Biographies for HESTEC 2015 Participants 1 CONGRESSIONAL DINNER MASTER OF CEREMONIES José Díaz-Balart Host “The Rundown with José Díaz-Balart” José Díaz-Balart is the host of "The Rundown with José Díaz-Balart" weekdays from 9-11 a.m. ET in addition to anchoring two programs on Telemundo, “Enfoque con José Díaz-Balart” and “Noticiero Telemundo.” Díaz-Balart began his career in 1984 and has since become one of the most respected voices in Hispanic journalism in the United States. Over the past 30 years, he has witnessed and reported historic events for prestigious news media such as NBC News and Telemundo. His achievements include being the only journalist to serve as news anchor on two national television networks in Spanish and English on the same day for an entire season. He has received numerous accolades for his work, including the George Foster Peabody Award, Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Award, and the Broadcasting & Cable/Multichannel News 2012 Award for Outstanding Achievement in Hispanic Television. Most recently he was honored with the 2014 Life Achievement Award by the Hispanic Federation and the Communications Award by the National Council of La Raza (NCLR). Follow him on Twitter @jdbalart. CONGRESSIONAL DINNER SPEAKER Richard H. Garcia Mayor Richard H. Garcia is a Federal Criminal Law Attorney and a senior partner with an established law firm. A native of Edinburg, Mayor Garcia graduated from Edinburg High School in 1964 and continued his education at the University of Texas-Pan American and received a Juris Doctorate at Texas Southern University in Houston. He served as Edinburg Municipal Judge from 1975-1978 and was a County Court of Law Judge for 16 years. Garcia served as chair of the Texas Border Coalition twice and is proud to have been appointed to serve on the Texas Adult Probation Commission. He is currently the President of the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation. He is married to Myra C. Garcia and they have five children, Gina, Katherine, Chelsea, Daniel and Carlos, a son in law Daniel, as well as two grandsons, Richard Xavier Perez and William Alexander Perez. 2 CONGRESSIONAL DINNER SPEAKER Dr. Eduardo Cancino Deputy Director for Instructional, School Improvement, and College Readiness Support Region One Education Service Center Dr. Eduardo Cancino has been an educator for 27 years and currently serves as Deputy Director for Instructional, School Improvement, and College Readiness Support at Region One Education Service Center with expertise in curriculum alignment, data-driven instruction, effective instructional and intervention approaches, and systemic continuous improvement strategies. Region One Education Service Center services 37 school districts and ten charter school systems with a combined enrollment of approximately 420,000 students and is one of twenty ESC’s in Texas. In this position, Dr. Cancino has provided leadership over the past four years for the Office of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, the Office of School Improvement, Accountability, and Compliance, the Laredo Extension Office, and the Brownsville Extension Office towards supporting high quality school district support leading to enhanced levels of academic achievement by all students. Prior to this leadership position, Dr. Cancino served as Superintendent of Schools for the Hidalgo Independent School District from 2007 - 2009. Prior to being Superintendent, he served as Associate Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, and Executive Director for Teaching and Learning in Hidalgo ISD since July 2000. Dr. Cancino has provided leadership for improvement initiatives to support high quality education for all students including Hidalgo Early College High School, Full day Pre-K 3 and 4, Dual Language Program, Parent Literacy Academies, Summer Educator Business Internship Program, and Dual Language Programs. Dr. Cancino also served for three years as a District level administrator for the McAllen ISD where he instituted a district-wide student evaluation system to monitor learning on an ongoing basis and a systemic professional development approach to improve teacher effectiveness. He also served as a secondary mathematics teacher for eight years in the Edinburg CISD where he was instrumental in initiating an Advanced Placement program that earned both state and national recognition. Dr. Cancino’s educational service began in the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD as a secondary mathematics teacher for Migrant and English Language Learner students. Dr. Cancino has been invited to share in successful practices for Hispanic students at local, state and national conferences by organizations such as U.S. Department of Education, White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans, U.S. Dept. of Ed. Office of English Language Acquisition, Education Trust, Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, National Association of Latino Elected Officials, Communities Foundation of Texas, and several other organizations. At the professional level he currently serves on the Board of the South Texas Association of Schools, Texas Association of Mid-Size Schools, and Texas Workforce Commission. He also has served on advisory councils for the Education Commission of the States, Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities - Hispanic Serving School Districts, and Junior Achievement Hispanic Initiative. Dr. Eduardo Cancino received a BA in Mathematics, MS in Mathematics Education, M.Ed. in Educational Leadership, and Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Texas - Pan American. 3 CONGRESSIONAL DINNER, LATINA DAY AND COMMUNITY DAY SPEAKER Veronica Gonzales Vice President for Governmental and Community Relations The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Veronica Gonzales is a native of San Marcos. She learned firsthand the importance of education when she became the first in her family to go to college. She graduated cum laude from Southwest Texas State University in 1986 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Spanish. She later earned her Doctorate of Jurisprudence from the University Of Texas School Of Law in 1991. Upon graduating from law school, she moved to McAllen and spent two decades building an acclaimed career as an attorney. Until, July, 2012, she was a name partner in the law firm of Kittleman, Thomas & Gonzales, L.L.P. and in 2008, she was recognized as one of 30 “Extraordinary Woman in Law” by Texas Lawyer. For four consecutive years, she was named a Super Lawyer by The Texas Super Lawyers. In 2004, voters in the McAllen, Mission, Edinburg and Alton area elected Veronica Gonzales to serve as the first female representing District 41 in the Texas House of Representatives. She was re-elected three times, and in her eight years in the Texas House, earned numerous accolades and was appointed to several leadership positions, including Secretary of the State Democratic Caucus, “freshman of the year” by the Mexican-American Legislative Caucus and Secretary and Legal Counsel of the Mexican-American Legislative Caucus. Veronica earned a new title in the 2009 session when Speaker of the House Joe Straus appointed her as Chairman of the Border & Intergovernmental Affairs Committee, only one of 34 chairs out of 150 members. Recognizing her leadership on border and security issues, the Speaker also appointed her to the National Conference of State Legislators' Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Taskforce. In addition, Veronica has served in state and national leadership organizations such as the Aspen-Rodel Fellowship, which each year chooses only 12 Democrats and 12 Republicans nationwide to participate in its Public Leadership Program and on the Board of Directors of the Texas Lyceum Association, a statewide leadership organization. Healthcare issues in the Rio Grande Valley are of great concern to Veronica and for three legislative sessions, she sat on the Public Health Committee, giving her a key decision-making role on issues affecting the public’s health, like disease prevention, medical licensing and access to care. Addressing the health care needs in South Texas led Gonzales to pass legislation to increase up to $165,000.00 the amount of loans forgiven for doctors who agree to practice in Health Professional Shortage Areas like the Rio Grande Valley. The measure earned her the "Legislative Champion Award" from The Texas Association of Community Health Centers, the "Patient Advocacy Award" from the Texas Academy of Family Physicians, as well as and praise from several medical and health care organizations. In September 2010, the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce named Veronica one of eight "Ultimate Latinas" in the nation, recognizing her legislative achievements that benefit the business community. In March 2011, Veronica received the “Voice of the People” award from the Rio Grande Valley Equal Voice Network. 4 In 2012, Veronica was named a “Woman of Distinction” by the Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce (TAMACC). That same year, she was named a Distinguished Alumni by Texas State University as well as by the alumni association of San Marcos High School. In 2013, Veronica was inducted into the Rio Grande Valley’s Walk of Fame, having been nominated by the City of McAllen. In July, 2012, Veronica took a retirement from the practice of law to assume the position of Vice President for University Advancement at the University of Texas-Pan American. In this role, Veronica oversaw fundraising, marketing, public affairs and alumni relations