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If one thing is clear as we start 2019, it's that America is changing. According to a Claritas report (registration required), in the United States today, there are 131 million multicultural Americans, making up 37.5% of the U.S. population, with Hispanics accounting for the largest portion at 19.6%.

Minority groups now represent the majority of the population in more than 400 U.S. counties. There can be no doubt that America is becoming multicultural and that Hispanics are a significant part of this change. READ MORE AT FORBES

Have you ever felt stressed at the thought of attending networking events, conferences and even holiday parties? Many people feel insecure, uncomfortable, often nauseated and dizzy before events—almost like stage fright.

Understanding networking fundamentals can ensure you become a better networker. What exactly is networking? To network is to interact with other people to exchange information and develop contacts. READ MORE AT WOMENSMEDIA

Do you need a new job, like, yesterday? Whatever your reasons for needing (or wanting) a new employer as quickly as possible, if you’re looking to kick your job search into overdrive there are a number of things you can do to speed things along.

While you may not have control over the timing on the employer’s side, by taking these steps you can significantly reduce the amount of time you spend on the job market and start enjoying life at your new work home. READ MORE AT BIOSPACE

In the midst of overheated debates about immigration and an ugly upsurge in nativism, it’s worth reminding ourselves that entrepreneurial immigrants make an outsized contribution to new business creation. And new and young companies are the primary source of job creation in the American economy.

The contributions of entrepreneurial immigrants have been well documented:

Immigrants are twice as likely to become entrepreneurs as native-born Americans.
As of 2016, first generation immigrant entrepreneurs represented 30% of all new entrepreneurs in 2016, up substantially from 13% in 1996. READ MORE AT FORBES

The holiday season tends to freeze up the hiring market because employers are more concerned with vacations, travel, and time off than they are about filling open positions. It's frustrating for people on the job hunt when the calls stop coming, and it seems companies that appeared interested have forgotten you entirely.

However, the end of the year also brings a new beginning. The HR department returns to their office, and hiring for open positions takes on new urgency. Now is the time to get back in front of the relevant people and remind them that you're a promising candidate who is still available for work. READ MORE AT MOTLEY FOOL

There is no doubt that the Hispanic market is an important one for any brand to tap into. But the only way for brands to reach Hispanic audiences successfully is to understand them, know who they are, where they spend their time, the platforms they visit most frequently and how they consume their content.

U.S. Hispanics currently have $1.7 trillion in purchasing power, a number that’s sure to rise in the years to come. Here are a few things about the Hispanic market that every brand should know.

1. Hispanics account for almost half of U.S. population growth. READ MORE AT FORBES

Veteran TV news anchor Tom Brokaw recently caused a stir when he admonished Hispanic-Americans to “work harder on assimilation” and to “make sure all their kids are speaking English.” Brokaw backpedaled after the uproar, but many will view his apology as forced. His comments have the unfortunate effect of perpetuating the myth that Hispanics aren’t assimilating into American society. READ MORE AT BLOOMBERG

The Tournament of Roses Association continues to make history by naming the first Latina — and third woman — to lead the organization in its 125-year history.

Laura Farber will lead the tournament for the 2019-2020 parade season and Rose Bowl college football game.

She replaces Gerald Freeny, the association’s first African-American president. READ MORE AT PASADENA WEEKLY

In 2017, one in every 10 Hawaii residents was Hispanic or Latino, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. While this number may seem small, it doesn’t provide the full picture of the rapid growth of Hawaii’s Latino population.

Standing at an estimated 159,737 in 2018, the Hawaii Latino population has increased over 80 percent since 2000. The bulk of the growth of the individuals of Hispanic or Latino origin took place between 2010 and 2018 as the increase over the 2000-2010 period was “just” 37.79 percent.

But wait, there’s more. That is, more Latinos in Hawaii. READ MORE AT HONOLULU CIVIL BEAT

At its core, networking is making a meaningful and valuable connection at multiple levels, including with the individuals networking and within the greater ecosystem they belong to. In other words, networking isn’t just about you. To see it that way is shortsighted. READ MORE AT FORBES

It seems that Latinos in this country are rediscovering their roots with wines. Taking into account the expected demographic growth, according to research studies by Rabobank, a global agro-industrial bank together with the Wine Institute, by the year 2033 it is expected that Latinos could buy 96.5 million boxes of wine. (The box includes 12 bottles of 750 ml).

The report indicates that this growth driven by Hispanics could represent up to 40% of the total growth in the total consumption of the category during the period between 2013 – 2033. READ MORE AT ABASTO NEWS

Read biographies of feature guests for the 2019 Diversity in Tech Forum being held 01/23 at Linkedin Chicago. 

MODERATOR

Salvador Maldonado, Account Manager, U.S. Hispanic Market, Google

Salvador Maldonado graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor’s degree in History and French. After graduation, he joined Google in Mountain View then shortly moved to Mexico City to join Google’s nascent Hispanic team. For the last 7 years, in Mexico City, then NYC and now Chicago, Salvador has been consulting with agencies and clients on digital strategies to reach multicultural audiences across Google’s platforms.

Outside of work, Salvador enjoys traveling, listening to music, spending time with his family and friends and used to dance ballet folklorico in college (Mexican traditional dances).

DISCUSSION PANELISTS

Jacqueline Rodriguez, Chief of Staff, Groupon

Jackie is the Chief of Staff to the Chief Operating Officer at Groupon. As a Chief of Staff, Jackie works together with the COO on critical global priorities and works closely with leadership team to facilitate their execution. Aside from her role as Chief of Staff, Jackie is the Chair and Co-Founder of Groupon’s Latinx Business Resource Group, Groupon for Latinos. In this role, Jackie and her team have helped facilitate Groupon’s first Super Bowl ad in Spanish and assisted in the execution of Groupon’s Discover Pilsen campaign, where businesses in the Pilsen neighborhood were highlighted for an entire week on email, app, and social media to encourage Chicagoans to support local businesses and communities.

After graduating from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a BA and Masters of Accounting Science and before beginning her career at Groupon, Jackie became a Certified Public Accountant and went to on to work as a Senior Auditor at Ernst & Young LLP--a professional services company specializing in auditing, technology and security risk. In her free time, she volunteers as a Wish Granter at Make a Wish Foundation, serves as a Big Sister for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America program. Jackie also loves to try new restaurants in the city, travel abroad, and watch social documentaries.

Troy McIntosh, Senior Director, Diversity and Inclusion, U.S. Cellular

Troy joined U.S. Cellular in 2016 to lead the organization’s Diversity and Inclusion practice. He currently leads U.S. Cellular’s Diversity & Inclusion Leadership Team overseeing strategy development and tactical implementation in the areas of diverse talent management, inclusion, inclusion, associate resource groups, government compliance and supplier diversity initiatives.

Prior to joining U.S. Cellular, Troy led Diversity and Talent Acquisition at Ingredion where he successfully re-designed the organization’s Global Talent Acquisition system and launched the company’s first Diversity & Inclusion strategy. Before joining Ingredion, Troy served as Director, Leader Development at Johnson Controls where he led the company’s global leader development initiative (iLead) aimed at developing the company’s 25,000 leaders. Troy has held various talent roles at Abbott Laboratories, United Airlines and Pactiv Corporation.

Troy holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology & Philosophy from the University of Notre Dame as well as a Master’s Degree in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago.

Samuel Garcia, Enterprise Business Manager, Linkedin

Samuel is an Enterprise Customer Success Manager, where he works with customers to empower their Sales Organizations and take some of their most critical initiatives like Efficient Prospecting, Building Stronger Relationships and Growing New Logo Acquisitions from inception to ROI. With over 10 years of technology experience in the financial, automotive, managed services industries and a focus on retaining and optimizing customers, Samuel has taken his talents to helping architect and on-board customers in the Enterprise SaaS space.

During his time at LinkedIn Chicago, he's become one of the Regional Office Leads for HOLA (Hispanics of LinkedIn Alliance) where he aligns with the mission of uniting LinkedIn employees and the Latino community to increase access to opportunity. Most recently the collective efforts of HOLA have allowed them to be recognized by Latina Style as one of "The 2018 Top 20 Employee Resource Groups of the Year".

A passion of Samuel's is community outreach primarily focused in Chicago's Pilsen, Back of the yards and La Villita neighborhoods. He serves as a Chaplain for the Cook County Department of Corrections where he mentors and advises inmates as they prepare to re-enter society. Other passions include working with his local church where he's served in missions to Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay & Mexico.

Danielle Dumerer, Chief Information Officer, City of Chicago

Danielle is CIO and Commissioner of the City of Chicago's Department of Innovation and Technology, where she is working to improve how residents interact with government by creating more responsive and accessible digital services.

Danielle brings over ten years experience in government tech, having served as the City’s CTO and leading data, digital inclusion, and other strategic initiatives. In 2016, Danielle and her team were recognized by the Chicago chapters of SIM and AITP as the Most Effective IT Team in a large company.

Prior to joining government, Danielle developed educational technology products at the McGraw-Hill Companies. She also worked in the Library and Archives field—serving educational and non-profit organizations to promote equitable access to and preservation of information resources.

Danielle holds a Master of Library and Information Science degree from the University of Maryland, College Park and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She lives in Chicago with her husband and daughter.

Oscar Ibarra, Team lead, Global Marketing Solutions, Facebook

Oscar is a dynamic, results-driven, sales leader. In his current role he is responsible for driving the strategy of Partner Management North America , consulting clients on Facebook's advertising best practices, and leading a team of dynamic sales professionals for Facebook's Partner Management Agency Business. Oscar is one of the Co-Leads of the Latin@FBCHI group, Facebook's LatinX ERG. Oscar has been in sales over 13 years. He has been in a Sales Leadership Role 5 out of the last 13 years. Prior to Facebook, Oscar was a Sales Leader for CareerBuilder where he was responsible for providing Human Capital Management solutions to his clients.

Oscar is a first generation Mexican American, born in Mexico City and raised on Chicago's Northwest Side. Oscar graduated from Lane Tech High School and went onto College of Dupage and North Park University where he was a student-athlete, he competed 4 years at the collegiate level for baseball. In his free time Oscar is actively involved with the Chicago Mudcats Sport and Social Club as the President of the board, running, working out, and spending time with his family.

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By the end of February, 46 ProMéxico offices around the world must cease all operations. Since 2007, this government agency was responsible for promoting trade, exports and internationalization of Mexican companies, a work that stood out by promoting the presence of dozens of Mexican companies in the most important food and beverage shows in the United States.

This decision to close ProMéxico was taken by the president of México Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who said that the embassies will now be in charge of promoting the country’s economy. READ MORE AT ABASTO NEWS

You've been there before. It's at the end of a conference. It's the morning before the keynote speech. It's during the lunch break. When it comes to networking, there's an unwritten code about what not to say. The next time you're at a networking event - whatever you do - make sure you don't get caught doing these 5 things:

1. Give a hard copy of your resume to everyone you meet. READ MORE AT FORBES

Organic product sales in the U.S. jumped almost 9% to more than $21 billion during the 52-week period ending Nov. 24, according to Nielsen data.

The top buying groups were millennials, who spent 14% more on organic foods and beverages compared to last year, and Hispanics, who spent in excess of 13% more on organics in 2018, the data noted. Other demographic groups were also buying more organics, but not at those levels. READ MORE AT FOOD DIVE

New federal numbers show the lowest unemployment rate on record for Hispanics and Latinos.

Nationwide, December’s rate dropped to 4.3 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“That’s a third of what it was in 2010, and its 0.6 percent lower than it was in December of 2017,” Phoenix economist Elliott Pollack said.

He credits a robust economy for lifting prospects for all ethnic groups and plenty of jobs regardless of education levels. READ MORE AT KTAR NEWS

When Avocados from Mexico wanted to drive awareness and sales with Hispanic consumers in the United States, the Texas-based marketing association teamed up with digital marketing firm Undertone to identify "Nuevas Latinas" and target them with interactive digital ads with a varied approach to language.

The audience comprised 25- to 44-year-old Hispanic consumers who speak both Spanish and English and are interested in the health benefits of food, as well as a tasty and convenient way to eat healthily. READ MORE AT MARKETING DIVE

There are enough challenges being a road warrior, so adding networking to your flight plan may seem like one activity too many while getting from A to B. As you prepare for takeoff, you wonder, should you say something to the person sharing the armrest?

The answer is yes, for a couple of reasons. First, acknowledging the person next to you is simply a polite thing to do. Second, an amazing connection can happen. For example... READ MORE AT BCBUSINESS

Carlos Garcia was three years into his first job in technology at Merrill Lynch when he first learned what a 401K retirement savings account was. He was floored when he learned that a colleague had already saved $30,000 in three years, and the company had matched it.

The concept of making money off money was foreign to Garcia, an MIT graduate who was born in Texas to immigrants from Mexico. His story is not uncommon among U.S. Hispanics, who lag behind other demographic groups when it comes to saving for retirement. READ MORE AT FINANCE & COMMERCE

Every January 1st we're all setting goals and intentions for the 12 months ahead and somehow every February most of us have already fallen off the wagon.

14 trailblazing Latinas — from founders to NASA engineers — share advice that have carried them through their careers and allowed them to push forward even when roadblocks hit. The goal with every new year isn't just to set goals, but to create habits that stick.

Here are 14 pieces of advice that will motivate you in 2019. READ MORE AT FORBES