Advisory Board

Hispanicize 2013 is being organized by Hispanicize Digital and the Hispanic PR Blog in partnership with the Hispanic Public Relations Association (HPRA), the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and a prestigious national advisory board comprised of senior executives from major Hispanic brand marketers, advertising agencies, public relations agencies, film festival directors, Latin music industry insiders and Hispanic media leaders.

• Mari Santana, Public Relations Manager, Disney Destinations
• Jose Villa, Founder and President, Sensis
• Ivette Rodriguez, President & Founder, American Entertainment Marketing (AEM)
• Nydia J. Sahagún, Senior Manager, multicultural brand marketing, Target.
• Christina Gonzalez, Director of Multicultural Marketing - Verizon Wireless
• Melina Baetti, Manager of Brand & Business Communications, The Coca-Cola Company
• Sabrina Macias, Director of Integrated Marketing Communications/ Brand & Consumer Marketing, NASCAR
• Jocelyn Allen, Grassroots & Diversity Communications, General Motors
• Xavier Turpin, Director of Multicultural Marketing - Dunkin’ Brands Inc.
• Oswald Mendez, Chief Marketing Officer, MundoFox
• Alfredo Ayala, Senior Technical Staff, Research & Development - Walt Disney Imagineering
• Olga Romero, Manager of Hispanic and Multicultural – Southwest Airlines
• Alvaro Cabal, Multicultural Communications Manager - Ford Motor Company
• Maribel Ferrer, Media Relations Vice President for U.S. Hispanic and Florida - JPMorgan Chase
• Borja Perez, Senior Vice President, Digital & Social Media, Telemundo Media
• Lissette Hoyo, Managing Partner/President - Accentmarketing
• Gustavo Razzetti,  EVP, Managing Director - Lápiz (Leo Burnett)
• Juan Oubiña, Group Creative Director - Grupo Gallegos
• Mara Fernandez, Associate Publisher, Produ
• Calixto Chinchilla, Founder/Executive Director, New York International Latino Film Festival
• Jaie Laplante, Director, Miami International Film Festival
• Roman Morales, Film Showcase Director - Hispanicize 2013
• Linda Lopez, Latin Programming/Marketing - Live Nation
• Fernando Rojo, Senior Creative Director/New Business Development - Universal Music Publishing
• Monica Taher, Head of Entertainment/Partner - Getty Images Hispanic / Latin America
• Bel Hernandez, CEO - Latin Heat Media
• Vanessa James, President - Vanessa James Media
• Mike Valdes-Fauli, President - JeffreyGroup (advisory board co-chairman of Hispanicize 2013)
• Jorge Ortega, President/CEO - Newlink America
• Ruben Navarrette, National Syndicated Columnist – CNN.com and USA Today
• Delia Lopez, President, Hispanic Public Relations Association – LA
• David Henry, President, Hispanic Public Relations Association – New York and Telenoticias
• Hugo Perez, Sr. Vice President/Group Director, The Zocalo Group
• Angélica Pérez-Litwin, Publisher/CEO, New Latina, Inc.
• Aurelia Flores, Founder/CEO, PowerfulLatinas.com
• George “The Urban Jibaro” Torres, Founder, Sofrito for Your Soul
• Jennifer Diaz, Associate Vice President/Media Relations, Greater Miami Convention & Visitor’s Bureau
• Rikki Rincon, President, Creative Juice Online
• Roberto Somoza, President, World Clique
• Anu Gunn -Musician / Filmmaker, AnuGunn.com

	George Torres is a cultural curator & community builder that manages and produces branded projects that appeal to the Latino / Hispanic segment. These projects include web properties, live events, social media campaigns, internet radio production, content development and new media consulting services. George’s creative vision is the blueprint for Sofrito Media Group and it’s growing portfolio of new media products and services. He has over 15 years of experience developing branded projects that appeal to the English dominant Latino / Hispanic segment. These include the online blog Sofrito For Your Soul, Radio Capicu as well as Capicu Poetry & Cultural Showcase, a partnership that develops and produces live cultural events.Read his story… http://bit.ly/OytqCH
	Christina began working for Verizon Wireless fourteen years ago as a bilingual Customer Service Representative. She completed her B.S. degree in 2001 from Pepperdine University and her MBA in 2011 from California Baptist University. As the Associate Director for Verizon Wireless’ National Multicultural Marketing organization, she leads the creation and implementation initiatives for all products, services, sponsorships and programs for the companies Latino, Asian and African American efforts.
	Jorge Ortega is founder and managing partner of Newlink America, one of the fastest growing Hispanic-owned strategic communications agencies. Part of the Newlink Group of Companies, the integrated consulting firm, Jorge and partners, Eduardo del Rivero and Sergio Roitberg, lead a team of experienced professionals providing research, strategy, creative and/or media services to: Coca-Cola, ESPN Deportes, Discover Card, Bacardi USA, The College Board, Merck, Mylan, SER- National, Palace Resorts, among other clients. Jorge brings 25 years of experience working with major clients developing strategic and innovative programs across the Americas. A leading communications practitioner in the Hispanic market, he was President of JeffreyGroup, where he more than doubled the size of the firm, Jorge also started and built Burson-Marsteller’s U.S. Hispanic practice. He serves on the advisory board of FSU’s Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication. Jorge’s video blog on Hispanic marketing topics Newlink Conversations can be viewed at www.youtube.com/newlinkamerica.
	Aurelia Flores is Senior Counsel for a Fortune 500 company, and founder of PowerfulLatinas.com, a company that connects personal with community empowerment. Aurelia, former single teen mother and a domestic violence survivor, went to Stanford Law School and received a Fulbright Fellowship before beginning her practice in international business law. Aurelia is now a national speaker and trainer on leadership topics and diversity issues.  She has won several awards for her work with PowerfulLatinas.com and is regularly featured on TV, radio and in print.  Aurelia is also a contributing writer to several national publications.
	Rikki Rincon, is principal/founder of Creative Juice-Online.AlwaysTM, a social media integration agency providing marketing, branding and media/PR solutions from our digital mobile office to consumers, media both local and global. Rikki prides himself on an “Online.AlwaysTM” reality, which services clients 7 days per week, year around. Current and past clients include Havana NRG, Latino Fashion Week Dallas, Mike Rawlings for Dallas Mayor campaign, Social Latino-The Professional You, LatinoParty.com, Cuban Jazz Project, DJ Ivan G, House of Cigars, SONY Music, Screen Gems Films, Hard Rock Café, House of Blues Dallas, AEG Latino, and many others. Rikki was recognized globally for his work on the well-known Hispanic PR Blog in their Latino PR Leader profile section.
	Melina Baetti is a tri-lingual Public Relations professional who recently joined The Coca-Cola Company as Brand & Business Communications Manager in Public Affairs & Communications. She works closely with the multicultural marketing teams, supporting in particular Hispanic and African American programs. Melina began her career at Havas Sports & Entertainment in Paris, France, where she worked in sports and entertainment communications and brand engagement for four years. Melina holds a dual-degree in Public Relations and French from the University of Georgia. A resident of Atlanta, Georgia, she enjoys travelling, playing and watching sports and volunteering.
	Angélica Pérez-Litwin, PhD is the Publisher and CEO of New Latina, a digital media promoting personal and career advancement for bicultural Latinas in the U.S.  A Clinical Psychologist and social entrepreneur, Dr. Pérez-Litwin has dedicated her career to the empowerment, wellbeing and advancement of women.  She is the founder of ELLA Leadership Institute, Center for Personal Leadership and Professional Development, which will officially launch this year.  Dr. Pérez-Litwin is a regular contributor on the Huffington Post, focusing on issues relevant to Latinas, and she has appeared on NPR (National Public Radio), Univision, Telemundo and HITN.  Prior to her clinical and Latina empowerment work, Dr. Pérez was a Research Associate Professor at New York University School of Medicine, and the director of a satellite research clinic at the Silberstein Aging and Dementia Research Center.  She is a proud Columbia University alumna and a bilingual Dominican and native New Yorker, raised in Washington Heights.
	Mara Ferenandez is a Venezuelan girl from Spanish descendents lost in Miami, the melting pot of Latin America, after accomplishing her studies on communications was discovered by PRODU, editorial group that gave her the opportunity to grow as the Associate Publisher, Marketing and Sales Director of one of its specialized US Hispanic advertising newsletters, produ.com|Hispanic Publicidad.
	While attending Florida International University in Miami, the doors to the music industry opened for Robert Somoza. First came an internship at LARAS, and then came the opportunity of working in the Media Relations Department for Gloria and Emilio Estefan. This led him to work with such stars as Thalia, Julio Iglesias, Paulina Rubio, and Don Omar among others in different aspects of their careers. Robert doesn’t single himself out to one genre, he constantly has his eyes and ears open to what’s the next big trend using his intuition and the power of social media in today’s digitalworld.By doing so, he keeps learning and advancing his career within the Communications and Entertainment industry. At the moment, as founder and managing member of world clique, he molds to fit the client’s needs and wants by using his expertise in, as he states “Communications+Relations” to complete the goals set forth. His extensive experience and knowledge at a young age keeps him at the forefront of the Latin music industry.
	Linda Lopez (Marketing Director), joined House of Blues Entertainment/Live Nation in July 2011. She has coordinated marketing, sponsorship and publicity for tours including (Bunbury,Zoe, Belanova, Enanitos Verdes, Reyli, Chino y Nacho, Prince Royce). She directed the Latin marketing and publicity efforts for the launch of Carlos Santana’s residency at House of Blues at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas and also spearheaded the marketing for House of Blues Los Angeles’ first Latin Alternative Festival, which took place in July 2012. Her areas of expertise include marketing, sponsorship, publicity, national marketing alliances and tour routing.
	Olga Romero serves Southwest Airlines as the main Spanish Spokesperson. Additionally, Olga works closely with the Corporate Community Affairs and Grassroots and the Segment Marketing teams to develop effective and strategic communications plans targeted to the African American, Asian American Pacific Islander and Hispanic market internally and externally. As a corporate blogger, Olga is the voice of the Hispanic employees in the Company as well. Olga is also an active member of Southwest Airlines’ Diversity Council. Olga was assigned by the Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar to advise the 21st Century Conservation Corps Advisory Board on Hispanic outreach. Fast Company magazine named Olga, one of the top Hispanic marketers to watch in April 2011.
	As the Founder and Executive Director of the New York International Latino Film Festival, Calixto Chinchilla has made powerful and impactful progress for Latinos in the film industry. Founded in 1999, the festival realizes his dream to host an international festival that features domestic and international films by and/or about Latinos. Attracting over 100,000 attendees since its inception and garnering the attention of Hollywood and media from across the globe, the festival has quickly grown as the largest urban Latino film festival in the U.S. He has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, NY Times, Hollywood Reporter; as well as a speaker at Columbia University, The City College of New York’s Graduate Center, The Center For Communications and New York University’s Tisch School of The Arts…to name a few. Calixto received a photography scholarship and studied marketing at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology.
	XAVIER TURPIN, Director of Multicultural Marketing at Dunkin’ Brands Inc.For over twenty three years, Xavier has led various leading companies in their USA Multicultural and International marketing strategies and business development efforts.  His comprehensive executive experience in strategic business planning & executing, P/L management, sports sponsorship management, and all aspects of marketing has helped companies like Vertis Communications, Makita, Corona Clipper / Bellota, Fiskars and Hood Flexible Packaging increase their revenue by targeting emerging markets as well as new and growing demographics. Xavier is a bilingual and bicultural marketer with a career built in various industries and disciplines: retail, cpg, hardware, housewares, flexible packaging, media and advertising.  He has conducted business in every country in the Spanish-speaking world. He is a member of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) Multicultural & Diversity Committee.
	Hugo Pérez is a Sr. Vice President/Group Account Director at Zócalo Group, Omnicom’s Premier Word-of-Mouth Marketing Firm, where he is a lead strategist and client relationship manager. He also heads up the Hispanic marketing practice. Throughout his nearly two decades as a communications professional and storyteller, Hugo’s extensive client-side experience has allowed him to participate, create and lead programs in fast moving consumer goods, health and beauty, pharmaceuticals, education, entertainment, and pet care, among many others. An Emmy-award winner, he has vast experience across print, broadcast and the Internet. Most recently, as an independent film producer his short films Grande Drip and Knight to D7 have been official selections and winners at numerous festivals and have been featured at special screenings at Sundance.
	Maribel Ferrer, Media Relations Vice President for JPMorgan Chase, Florida and U.S. Hispanic. Maribel Ferrer manages media relations for Chase in Florida and leads Hispanic media relations for the bank. Before joining Chase earlier this year, Ferrer managed Hispanic communications programs and initiatives for top consumer packaged goods, insurance and communications companies at Fleishman-Hillard and co-lead the agency’s FH Hispania team. An award-winning professional, she contributed to campaigns for State Farm, Allstate, P&G and AT&T that earned industry recognition from AdAge, PRSA and PRWeek.
	Oswald M. Mendez, EVP, Chief Marketing Officer, MundoFOXOswald joined FOX International Channels as SVP, Lifestyle Entertainment for Latin American and U.S. Hispanic. His duties included development and marketing of relevant lifestyle entertainment for Utilisima, FIC’s women’s lifestyle channel for Latin America and U.S. Hispanic. Oswald also worked on launching the FOX Hispanic Media brand in the U.S. In his current duties as Chief Marketing Officer, Oswald is responsible for the MundoFOX brand and its articulation for both consumer and trade managing all aspects of paid, earned and owned media as well as community engagement.
	Anu Gunn -Musician / Filmmaker – As a musician, Anu has appeared on Vh1 Classic’s “Rock ‘n Roll Fantasy Camp” which “shattered viewing records” according to NY Post, “Gene Simmons Family Jewels” and The Style Network’s “Hot Guys Who Cook”.  His band has held the #1 position for over ten weeks on CDBaby charts. Anu has played guitar for Oscar & Grammy winning composer of Slumdog Millionaire, A.R. Rahman, during the composing of People Like Us, directed by Alex Kurtzman (screenwriter, Star Trek). •  As a filmmaker, he shot A. R. Rahman’s World Tour and released viral videos which have over 20 million views and increased Rahman’s facebook fans from 600K to 2.3 million in 4 months.  He has worked on over 400 projects ranging from Hollywood Blockbusters to award winning indies and won a Best Cinematographer & Best Editor award. AnuPhotography.com
	Ivette Rodriguez is the President and Founder of AEM, an Entertainment Marketing and PR firm. She was a Marketing and PR executive in the Record and Film Studio business for Arista Records, Columbia Tri Star and LIVE Entertainment. AEM has worked on Oscar nominated favorites Amores Perros, Y Tu Mamá También, Frida, Babel, Before Night Falls, The Motorcycle Diaries, Crash, Maria Full of Grace, and many more. On the Major Film Studio side, AEM has worked with Paramount, Disney, Lions Gate, Dreamworks, Sony, Warner Bros., and Fox.
	Nydia J. Sahagún, with a career spanning more than 13 years, currently leads the multicultural marketing efforts at Fortune 50 Corporation, Target. As senior manager, multicultural brand marketing, Nydia oversees the development of Target’s strategy to grow share and affinity with multicultural guests. In her previous role as multicultural marketing director at Sears Holding Corporation, Nydia shaped the go-to-market approach for the company’s Sears and Kmart brands. Nydia’s leadership role with company, in partnership with channel partners and the corporation’s business units, helped drive US Hispanic sales growth, as well as successful new product/program launches in both the Hispanic and African-American markets, including Sears and Kmart’s first Spanish-language websites, Steve Harvey and Casa Cristina celebrity partnerships, the ground-breaking Latina Smart platform and Madres y Comadres – the first brand-produced US Hispanic web-novela.
	Jose Villa is the founder and President of Sensis, a cross-cultural advertising agency with digital at its core. Jose founded Sensis as a Web development firm in 1998 and one of the first agencies focusing on the Hispanic digital market. He has since grown Sensis into a unique full-service ad agency – that takes a digitally-infused cross-cultural approach to the general market. Sensis clients include the U.S. Army, AARP, Cinelatino, and United Healthcare. Jose is an expert on cross-cultural marketing and advertising and considered a thought leader in Hispanic advertising. His thought provoking analyses of the Hispanic market are published regularly on MediaPost, AdAge, and his blog ThinkMulticultural.com. Jose is also a regular speaker at advertising conferences like SXSW, Hispanic Retail 360, and ad:tech, sharing his “in the trenches” experience reaching and engaging the ever-changing U.S. Hispanic market. Jose has an Economics degree from Harvard University and an MBA in Marketing from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.