94, Founder of TH Media

Highlighting Our Commitment to Community

Alumni discuss how they have used their education to inform their involvement in community based grassroots programs, outreach and other efforts, the challenges and opportunities of working in nonprofit nongovernmental organizations and the impact their efforts have on the Latino community.

• Jose Javier Rodriguez ’06, Skadden Fellow, Florida Legal Services, Inc., Miami, FL (moderator)
• Brother William Dooling ’88, Executive Director of the San Antonio Community Law Center, San Antonio, TX
• María Imperial ’86, Executive Director of the City Bar Justice Center, New York, NY
• Hugo Morales ’75, Executive Director, Radio Bilingüe, Fresno, CA
• Nancy Ramirez ’90, Executive Director, Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice

Networking Break

Latino Alumni in Government: Leadership in Public Service

A discussion by Latino alumni of why they selected careers in government service, which are attracting increasing numbers of our alumni, and the importance of their service for the Latino community.

• Juanita C. Hernández ’85, Office of General Counsel, US Securities and Exchange Commission (moderator)
• Lisa Castañon ’91, Assistant Regional Counsel, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Seattle, WA
• Ted Cruz ’95, Solicitor General, State of Texas, Austin, TX
• Jessica Herrera–Flanigan ’95, Staff Director and General Counsel, Committee on Homeland Security, U.S. House of Representatives
• Ana María Martel ’76, Assistant U.S. Attorney, Eastern District of California, Sacramento, CA
• James Vigil, Jr. '89, Senior Advisor, Cybercrime and Intellectual Property Rights, Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, US Department of State, Washington, DC

Lawyers in Academia

Alumni who are shaping the direction of future lawyers as law professors. Panelists will discuss their journey through academia and why their presence as Latinos in institutions of higher learning makes a difference to pedagogy.

• Leticia Saucedo ’96, Associate Professor of Law, University of Nevada–Las Vegas (moderator)
• Rey Valencia ’90, Professor of Law, St. Mary’s University, San Antonio, Texas
• Joaquín Avila ’73, Assistant Professor, Seattle University School of Law
• Jenny Martínez ’97, Associate Professor of Law, Stanford University
• Jorge Ramirez, Professor of Law, Texas Tech University School of Law

Alternative Career Paths to Success: Latino Alumni Excelling outside the Practice of Law

A showcase of alumni, from CEOs to Managing Directors to high-profile newscasters, who have excelled in the worlds of business, non-profit institutions and other spheres where lawyers do not traditionally make their careers. This panel will explore the myriad ways for Latino alumni to achieve excellence outside the world of legal practice.

• Regina Montoya ’79, CEO, New America Alliance, Dallas, TX (moderator)
• Gilbert Aranza ’77, CEO, Star Concessions, Ltd., Dallas, TX
• Ana María Salazar ’89, Program Host and Newscaster, Imagen News, México, D.F.
• Raúl Tapia ’75, Managing Director, C2 Group, LLC, McLean, VA

Networking Reception:
Honoring the Harvard Latino Law Review, the Harvard Journal of Hispanic Policy, and Andrew Crespo ’07, the newly elected President of the Harvard Law Review

The HLS Latino Alumni Plenary Dinner
Keynote Address: R. Alexander Acosta ’94, U.S. Attorney, Southern District of Florida, Miami, FL

SATURDAY April 21, 2007

Special Breakfast Plenary:

A Conversation with Dean Elena Kagan ’86
Charles Hamilton Houston Professor of Law and Dean, Faculty of Law

An Update on Latino Admissions at HLS
Toby Stock '01, Assistant Dean for Admissions

LATINO LAW AND PUBLIC POLICY CONFERENCE AGENDA:

Strategic Interventions for Latino Access to Housing, Health Insurance, and Wealth, sponsored by Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett LLP

A discussion addressing the barriers that keep Latinos from attaining housing, health insurance and wealth. Specifically, this panel will address the key decision-making moments where Latinos begin to fall into negative cycles that pull them further away from these three components of the American Dream. What types of content education need to take place in the community to prevent these cycles from beginning? What programs have been successful in helping Latinos attain these three components? What policies have proved successful interventions? What still needs to be done?

• Sylvia Trujillo MPP '93, American Medical Association, Washington, D.C. (moderator)
• Louis Barajas, Barajas Wealth and Business Planning, Author, Los Angeles, CA
• Ruben King-Shaw, Jr. Chairman and CEO of Mansa Equity Partners, Inc., Carlisle, MA
• Eva M. Plaza AB '80, Chief Deputy Solicitor, City of Philadelphia, former Assistant Secretary of Housing, U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development, Philadelphia, PA

The Sullivan & Cromwell panel on politics in Latin America: Beyond Chávez: Is there a Left in Latin America? 

An exploration of whether a true political shift to the left has taken place in Latin America, how the political climate in Latin America affects Latinos in the United States and the whether attention political developments in Latin America deserve closer attention from Latinos in the United States.

• Ana María Salazar ’89, Program Host and Newscaster, Imagen News, México, D.F., (moderator)
• Raquel Aldana ’97, Professor of Law, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
• John Bonifaz ’92, Founder, National Voting Rights Institute (NVRI) and advocate of environmental preservation in the Amazon, Boston, MA
• Antonio Gonzalez, William C. Velasquez Institute, Los Angeles, CA
• José Santana, Executive Director of the International Commission of Science and Technology and Advisor to the President of the Dominican Republic, Boston, MA

Luncheon Keynote Address:
Carolyn Curiel, New York Times Editorial Board, Former Ambassador to Belize and Clinton White House Speechwriter

The Intersection of Organizing, Politics & Direct Action

An in-depth look at the most pressing issues facing Latino communities today and their relationship with issues on the broader national agenda, how to combine community organizing strategies with lobbying and litigation efforts, and how organizers can frame Latino concerns in public policy debates without losing sight of the diversity of Latino communities. How does social mobilization in community organizing differ from that for electoral campaigns? What are the new challenges in organizing for social mobilization?

• Marshall Ganz AB '63 PhD '00, Professor, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge, MA (moderator)
• Saru Jayaraman MPP '98, Founder & Executive Director of Restaurant Opportunities Center, New York, NY
• María Teresa Peterson MPP '01, Executive Director, Voto Latino, Chicago, IL
• Rocio Saenz, UNITE, Boston, MA

Latino Leadership in the Political Sphere

A look at how Latino elected officials have played central roles in political debates that impact the Latino community. A look at how the current political context includes Latinos in a way that advocates for a diverse constituency with diverse philosophical and cultural backgrounds.

• Jeannette Soriano, KSG ’06, Chief of Staff to Mr. David C. Lizarraga, Chair of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and President and CEO of TELACU (moderator)
• Juan García JD-MPP '92, Member, Texas State Representatives (D-TX-32)
• Antonio González,William C. Velasquez Institute, Los Angeles, CA
• Francisco Leal '86, Founder and Managing Partner, Leal & Trejo LLP
• Hilda Zacarias MPA ’06, Member, Santa Maria (CA) City Council

Closing Remarks and Networking Reception

Salsa Party at HLS

SUNDAY April 22, 2007

Where do we go from here? 

HLS and KSG alumni and students meet at respective schools to strategize about future collaboration.