Mark Madrid Receives the University of Texas at Austin DDCE Community Emerging Legacy Award
Austin, Texas (PRWEB) June 09, 2017 -- On November 7, 2016 five outstanding Hispanic leaders received the Community Emerging Legacy Award presented by the University of Texas at Austin Division of Diversity and Community Engagement (DDCE). Standing among them was Mark Madrid, former President and CEO of the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (GAHCC), and current Executive Director of the Latino Business Action Network (LBAN). LBAN is a 501(c)3 organization focused on making America stronger through LBAN-funded Latino business research and educational impact programs at Stanford University.
That day, he and his four peers stood at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center in Austin, Texas, flanked at each side by University of Texas at Austin President Gregory L. Fenves, Vice President Dr. Gregory L. Vincent, and the Mayor of Austin, the Honorable Steve Adler. The awards are part of UT-Austin DDCE's trailblazing commitment not only to support and reward the community work of those who dedicate time, love and effort to Madrid’s former home city, Austin, but to continue to espouse and drive diversity and equality. Dr. Vincent has served as DDCE Vice President for the last decade, pioneering new organizational models and positioning the award-winning DDCE as the nation’s most comprehensive and innovative division of its kind in higher education. Dr. Vincent, a beacon of inspiration for many, has recently been named as the new President of his alma mater, Hobart and William Smith Colleges in New York state.
“Putting things in this unique perspective, I am still, today, humbled to have stood there with my fellow awardees, all trailblazers in their fierce dedication to their diverse constituents, communities, and legacy initiatives,” Madrid remarked.
The awardees were:
Josefina Villacaña Casati (Community Leadership Circle Award) served as editor of ¡ahora si!, Austin’s Spanish-language weekly publication, since 2006. The newspaper was launched through a partnership with the Austin American-Statesman, where Josefina created a legacy through her work as content producer, community information coordinator and other roles that drove inclusion and boosted the Hispanic demographic in Austin.
The Young Hispanic Professional Association of Austin (YHPAA; Community Partnership Award). This association, eleven years young, offers invigorating professional development and leadership opportunities for Latino and Latina professionals in Greater Austin, supporting higher education through scholarship and mentorship programs. To date, YHPAA has served over 10,000 Hispanic leaders in Austin.
The Limón Family (Joe R. Long and Teresa Lozano Long Legacy Award). The Limón family moved from Mexico to Austin in 1889, and five generations and almost 4,000 members later, it has influenced and left its mark in almost every aspect of Austin, from politics and education to civic engagement.
Perhaps most movingly, the audience paid homage to one of Austin’s favorite sons, the late Honorable John Treviño, Jr., an Army veteran and first director of the Austin Community Action Program, a federal antipoverty effort. Mr. Treviño was the first Hispanic elected to Austin’s City Council, where he served for over thirteen years. His work is a model for developing actionable, sustainable and successful programs to support historically underutilized and underserved diverse businesses. “Mr. Treviño,” declared Madrid, “was a champion of the people, not a man of ego. He was a consistent source of ‘orgullo’ (pride); he set the leadership bar exceedingly high in Austin, the city that he loved and cherished.”
Mark Madrid welcomed the award for Community Emerging Legacy for his work at the GAHCC, which garnered the designation as the nation’s top Hispanic chamber of commerce, and as Honorary Co-Chair of the Greater Austin Area My Brother’s Keeper initiative.
Dr. Vincent addressed the audience: “Your support and dedication is what drives us to do our very best. I am proud to call all of you members of our DDCE family. Thank you for all that each of you do in support of our work to serve our local Austin community and the state of Texas.”
Madrid described the award ceremony as an incomparable experience and opportunity to be part of a group of energetic Latinas and Latinos committed to building and lifting up their communities. In his words, “What an honor to be part of a group that is transforming our leadership ecosystem and championing Latinos as drivers of the new American economy. I was humbled to be part of a celebration from my alma mater, which is steeped in tradition, while committed to embracing diversity and promoting our culture into the mix of tradition, which is purely American.” Madrid further states, “I am living the American dream, and the catalyst of this dream is grounded at the University of Texas at Austin, where I began my seismic elevation 27 years ago. The motto is true: ‘What starts here changes the world’. I am living proof.”
Media contact: CF Creative. Attn.: Conchie Fernández-Craig. info(at)cf-creative(dot)com. (954) 225-9342
Conchie Fernandez-Craig, CF Creative, http://www.cf-creative.com, +1 (954) 448-7590 Ext: 101, [email protected]
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