On November 17th and 18th, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) will host a two-day virtual convening tackling two topics that continue to have a significant impact on the lives of Latinxs and everyone in this country: health and tech. During the Fall Summits, stakeholders and decision makers will work together to find solutions to health and tech challenges. They will dig deep into just how intertwined our lives are to health and tech policies and practices and have dialogue around how to create a healthier and more technologically savvy future for us all.

There will be a diverse panel of presenters including Dr. Leticia Ferri, Executive Director, Worldwide Medical Cardiovascular at Bristol Myers Squibb, who also serves on Greater Trenton’s Board of Directors. Visit this link for registration and detailed information: https://chci.events/2021fallsummits.

Before CHCI was envisioned, five Hispanic Members of Congress—Herman Badillo (NY), Baltasar Corrada (PR), E. “Kika” de la Garza (TX), Henry B. Gonzalez (TX), and Edward Roybal (CA)—organized the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) in 1976. The Caucus was originally formed to serve as a legislative organization through which legislative action, as well as executive and judicial actions, could be monitored to ensure the needs of Hispanics were being met.

In 1978, four members of CHC, U.S. House of Representatives: Edward Roybal, E. “Kika” de la Garza, Robert “Bobby” Garcia (PR), and Baltasar Corrada established a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization to serve as an educational institute whose programs would serve the national Hispanic community. In October 1981, new federal regulations stipulated that all fundraising activities were to be moved from all government premises. So the decision was made to maintain a legislative support organization on Capitol Hill, the CHC, and move the non-profit, fundraising organization, CHCI, to a new home.

CHCI’s Board of Directors was expanded to include influential Hispanic business leaders in 1985. These leaders served in the private sector and communities across the country. Together, with the Hispanic Members of Congress, brought policy-related knowledge and experience at the local, state, and national levels to CHCI. This vast set of resources, coupled with the expertise of the Institute’s staff resulted in programs designed to offer leadership development training and access for talented young Latinos, as well as the opportunity to enter and positively impact a wider range of professional areas.