Trenton, NJ-The Latino Leadership Alliance (LLANJ) held its quarterly meeting in northern New Jersey on Saturday, October 20, 2018 from 9am to 2:00pm.
The agenda included swearing-in new delegates to the Board of Delegates, including Frank Miquelli of Hudson County, Rev. John Muniz of Second Reformed Church in Jersey City, Rosa Vasquez Zaremba of the Mexican Alliance of New Jersey, Sara Batres of the Guatemalan Association of Trenton, and Sharon Hubberman from Perth Amboy.
President Nestor Montilla, Sr. presented to the Board his plans for the next statewide Latino Summit to take place in February 2019. The Summit, to convene major Latino groups in New Jersey, aims at discussing and strategizing on a collective nonpartisan action-plan for socio-economic and political development.
The agenda included the customary open session for the general public to address the Board of Delegates. At his campaign request, and as per LLANJ established practice, Mr. Bob Hugin, candidate for the US Senate, made a presentation to the LLANJ Board of Delegates with the purpose of seeking the endorsement of its Political Action Committee (LLA-PAC).
Mr. Hugin was afforded a 5-minutes presentation followed by a question and answer session. The approximately one hour-long session covered Mr. Hugin's position on a variety of issues of concern to LLANJ and the New Jersey's diverse Latino community, including, but not limited to, health care reform, prescription cost, pre-existent conditions, immigration reform, sanctuary cities, economic development, Latino political representation and education.
The Board of Delegates will be making a recommendation to LLANJ's Political Action Committee regarding endorsements in the upcoming midterm general elections.
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The Latino Leadership Alliance 402 Livingston Avenue · New Brunswick, NJ 08901. (732) 214-1166 www.llanj.org
NESTOR MONTILLA, SR. ELECTED PRESIDENT
OF
THE LATINO LEADERSHIP ALLIANCE OF NJ
Trenton, New Jersey, USA-The Latino Leadership Alliance (LLANJ) announces the election of Nestor Montilla, Sr. as president of its Board of Delegates.
With his election, Montilla becomes the third president of the LLANJ since its founding twenty years ago, when four hundred leaders from across the State of New Jersey convened at a conference that concluded with the creation of a civil rights advocacy organization dedicated to mobilizing, empowering and uniting underrepresented communities.
"I look forward to continue working with elected officials, delegates, members, friends and supporters of LLANJ in advocating for all people, regardless of differences, and in the mobilization, unification and empowerment of the diverse populations residing in New Jersey," said newly-elected President Montilla.
Along the past twenty-five years, Néstor Montilla Sr. has worked in higher education administration at The City University of New York (CUNY), serving as higher education associate in university and media relations, television producer, adjunct professor, associate director for international programs and community relations, director of public relations, director of government relations and external affairs. Currently, he holds a directorship in academic affairs.
Montilla's civic commitments and engagements include serving in the public sector as an appointed government official on NYC planning boards, and as an advocate in the nonprofit sector, nationally; as a researcher-in-residence at the Institute for Latino Studies; and as president, chairman and chief communications officer of national and statewide non-partisan, non-profit advocacy organizations, including the Dominican American National Roundtable (DANR), the National Dominican American Council (NDAC), and the Latino Leadership Alliance. In 2014, Mr. Montilla was an independent candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives seeking to represent NJ Congressional District 9.
Along the past decade, he and his wife Dr. Maria Teresa Montilla have spearheaded a myriad of multifaceted empowerment initiatives, including dozens of national and statewide conventions, external relations and communications programs, a Latino Leadership Academy to train new generations of leaders; advocacy for comprehensive immigration reform; national campaigns for fair political representation, and most recently, The Illustrious Research Project, which aims at documenting how diverse populations have contributed to the building and strengthening of the United States; the project includes a commemorative tribute journal, and an original film-documentary to be released in 2019.
Montilla conducts historical and contemporary research about the migratory experience in the Americas and has authored studies on presidential leadership and congress. Focusing on the power of storytelling, his research studies and film documentaries depict human interest stories of men and women whose contributions to society merit respect, admiration, preservation, and dissemination among present and future generations. Montilla's portfolio includes over 175 research stories, various publications, several original documentary films, and the conceptualization of a multiple Emmy award winning television series about Latinos currently produced by staff of The City University of New York's television station, Channel 75.
Mr. Montilla's academic and professional background includes studies law school studies at the East Central University, and both a bachelor's degree and a master of public administration with specialization in human resources and management from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He pursued doctoral studies with concentration in American government and public policy. At present, he is resuming his Ph.D. studies in public administration and political science.
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The LLANJ Board of Delegates' trimestral meeting will be on Saturday, October 20, 2018 at 9:30am
at Berkeley College 44 Riffle Camp Road, Woodland Park NJ.
Typically the agenda includes a public session and presentations by organizations, corporations, business owners, educators, government representatives, community leaders concerned about particular policy issues, and candidates running for office across the State of New Jersey.
To address the Board of Delegates, please send your request via llanj@mail.com
