An organization of Hispanic professionals started out the new year with new digs in the heart of Hispanic Memphis.

By reaching out to executives, managers, government officials and college students, the Memphis chapter of the National Hispanic Professional Organization (NHPO) hopes to raise awareness and provide opportunities for connectedness across cultural boundary lines.

“What everyone has in common is that we want to get to know other Hispanic professionals in town and provide a forum where people can talk about issues,” said Ignacio Vincentelli, who is counsel for International Paper and chairman of NHPO.

“We see that when people get together with other people with whom they identify, they feel more a part of the community.”

Ignacio Vincentelli sits in the new offices of The Memphis Chapter of the National Hispanic Professionals Organization. From these new offices, the NHPO will conduct their annual leadership institute and on-going events aimed at promoting awareness of issues faced by Hispanics in high-level corporate and public offices as well as encourage and mentor younger, emerging Hispanic professionals.

PHOTO BY KYLE KURLICK

The group meets monthly at the East Memphis Hilton for a luncheon featuring speakers who talk about their own career paths as well as topics specific to the Hispanic community. Meetings are always held in English.

At January’s luncheon, U.S. Attorney Ed Stanton of the Western District of Tennessee explained the inner workings of the Department of Justice, particularly in cases involving immigration, drugs, and medical malpractice.

At the beginning of the year, NHPO moved into an approximately 2,000-square-foot bay in the Apple Tree Center at Mt. Moriah Extended and Hickory Hill.

Use of the space, which includes room for about 25 to hold meetings as well as a smaller conference room, was donated in-kind along with utilities by CentroSalud, a Hispanic-owned clinic next door.

Vincentelli furnished the office with a grant from International Paper.

NHPO previously borrowed space from a State Farm office until the company needed the space for its own use. State Farm remains a sponsor of the group.

But Vincentelli said that the new location will benefit the group because of its proximity to Hispanic businesses and groups like Latino Memphis, which is within walking distance.

The office is also a short drive to I-240, Bill Morris Parkway, and the Poplar Avenue business corridor.

Antonio Olavarrieta, a credit analyst for Pfizer originally from Venezuela, said that group gives professionals like him a place in the professional market.

“It’s really hard,” Olavarrieta said. “Before (joining NHPO), I didn’t know anybody besides a couple of friends. I work at Pfizer now, but I used to work at FedEx. It’s amazing when you go to these meetings and you meet people from the same company, but you didn’t have any idea they were there before.”

Statistically, that’s a challenge for many Hispanic professionals.

According to the U.S. Census, only about 18 percent of Hispanic Americans are working in professional or managerial positions. Helping Hispanic college students graduate is key to increasing Hispanic’s presence in corporations.

NHPO has student outreach groups meeting at Southwest Tennessee Community College, Rhodes College, the University of Memphis, and Victory University.

“We’re hoping this type of organization and our collegiate chapters will help increase the rate, that they’ll say yes, you can do it. Maybe you’re the first person in your whole family to graduate, but that doesn’t mean you can’t.” NHPO also offers an annual gala at which college scholarships and community awards are presented, and in February, its annual Leadership Institute begins with weekend sessions to be held both at the new office and at Leadership Memphis on South Main.

Approximately 15 members will attend.

What’s not on the group’s agenda are political debates of immigration laws or leveraging Hispanics’ political power.

Caldwell said that grouping all Hispanic voters is a common stereotype despite the fact that Hispanics come from over 20 countries, not all of which speak Spanish.

“It can be a matter of ignorance,” Caldwell said. “Not everyone who speaks Spanish is from Mexico. Sometimes you can’t blame someone if they’re ignorant of the facts. That’s the job of these organizations, to raise awareness. If you attend our monthly luncheons you can see that it’s very culturally diverse.”

“What we all have in common is that we are professionals,” Vincentelli said.

McALLEN, TX – The NHPO-RGV Chapter was proud to present UTPA an Endowment Check for $20,000 on Tuesday, October 2, 2012. It was the culmination of countless hours of hard work and dedication by the NHPO-RGV Board of Directors, its sponsors and its NHPO members. “We applaud those NHPO board members that came before us who had the vision that someday we would have this honor of giving such an important gift to UTPA, it’s students and the community,” said Jesse Deleon, NHPO-RGV Chapter Chairman.

Dr. Nelsen, Jody Nelsen, Veronica Gonzales, UTPA staff and NHPO RGV Board of Directors, J.R. Gonzales-NHPO National President

NHPO’s main mission is EDUCATION. Education is the greatest equalizer; it ensures success and pushes people out of poverty. Just this month, the Hidalgo County MSA had the dubious distinction of being #1 with the highest poverty rate, at almost 38%. This is not an award any of us want and surely nothing to be proud of. And like many of us, NHPO realizes that we need to take a proactive role in our communities’ education which is why NHPO-RGV created this Endowment fund for UTPA.

NHPO is very proud to be able to help deserving students achieve their educational goals. The scholarships will be awarded to “Stop Out” students which are students who enrolled in school and for whatever reason had to leave, usually due to family, work or financial reasons. And now he/she wants to return but needs that extra help to get there. NHPO could not have found a better institution of higher learning than UT Pan American and thanks UTPA for partnering with them to make this possible!. UTPA is ranked 32nd in the top 100 list of America’s Best Public Colleges with only 6 colleges in Texas on this list. UTPA is the 10th Largest of 38 public Texas Universities. And UTPA is also among the top 100 best Colleges for Hispanics including: 2nd in the nation in the number of Bachelor’s degrees, 4th in the number of Masters degrees and 19th in the number of Doctoral Degrees awarded to Hispanics.

For the third year in a row NHPO is taking an active leadership role in supporting Operation Independence, a nationwide 501(c) (3) non-profit organization that provides a means for community members to support troops serving on the frontlines, military families and veterans.

“NHPO is proud to be a part of Operation Independence. Last year we were able to send over 2,000 packages to the troops overseas,” said Jesse DeLeon, chairman of the NHPO RGV chapter. “This year, NHPO’s goal is to surpass last year’s total and to continue support of our troops serving overseas.”
NHPO has organized five networking mixers between June 7 through July 5, 2012 to help facilitating the donation of supplies and monetary contributions for Operation Independence. If you not able to attend any of the mixers and would like to donate, there are two different ways to do it. The first way to donate is to go to www.paypal.com and address it to nhpouppervalley@ymail.com. The second way to donate is to visit any IBC Bank Branch and make a donation to the account number 2511726513.

Each of the NHPO Operation Independence mixers will be on a Thursday at the restaurants listed below form 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM.

June 7, 2012 – House Wine
1117 U.S. 83 Business McAllen, TX 78501

June 14, 2012 – Remington’s Restaurant and Lounge
1800 South Col Rowe Boulevard McAllen, TX 78503

June 21, 2012 – Tony Roma’s South
2121 South 10th Street McAllen, TX 78503

June 28, 2012 – Koko Cafe Uptown
6100 N 10th St # A McAllen, TX 78504

July 5, 2012 – Santa Fe Steakhouse
1918 South 10th Street McAllen, TX 78503

“Operation Independence is perhaps one of our most important yearly campaigns that NHPO-RGV is involved,” said DeLeon. “We will continue doing this campaign as long as there is a need.”

Other key participants in supporting Operation Independence are IBC Bank, The University of Phoenix, KURV radio. On July 11, 2012 at the McAllen Chamber of Commerce, volunteers will gather to fill the bags being sent overseas to your men and women serving in uniform.

Senator Eddie Lucio, Jr.

This event will be hosted by La Recova Argentinean Restaurant located on 2901 N. 10th Street in McAllen on Tuesday, May 22, from 6pm – 9pm. This free event will include city, county, community and business leaders.

NHPO’s National President, J.R. Gonzales will be coming in from Washington DC to this inaugural event.

Please join NHPO-RGV and Rio Grande Valley dignitaries for a special evening as we celebrate the commitment of these community leaders. We invite you to take advantage of the opportunity to hear them speak on leadership and commitment while enjoying music, food and refreshments.

Senator Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa

National Hispanic Professional Organization is a 501 c-3 non-profit professional and collegiate based organization that provides members with career opportunities, professional development, business networking and leadership training.