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When DePaul was founded in 1898, women and students of Jewish background were admitted, even though other universities would not admit those students without a quota. By admitting students of different backgrounds from the start, the university has shown how its diversity values have always aligned with its Vincentian values, according to Interim Assistant Vice President for Diversity José Perales.

DePaul’s commitment to diversity is part of what has led the university to receive its first-ever Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) award.

While Perales said the award is one in which he is proud, he still does not think it means there is not room for improvement. READ MORE

While the number of African American, Latino and women consumers of Internet and broadband products and services is rising, their numbers at the major Silicon Valley companies continue to lag way behind. After years of resisting disclosure, tech giants such as Apple, Facebook, Yahoo and Google recently released their employment diversity numbers. As we’ve long suspected, they show a striking lack of inclusion.

According to published figures, at Google, 3 percent of its staff are Hispanic and 2 percent are Black. Both Yahoo and Facebook reported that Hispanics and Blacks make up 4 percent and 2 percent of their workplaces, respectively. When Apple makes an announcement, as in its recent introduction of the iPhone 6, it usually wants the world to stand up and take notice. READ MORE

If there is one lesson you’ve learned from your job search, it's that you should have done a better job keeping in touch with your past colleagues. Building a network from scratch is hard work, but you don’t have to start over. Just follow these suggestions to maintain your connections so they will be there the next time you need them:

1. Recognize the value your network offers. In order to feel motivated to stay in touch, you have to understand the "why" behind the logic. Wouldn’t it be great to hear about a job while employed? This is always the best-case scenario, and it will only happen if your contacts remember you and what your expertise is.

2. Schedule time on your calendar. There’s the old saying: “That which gets scheduled gets done.” It's easy to feel overwhelmed when you get so busy mastering your new job. Cut yourself some slack those first few months, but get right back to networking. Put time on your schedule every month to reach out to your contacts or attend a professional association meeting. READ MORE AT U.S. News & World Report

As we enter the second open enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act this fall, attention will inevitably turn to driving enrollment among the so-called “young and healthy” segment of 18- to 34-year-old consumers, many of whom are Hispanics. It has been well documented that the initial rollout of the ACA in the fall of 2013 saw early challenges in enrolling “young and healthy” Hispanics. Numerous studies and news reports identified three key challenges to Latino enrollment:

• Lack of trust 
• Lack of awareness (Commonwealth Fund survey)
• Need for one-on-one education, READ MORE AT MEDIAPOST

The demand for jobs in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math is growing and those areas are projected to add as many as 1 million jobs by 2022, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Connecting young Hispanics, one of the fastest-growing demographic groups in America, to those jobs is critical to the success of America's role as a leading innovator—and also to the success of the economy.

"It's not actually about altruism, it's completely about our economic future," said Cecilia Muñoz, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, at an Atlantic/National Journal event underwritten by Microsoft on Hispanic millennials in STEM fields on Thursday. "We can't hope to have the kind of economic growth that the president is shooting for, that we're all aiming for, if we're not adequately preparing the students who are coming up today." READ MORE AT NATIONAL JOURNAL

Hispanics are starting and growing more businesses than all other ethnic groups, according to a study released today by Geoscape, a leading provider of business intelligence technology, data and analytics, and published in partnership with the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

The Hispanics in Business 2014 study details the impact of Hispanic businesses ownership, entrepreneurship and wealth. It contains data sourced from Geoscape, the U.S. Census, Nielsen Scarborough, the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity. The results were formally unveiled at The USHCC National Convention, taking place this week in Salt Lake City. READ MORE ON BROADWAY WORLD

A tiny fraction of the 54 million Latinos in the U.S. are in Utah, yet U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Javier Palomarez said the state is the perfect place for the Latino business group to hold its annual convention this week.

"We are going into places we have been thought to not heretofore have existed,” said Palomarez, who said his organization has previously taken the conference to cities like Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles and Miami, which he described as hotbeds for the Hispanic community and enterprises. READ MORE ON NBC NEWS

Telemundo Chicago announced today that Anabel Monge has been named co-anchor for “Noticiero Telemundo Chicago” at 5 PM and 10 PM. Monge, who will join Telemundo Chicago in October, will team up with co-anchor Alfonso Gutierrez, meteorologist Maricela Vazquez and a dynamic team of reporters to deliver local breaking news and the latest information about issues affecting the Hispanic community in the Chicago metropolitan area.

“We are very excited to welcome Anabel to Telemundo Chicago,” said Diana Maldonado, Vice President of News. “Anabel’s vast journalistic experience, which has earned her various Emmy awards, will make her an excellent addition to our news team and help us serve our Hispanic community with the best news coverage possible.”

“This is a very exciting time in my career and I am thrilled to join Telemundo Chicago,” said Monge. “I am honored to have this opportunity and look forward to making Chicago my new home and providing the best local breaking news for our Spanish-language viewers.”

Previously, Monge worked at Univision 41 in San Antonio as a weekday and weekend news anchor and a general assignment reporter from 2008 to 2013. Prior to this, she worked at Univision 19 in Sacramento as a general assignment reporter from 2007 to 2008. Monge was a general assignment reporter for Univision 21 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.

Telemundo Chicago
Telemundo Chicago / WSNS is Telemundo’s local television station serving the Spanish-speaking community throughout the Chicago metropolitan area. Owned by NBCUniversal, Telemundo Chicago produces two daily award-winning newscasts every weekday, featuring local news, weather, sports and entertainment and sports updates. Additionally, the station broadcasts a weekly local entertainment show, Acceso Total, and a monthly public affairs show, Enfoque. Telemundo Chicago also delivers its viewers the most up-to-date headlines across a variety of digital platforms, including a dedicated local website, TelemundoChicago.com and mobile and social media channels.

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Contact:
Juan Orta, Telemundo Chicago
312-836-3036
juan.orta@nbcuni.com

“I don’t feel comfortable in large groups in which I don’t know anyone.”

“I don’t care about getting on the rubber chicken circuit and listening to boring programs.”

“When I’m in a room full of accomplished people, I feel small and unimportant, because I’m unemployed.”

Perhaps one of these attitudes rings true for you. Whether you are currently working or not, there are dozens of reasons you might not want to get out of your house and make the effort to meet new people.

However, if you are serious about advancing your career, bear in mind that somewhere around 80 percent of jobs are not obtained through blind online résumé submissions or recruiters, but rather through networking. And we are now in prime networking season! READ MORE

What better way to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month than to highlight the work of several Latinos dedicated to preserving key aspects of our nation's heritage, history and culture? Here's a look at their fascinating work.

Tony Hernandez

“Everyone has a story,” explained Tony Hernandez, who has interviewed celebrities, CEOs, teachers, and farmworkers, all with one thing in common - they have immigrated from different places around the world to the U.S. His Immigrant Archive Project , which he started in 2008, has collected over 1,000 interviews which have been edited into 60-second capsules and subsequently aired on television and radio. READ MORE

National Hispanic Heritage Month began this week to celebrate Latinos and their culture and history. Started as Hispanic Heritage Week in 1968 by President Lyndon Johnson, it was expanded to a month by President Ronald Reagan and enacted into law in 1988. Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica celebrated their independence days Monday followed by Mexico today and Chile on Thursday.

Here are 11 facts that look at Latinos in the U.S. by age, geography and origin groups.

1The U.S. Hispanic population now stands at over 54.1 million, making them the nation’s second-largest racial or ethnic group. Today Hispanics make up 17% of the U.S. population, up from 5% in 1970.

2People of Mexican origin account for two-thirds (34 million) of the nation’s Latinos. Those of Puerto Rican origin are the next largest group at 4.9 million (with another 3.5 million on the island of Puerto Rico). There are five other Hispanic origin groups with more than 1 million people each: Cubans, Salvadorans, Dominicans, Guatemalans and Colombians. READ MORE

Maria Elena Ponticiello, Lead Anchor, "Acceso Total", Entertainment Reporter, Telemundo Chicago

Maria Elena Ponticiello is the lead anchor in the weekly entertainment show, “Acceso Total” and Entertainment Reporter for 5pm and 10pm new at Telemundo Chicago.

In 1998, Maria Elena migrated to Chicago and began teaching Spanish at Northwestern University, until she restarted her on air career at Telemundo Chicago.

In 2009, Maria Elena won an Emmy for best producer and reporter for the “Telemundo Autoshow 2009”
In 2010, Maria Elena won an Emmy for best production and video for the show “Telemundo Autoshow 2010”
In 2011, Maria Elena, won an Emmy for Outstanding Achievement for Arts/Entertainment Programming - Program/ Special/Series/Feature/Segment- Acceso Total Chicago.
In 2011, Emmy for Outstanding Crafts Achievement for On-Camera Talent - Program Host/Moderator/Contributor-Acceso Total Chicago.

Maria Elena Ponticiello was born in Mexico City, Mexico and graduated with honors from the Universidad Anahuac del Norte.

Litza Mavrothalasitis, President, Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois

Spiridoula "Litza" Mavrothalasitis is an Assistant Inspector General with the Office of Executive Inspector General for the Agencies of the Illinois Governor, investigating allegations of fraud, misconduct, and waste by state employees and agencies. Previously, she practiced litigation at the law firms of Jenner & Block LLP and DLA Piper LLP. She has experience handling Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigations and matters involving ERISA, employment, breach of contract, insurance, and tort claims. She also has experience consulting with case teams on e-discovery. Litza was heavily involved with pro bono work at both firms, working on various matters, including anti-immigrant ordinance challenges, a domestic dispute, a motion to reconsider sentencing, and arguing a habeus corpus appeal before the Illinois Supreme Court. Litza also served on Jenner & Block's Pro Bono Committee.

Litza has been involved with the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois ("HLAI") in various roles over the years and has served as an Officer of HLAI as Membership Secretary (2011-2013), President-Elect (2013-2014), and, now, as the current President. Litza is a member of the 2014 Magistrate Judge Merit Review Panel for the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Illinois. In addition, since 2009, she has served as an appointed member of the Supervisory Committee of the Consumers Credit Union.

Litza graduated from the University of Michigan Law School where she served as President of the Latino Law Students Association and was an Executive Articles Editor for the Michigan Journal of Race & Law. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Economics and French Minor from Northwestern University. Prior to practicing law, she was an Associate in KPMG's Corporate Finance group working on mergers, acquisitions, and financings for middle market companies, with a focus on health care and medical devices.

Sonia Salazar, Board Chair, Mujeres de HACE

Ms. Salazar-Del Real has over eighteen years experience working directly with Hispanic families helping them make financial decisions related to banking, loan products, income tax preparation, and home ownership. She first started her career in financial services as a teller in her childhood neighborhood of South Chicago and shortly thereafter she was encouraged to obtain her IL Real Estate license and subsequently opened her own brokerage office in Northwest Indiana. Like many other real estate professionals after the mortgage crisis in 2008, Ms. Salazar-Del Real reconfigured her career path but maintains an active Illinois brokers license and occasionally helps close friends and family who pursue the American Dream.

During the mortgage crisis, Ms. Salazar-Del Real began what she likes to refer to as her ‘ministry’ of working with urban college bound students all across the city’s southwest side and shortly thereafter founded Christi Consulting, LLC. It’s mission is to empower and encourage all first generation college bound youth to matriculate and graduate from college debt free. She recently concluded her first college administration post in Latino Affairs at Chicago State University and is now working with CPS’ third largest high school (Curie Metro) to ensure student career paths and college matriculation.

She attributes much of her determination and perseverance to the tools and resources provided by Mujeres de HACE- a national women’s leadership program geared to empower high potential Latinas seeking to obtain managerial roles or above. Mujeres de HACE has chapters in Houston, TX, Washington DC, and New York City. Ms. Salazar-Del Real serves as the Advisory Board Chair for Mujeres de HACE in Chicago.

Born and raised in Chicago’s Southeast side, Ms. Sonia Salazar-Del Real is the daughter of Mexican immigrants, the oldest of three siblings, and the parent of two college age children. She is the first in her immediate family to graduate from college earning a BA in Business Leadership from DePaul University.

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People agree that one of the best ways to find and create the perfect business connections is to build relationships with the right individuals. But, what if you don’t even know who they are? One of the better ways to find and cultivate those connections is through networking.

You may be thinking that you hate the schmoozing or you are not effective at networking events or you don’t know what to say. Here are three concepts that might help.

Have lower expectations. We have all met someone at an event who has 30 business cards in hand with the intention of giving every one of them away! If the networking portion of the occasion is 30 minutes — that is one minute per person to make a positive first impression! Therefore, that minute probably will be all about me! READ MORE AT RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL

Diversity doesn’t happen easily. It is slow progressive change.

The pundit who asks, “why don’t they just hire more _____,” fails to understand the fiscal constraints in which media companies operate under. Newsroom budgets continuously contract in the ever-changing new technology economy.

But even when companies do have jobs to offer, too frequently they resort to the old tried and true method of counting heads and, in the rush to fill slots with people of color, end up hiring the wrong candidate. Hiring strategies of this type often leave the truly qualified diverse candidates out in the cold.

The biggest challenge facing diversity in media is changing the corporate culture.

If the hiring managers in charge of changing the workplace environment see diversity only as a societal directive to “do the right thing” then they miss the real opportunity inherent in hiring people of color: It helps increase revenue. READ MORE AT BORDERZINE

Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept 15-Oct. 15) is a memorable time for Hispanics and a great business opportunity for your company. You can create some big promotions around it that can generate a strong buzz for your business.

This celebration starts on Sept. 15 with the anniversary and independence of five Latin American countries — Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico declared its independence on Sept. 16, and Chile on Sept. 18.

Hispanic Heritage Month recognizes and celebrates the Latino culture and heritage, as well as the contributions U.S. Hispanics have made to the nation. For example... READ MORE ON ORLANDO BUSINESS JOURNAL

Ah, the dream job. Just as work has been reshaped by technology and globalization, so too have our professional fantasies. While jobs atop the corporate ladder haven’t totally lost their luster, more and more Americans are seeking work-life balance. And now that leaner, recession-tested firms are hiring again, they’re looking for something different too. Given the new landscape, we asked a few ­experts—­career coaches, headhunters, and recruiters—to weigh in with their best, most relevant tips for today. The old rules still ­apply—network, network, network!—but here’s the latest on how... READ MORE ON FORTUNE

Data indicates that Latinos care more about the environment than non-Hispanic populations in the U.S. Because of this, Latinos possess the ability to transform environmental policy on a scale that has never before been seen in this country.

This much will be discussed amongst experts at the Americas Latino Eco-Festival panel, “Why Environmentalism Matters to Latino Americans and Why We Are the Solution and Not the Problem,” on Saturday, Sept. 13 at 12 p.m. at The Dairy Center.

Latinos care more about water, air and land conservation, ending tax breaks for oil and gas companies, protecting against wildfires and drought, and creating national parks and monuments, according to several polls and studies including those from the Sierra Club and the Latino Sustainability Institute. READ MORE AT BOULDER WEEKLY

The United States is often dubbed “a nation of immigrants.” But lately the path to American citizenship has been a rough road, especially for an increasing number of Hispanics. Whether they’ve entered U.S. borders lawfully or otherwise, many have felt the sting of marginalization, racism and discrimination in every kind of social environment. And despite the unfriendly welcome, they’re as motivated as ever to put down roots in American soil in order to find better opportunities and improve their lives.

For Hispanics who’ve successfully integrated into American society, they also have managed to contribute significantly to the economy. Their collective impact is reflected in the growing quantity of Hispanic-owned businesses in the country, which stood at 3.1 million in 2013. Together, they hauled in an estimated $486 billion in revenue, as reported by Geoscape and the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Even the estimated 11.7 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. bestow net positive gains on the national economy over time. READ MORE AT LAREDO SUN

Networking is an art and it not easy. It certainly is not everyone’s cup of tea. To be clear, I am talking about face-to-face, in-person interactions. Social networking is all the craze right now and it is a viable networking tool but there are so many imminent clear benefits of live interaction that I feel is necessary to share today.

As I think about the #CMWorld conference next week, I squeal with excitement with the opportunity to network with many new people. When you break down the art of networking there are some important skills to master.

Here is a list of a few that I believe are important for making an “in-person” connection and lasting impression.

1. Ask a lot of questions... READ MORE AT BUSINESS2COMMUNITY

The latest Barbie doll will be dressed in Mexico's traditional mariachi costume and wide-brimmed sombrero as it joins the 2014 Barbie Dolls of the World Collection, the doll's manufacturer, Mattel, said.

Mariachi Barbie will celebrate "one of Mexico's most representative traditions in music and culture" and will be available to the public starting this September, the company said in a statement.

The doll "is ready to celebrate with Mexico these national holidays," Mattel executive Ana Paula Martinez de Alba said, referring to the launch of Mariachi Barbie on Sept. 15, the day before Mexican Independence Day. READ MORE ON FOX NEWS LATINO