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Juan Hernandez knows how to straddle Mexico and the U.S., and their two cultures.

The son of a Mexican father and a Texan mother, the keynote speaker at Saturday's sixth annual gala of the Greater Quad Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce shared tips on how both sides can more fully enrich an already diverse American melting pot.

"I believe this is an exceptional nation," said Dr. Hernandez, a Republican political analyst, consultant and author. "I also believe, for Hispanics, it's our time to be exceptional and our time to continue to make the United States of America be exceptional in this world," READ MORE AT QUAD-CITIES ONLINE

Dialing up on mobile marketing would likely behoove Hispanic-targeting brands, according to a new study from PricewaterhouseCoopers.

PwC’s new “Mi Móvil: Hispanic Consumers Embrace Mobile Technology” report polled 500 Hispanic and 500 non-Hispanic consumers in the U.S. While the mobile habits between the two demographics match up across a variety of different activities, the report indicates that the Hispanic community is more likely to access coupons and banking services through mobile devices, giving marketers some additional insights into how to best target these smartphone-wielding consumers. READ MORE AT ADWEEK

Anabel Monge, News Anchor, Telemundo Chicago

Anabel joined Telemundo Chicago in September 2014; previously Monge worked in San Antonio as a weekday and weekend news anchor and a general assignment reporter from 2008 to 2013. Prior to this, she worked in Sacramento as a general assignment reporter from 2007 to 2008. Monge was a general assignment reporter in Fresno, California from 2005 to 2007. She also worked as a general assignment reporter for NBC 9 in El Paso from 2004 to 2005. She began her career at NBC 9 in Midland, Texas as a general assignment reporter in 2002.

Monge is an Emmy award-winning journalist. She holds two bachelor’s degrees from New Mexico State University.

Hugo Chaviano, Director - Department of Labor, State of Illinois

Illinois governor Bruce Rauner has selected Hugo Chaviano, 62, to be the Director of the Illinois Department of Labor. Chaviano brings more than 35 years of legal experience to the job, including work as a mediator and arbitrator.

Chaviano is currently a senior partner for Sanchez Daniels & Hoffman, LLP, where he works on litigation cases in a number of areas including employment, contracts, transportation and torts. These cases have appeared before state and federal courts, regulatory agencies, and in arbitration and mediation. READ MORE AT THE ILLINOIS OBSERVER

Diana Palomar, Vice President, Community Affairs, ABC 7 Chicago

Diana Palomar is Vice President of Community Affairs for ABC 7 Chicago (WLS-TV). She helps guide the station’s public engagement efforts, which includes public service announcements and the internship program. She is also face of the station out in the general market serving as a conduit for information coming into the newsroom.

Working directly with non-profits and other community efforts involves assisting in their media/marketing/communications efforts, resource development and advocacy. Helping to tell their stories and create vehicles for awareness. As ABC 7’s representative she conveys the community’s issues and concerns to station management with the ultimate goal of facilitating better understanding between the two. Cultivating “community” spokespersons as resources and in general, better serving viewers with stories and programming reflective of our diverse viewership is among her priorities.

Born and raised in Chicago, she believes her alma mater, the University of Illinois at Chicago, provided her with the best educational experience with the added benefit of never having to leave her home and family!

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No one said looking for a job was easy, but if you keep certain advice in mind, it can be much easier to successfully land an opportunity. Rachel Elahee, psychologist and author of "Choose You! Reignite Your Passion For Life," offers the following suggestions adapted from the book to help you make the best choices during your job search:

1. Your life is not a democracy. “When it comes to the opinions of others, majority does not rule," Elahee says. "Let others' opinions remain their opinions only and not the linchpin that your life becomes contingent upon.”

While you may ask your colleagues, friends and family for advice and assistance, make sure they do not insert their agendas into your life without your approval. READ MORE AT U.S. WORLD & NEWS REPORT

Digital business has become a booming new frontier. But for Latinos, developing new tech companies is virtually an uncharted field.

While Latinos excel in the business world in say, opening a restaurant or building a brick and mortar company, Latino entrepreneurs don’t yet have much of a presence in the digital arena.

“They tend to open businesses two to three times faster, and make up about nine percent of businesses in the U.S. However, we do see decreased numbers when it comes to digital or technology,” said Denisse Olivas, director of the Center for Hispanic Entrepreneurship and marketing lecturer at UTEP

According to a 2014 report by Partnership for a New American Economy, between 1990 and 2013 the number of Hispanic entrepreneurs in the U.S. more than tripled from 321,000 to 1.4 million. Hispanic immigrants, many from Mexico, played a key role in this growth. READ MORE AT BORDERZINE

Networking has become a staple of the modern-day job search. In fact, many jobs these days can only be won through networking. It’s a vital skill to learn and one that could put you a step ahead of the pack.

But networking effectively means being able to find the perfect balance between online and offline networking. Here’s how.

Connecting through the web

We’re all familiar with how to manage our personal lives on social networks: post vacation photos the minute we land, “check in” at tonight’s restaurant of choice and accept friend requests from people we just met over the weekend.

Believe it or not, the same can be done with our professional online profiles, but using a different approach. READ MORE AT FINANCIAL POST

This time of year everyone comes out with lists of the biggest trends of the past year or bold predictions for the upcoming one. However, you can often forego bold predictions by paying close attention and adapting to big changes taking place right before our eyes.

Using this lens, here are eight seismic changes to the Hispanic market that occurred in 2014, with huge implications for how to engage Hispanics in 2015 and beyond:

1. Lower Growth Projected for U.S. Hispanic Population

The U.S. Census lowered previously published Hispanic population projections for 2050 by almost 30 million due to lower than expected Hispanic immigration. READ MORE AT MEDIAPOST

The start of the new year is traditionally a good time for hiring. Yes, this means that job seekers should refine their résumés. But your C.V. is just one of multiple ways job seekers should market themselves. I can think of 10 more off the bat.

I know what you’re thinking: 10 tools, in addition to a resume, sounds like a lot of work. However, many of these build on each other and support the answer to “Why should an employer hire you?” And that’s a question job seekers must answer confidently and convincingly. Here are the 10 things you’ve got to work on to help propel your search... READ MORE AT TIME.COM

Since 1980, the percentage of Americans who claim Hispanic heritage has grown from 6% to 17%. By 2040, Latinos will constitute roughly 24% of the population.

Many Democrats no doubt see President Obama’s executive actions on immigration as a step not only to address legitimate human needs, but their own political future. But perhaps a more important question is how these new Americans will fare economically.

We decided to look into which of America’s 52 largest metropolitan areas present Hispanics with the best opportunities. We weighed these metropolitan statistical areas by three factors — homeownership, entrepreneurship, as measured by the self-employment rate, and median household income — that we believe are indicators of middle-class success. READ MORE AT FORBES

Many companies still are struggling on how to reach the Hispanic market effectively and efficiently.

Some marketing executives still are not proactive enough to engage with this influential demographic, even though Hispanics will represent one in five Americans by 2020.

Some feel this audience is too complicated, so it may generate more work for them. Others feel that as their sales go down, they need to improve their performance in the general market first, in order to expand to other markets.READ MORE AT THE BIZ JOURNALS

Illinois governor Bruce Rauner has selected Hugo Chaviano, 62, to be the Director of the Illinois Department of Labor. Chaviano brings more than 35 years of legal experience to the job, including work as a mediator and arbitrator.

Chaviano is currently a senior partner for Sanchez Daniels & Hoffman, LLP, where he works on litigation cases in a number of areas including employment, contracts, transportation and torts. These cases have appeared before state and federal courts, regulatory agencies, and in arbitration and mediation. READ MORE AT THE ILLINOIS OBSERVER

Ruby Polanco, the Honduras-born founder of Ruby Makeup Academy, based in Temple City, California, came to America like hundreds of thousands of other immigrants--she was brought here as a child. "The transition from Honduras was very scary," says Polanco, who was just 12 years old when she arrived in the U.S. almost three decades ago. With her mother and two brothers, Polanco lived in Los Angeles, in a 300-square-foot apartment with no kitchen. School, she says, was "very hard on kids who didn't speak English." And the convoluted process of obtaining green cards--particularly challenging for immigrants from Central America--added to the family's sense of insecurity. At 17, Polanco was a pregnant high school dropout, married to a man she'd divorce a year later. READ MORE AT INC.

8 things your family should know in case of an emergency

Your own death or emergency situation isn’t the easiest thing to prepare for, but every mom should be prepared, especially if she’s parenting alone as a single mom.

Too often, we hide our fears and feelings so we can appear strong. We push aside that morbid question: What if something happened to me? What would my family do? Would they know what I want, what my children’s needs are, or even where the keys for my second car are located?

Two of my sons are already adults, but we haven’t talked about my wishes or about who can help them in the event that something should happen to me. READ MORE AT MOM.ME

Despite challenges, a top education group said the national data on Latino students is encouraging and shows solid growth.

"The conversation about Latinos and education is often very deficit-based, where we're English language learners, we're high school dropouts, and we're illegal immigrants," Deborah Santiago, vice president at Excelencia in Education and author of a new report, told NBC News. "While we still have to address those important issues in our country, the profile of Latinos is one of asset opportunities, growth, improvement and education potential."

The report, "The Condition of Latinos in Education: 2015 Factbook," released by Excelencia in Education, paints a more accurate profile of Latino students, one spotlighting achievement and countering misperceptions and myths. READ MORE AT NBC NEWS

For the first time ever in the Chicago area, the Women’s Business Development Center (WBDC) headquartered here is launching a leadership and entrepreneurial comprehensive training program for Latina business owners.

Focused on four key areas – leadership, mentoring, volunteerism and strategic business planning – the Latina Entrepreneurial Accelerated Development (LEAD) Program kicks off February 11 with a three-day opening retreat to build peer-to-peer connections and set the stage for the 12-month program.

“We have had a Latina Business Program for over a decade, and now we’re shifting the focus to provide relevant and targeted programming in a closed group setting to established business owners poised for growth,” says WBDC President and CEO Emilia DiMenco.

Structured in three phases – planning, activation and assessment – the program will provide participants with connections to non-profit and Latino business leaders in the Chicagoland area to further their community commitment and business development.

Participation is limited to 25 Latina business owners headquartered in Illinois who have at least two employees and have been in operation for two years or more. Funded through Discover Financial and UPS, the program will be offered two to three times throughout 2015. Additional dates to be announced online.

The statistics support the WBDC’s efforts to implement this unique training program.  According to an American Express OPEN report issued in 2014, firms owned by Latina women number an estimated 1,033,100, employing 433,600 workers, and generate an estimated $71.1 billion in revenue. In Illinois, there are an estimated 23,900 Latina-owned firms generating $1.7 billion in revenues.

To learn more about the LEAD program, visit www.WBDC.org or contact the WBDC at 312.853.3477.

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The popular image of the entrepreneur as highly independent and self-reliant has been romanticised to the point where you could be forgiven for thinking of them as a type of superhuman. The problem with this generalisation, however, is that most of them are just ordinary people with a big idea, and the notion that they never turn to others for help and reassurance is simply not the case.

While an independent spirit, confidence and a thick skin are essential components of any successful entrepreneur, having the humility to recognise when you need help and looking to your peers for support can be equally important for any small business owner. Failure to recognise this could be damaging to your business, your health and even your personal relationships. READ MORE AT THE GUARDIAN

About an hour south of Silicon Valley in a classroom at Hartnell Community College, Daniel Diaz and Brian De Anda stand at a whiteboard mapping out ideas on how to reduce the size of a mobile app their team is building.
This isn't a class, and the app they're building an informational guide for a drug rehab center isn't even a school project. But this is what it takes to have a chance at an elite summer internship, says Daniel Diaz.

"What you are taught at school is not enough," Diaz says, "especially in today's competitive society. I think you need to do some more outside learning."

So these students are working on other apps, doing hackathons and learning additional programming languages outside of class. They're doing it because there's a thought perhaps a reality that hangs over them: They're underdogs. READ MORE AT GPB NEWS

Eighteen years is a classic indicator of validity in America. It's a rite of passage into adulthood, marking a new level of freedom and influence in our society.

So when one million Hispanics are projected to turn 18 in this year, that's a critical mass - at a critical age - that should not be overlooked. Their influence will transcend all aspects of American life, across culture, business and politics.

Culture
Hispanic Millennials are natural trendsetters and early adopters across American culture. From Jennifer Lopez and Sofia Vergera, to Pit Bull and Selena Gomez, Hispanic celebrities are mainstream American icons that transcend race to set the tone for our cultural preferences. In the case of Hispanic Millennials, this celebrity heavily impacts their personal preferences, as they over-index for direct contact with authors, artists and brands through social media. READ MORE AT HUFFINGTON POST

If you've been waiting for the economy to improve before switching jobs, you may be feeling that now is a good time to make the leap. Last week I provided counsel for reviewing that decision, to ensure you're not leaving a job that can be improved.

This week I'll continue the theme, with tips for conducting a job hunt while you're still employed. But first, let me address a myth I frequently hear, that employers prefer to hire someone who is currently employed.

To be honest, I simply haven't seen this borne out in practice. The fact is, both job searching and staffing are complex projects that don't pair neatly with simplistic axioms. READ MORE AT TWIN CITIES PIONEER PRESS

Hispanics work harder to secure their financial futures, compared to the general population, according to a MassMutual survey.

Hispanics are more invested in their financial future compared to the general population, with 61% leaving the well-being of their finances up to chance, versus 65% of the general population. The survey from Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company revealed that 42% of Hispanics are likely to carefully research and plan every detail of their retirement, and 38% are likely to work at their retirement plan until they believe it is perfect.

“It shows that Hispanics are invested in their future,” says Chris Mendoza, vice president, multicultural market development at MassMutual. “They recognize the many facets of financial security – value planning and research – more than the general population. They are closing the gap, but still need knowledgeable guidance to help ensure financial stability and informed decision-making.” READ MORE AT PLANSPONSOR