Latina boxer sets sight on Olympic gold

Marina Ramirez is a young woman with a vision…an Olympic vision. 

By Adrian Perez

SACRAMENTO, CA -- With lightening speed, Marina pounds the punching bag as if to knock it from its hook at the Prime Time Boxing gym in Sacramento, California.  Anyone standing close by can feel the power punches in the stomach that the number 2 nationally Ranked boxer lands on the bag.  Stepping back, she pauses, looks at us, and flashes the smile of a pretty and shy girl.

Marina Ramirez is a young woman with a vision…an Olympic vision.  At five-foot even and edging 112 pounds, her 4-hour daily training and hard-body tells you she means business.  Her goal?  To make the 2012 U.S. Olympic Women’s Boxing Team.  So what motivates the 21-year old to become a boxer? 

“I really like it,” says Marina while beaming a smile.  “It’s what I want to do and I’m good at it.”

And, she’s convincingly believable in the ring. 

Born in the small community of Parma, Idaho, about 30 minutes outside of Boise, Marina grew up as an outdoor girl, riding horses (even a bull) and an athlete (running cross-country and playing basketball.)    But, it was getting bullied that drove her to learn how to box.

“I learned to box to stop the bullying and found that I liked the sport,” she says.  “I also beat up a couple of boys.”

Interestingly, the soft-spoken Latina does not pass as the image of a boxer, especially that created by other women boxers like Laila Ali, who has been inspiration for Marina.

“I work for the HardRock Café in Las Vegas,” says Marina.  “I need to provide for myself, and that’s where I live.  But, I’m a very nice person when I’m not in the ring.”

In fact, if anyone met Marina in the street, they would see her as a pretty and feminine young girl, unsuspecting of her real skills and power-punching abilities.

“I took karate, but I really like boxing,” she remarks.

Helping Marina in her corner is Cary Williams-Nunez, who is one of only three women in the nation trained to coach Olympic level boxing for women and owner of the Prime Time Boxing gym in Sacramento. 

“There are only three weight classes for the women in the Olympics, 112 pounds, 134 pounds, and 164 pounds,” says Cary.  “She’s fast and very determined and she’s our secret little weapon when we go to the Golden Gloves in Florida.”

Women’s boxing was added to the 2012 London Olympics by the International Olympics Committee, giving legitimacy to the sport, which has had limited exposure having been limited only to the professional ranks.

“I have dedicated my life to boxing,” says Marina.  “I used to drive 30 miles from where I lived (in Idaho) to a boxing gym when I first started.”

Marina won her first amateur fight, which gave her additional motivation to continue and has since collected 30 fights, raising the eyebrow of the U.S. Women’s Olympic Boxing team coaches.

“My parents and my friends support me, and that’s very important to me,” says Marina, also sharing that she owns a horse back in Parma where her parents live as well.

Upon turning 18, she moved to Las Vegas, seeking better training and an opportunity to be more competitive.  It was here where Cary saw Marina at an amateur tournament and asked if she wanted to train at her Sacramento gym.  Spending a week at Prime Time Boxing has helped sharpen Marina’s skills preparing her for the Golden Gloves.

“I think there is going to be a flood of girls, like Marina, who will be coming in when the sport is televised from the Olympics,” says Cary.  “I’ve seen a number of girls already and some will be showing up over the next few years with a lot of experience.”

"Team Marina" are still seeking sponsors.  Follow Marina’s career through www.primetimeboxing.com Facebook page.

Program helps Latinas grow their own business

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- At a time of economic crisis, a program in the San Francisco Bay Area is working toward helping women establish a business.  The program, "ALAS" or Alternatives in Self Sufficiency for Latin Women, the Women's Initiative Program, is designed to help low-income women with the knowledge and financial needs to establish their own business. 

The following video was produced in Spanish by AARP, with English sub-titles.   For more information visit:  www.womensinitiative.org.

Latina Ad Exec to be recognized at TV Summit

Monica Gadsby, CEO U.S. Multicultural & Latin American, Starcom Media Vest Group, will receive an award for achievement in Hispanic television at the 9th Annual Hispanic Television Summit.

NEW YORK, NY -- Leading television industry publications Broadcasting & Cable and Multichannel News announced that the 2011 recipient of their Award for Achievement in Hispanic Television is Monica Gadsby, CEO, U.S. Multicultural & Latin America, Starcom MediaVest Group. The award will be presented at the Hispanic Television Summit, on Tuesday, September 20, 2011 at the Marriot Marquis New York Hotel

Ms. Gadsby is the top executive at the #1 Hispanic Agency in America. Under her direction, the agency has become the leading multicultural media network in the country and has placed hundreds of millions of advertising dollars in the Hispanic TV marketplace.

"Monica Gadsby has had a remarkable impact on the Multicultural television business, especially within the Hispanic market. We feel strongly that she deserves to be recognized for the role she plays in television for Hispanic viewers and with its advertisers," said Louis Hillelson, Group Publisher for Broadcasting & Cable and Multichannel News.

Previous award recipients include Sabado Gigante host, Don Francisco; sportscaster Andres Cantor; host of Al Rojo Vivo, Maria Celeste Arraras; talk-show personality, Cristina Saralegui; network news anchorman, Jorge Ramos; Procter & Gamble's, Edgar Sandoval and boxing champion and entrepreneur, Oscar de la Hoya.

About the Summit: The Summit is the television industry's signature conference for executives involved in the business of television and digital video targeted to the US Hispanic and Latin American viewing audience. It attracts more than 400 attendees. The Summit is produced for Broadcasting & Cable and Multichannel News by the Schramm Marketing Group Inc., a NY-based marketing services company which includes Hispanic marketing among its specialties.

For sponsorship information, please call Sandy Friedman at (917) 281-4718. To register, please visit: www.multichannel.com/hispanic2011

Multichannel News covers multichannel television and communications providers, such as cable operators, satellite TV firms, and telephone companies, as well as emerging Internet video and communication services. www.multichannel.com

Broadcasting & Cable covers the business of television for industry professionals offering breaking news and analysis on programming, syndication, the station business, technology and advertising for broadcasting, cable, satellite, telco TV and the Web. www.broadcastingcable.com

SMG Multicultural is a division of Starcom MediaVest Group, the Human Experience Company. Our dream is to grow our clients' business by transforming human behavior through uplifting, meaningful human experiences. With nearly 6,000 employees in 110 offices worldwide, SMG partners with the world's leading companies including The Coca-Cola Company, Kraft Foods, P&G, Samsung, Walmart, among others. In 2010, SMG was the #1 ranked Global Media Agency (AdAge) and "Media Agency of the Decade" by Adweek. Most recently, Festival of Media named Starcom MediaVest Group as Network Agency of the Year.

Latina to head Obama's national political director post

From aide to former Denver Mayor Federico Peña to now the first Latina to hold the post of National Political Director for a presidential reelection campaign.

Katherine Archuleta

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama's re-election team has chosen Katherine Archuleta of Denver to be his national political director, becoming the first Latina to hold that position. The Denver, Colorado native's selection is key toward winning Colorado in the 2012 Presidential race.

Archuleta is currently the chief of staff to Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis, but brings year's of experience issue knowledge to Obama's campaign. Some of here previous posts include: aide for Mayor Federico Pena, the only, Latino mayor of Denver; senior advisor to former Mayor John Hickenlooper, Denver's lead city planner for the 2008 Democratic National Convention; and, executive director for the National Hispanic Cultural Center Foundation.

"Her understanding of the issues of the West are important," Interior Secretary and fellow Coloradan Ken Salazar told the Denver Post. "And, the understanding in the Latino community is important as well."

Political experts believe Colorado will be the key state to win the White House in 2012, with Karl Rove overheard stating "as goes Colorado, so goes the nation."

Archuleta has a B.A. in Education at Metropolitan State College of Denver and her Master of Education at the University of Northern Colorado. She will be joining Obama's Chicago-based campaign team, which includes campaign manager Jim Messina, who earlier this year stepped down as deputy White House chief of staff, and David Axelrod, who stepped down as White House senior adviser to reprise his role as chief strategist and top political adviser. 

 

New billboard focuses on Latina abortions

New billboard ads by a conservative Latino group focuses on how abortion supporters target Hispanics.
by Steven Ertelt | Los Angeles, CA | LifeNews.com

 
LOS ANGELES, CA -- Billboards across the nation have focused on how abortions and the abortion industry target black Americans and new a new billboard campaign in Los Angeles will show how abortion hurts the Latino community.

Alfonso Aguilar, executive director of the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles, talked with the Daily Caller about the new campaign to feature a jumbo billboard in Los Angeles.

“It’s clear that Latinos are being targeted by organizations that promote abortion like Planned Parenthood,” he said. “Many of their clinics are in Latino neighborhoods and communities.”

Aguilar has said, “Twenty-two percent of abortions in the U.S., for example, are performed on Hispanic women, and they are 2.7 times more likely to have an abortion than non-Hispanic white women. Motivated by their warped eugenic views, Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers are clearly going after racial and ethnic minorities in the country.”

The new billboard will read, in Spanish and English, “El lugar mas peligroso para un Latino es el vientre de su madre/The most dangerous place for a Latino is in the womb.” the Daily caller indicates the ads are part of a kickoff for a Sunday event called “Unidos por la Vida” (United for Life) at the LA Sports Arena sponsored by the pro-life group Manto de Guadalupe. The event features Governor Rick Perry of Texas and pro-life activist Lila Rose of Live Action Films.

The group was founded by Eduardo Verástegui, a famous Latin American actor and singer who became well known to the pro-life community in the United States via the feature film Bella. Earlier this year, he announced plans to build the largest pregnancy center in the United States in Los Angeles to reach out to Hispanic and other women.

A new study reported in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology and published by the Guttmacher Institute, shows the billboards are correct. The study found the abortion rate among Hispanic women at 28.7 per 1,000 women — more than twice as high as the abortion rate for white women, at 11.5.

Susan Cohen, also of Guttmacher, adds: “This much is true: In the United States, the abortion rate for black women is almost five times that for white women. Black women are not alone in having disproportionately high unintended pregnancy and abortion rates. The abortion rate among Hispanic women, for example, although not as high as the rate among black women, is double the rate among whites.”

Meanwhile, the CDC indicates Hispanic women account for 22.1 percent of all abortions in the Untied States even though the percentage of women in the United States who are Hispanic is less than that.

The Associated Press and Univision teamed up for a poll of 1,500 Hispanics conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago that found only 39 percent of Hispanics support legalized abortion.

 

 

 

Latina scientist appointed to Presidential Advisory Commission

Dr. Alicia Abella has been appointed to the Presidential Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics.

Dr. Alicia Abella

DALLAS, TX -- AT&T research scientist Alicia Abella, Ph.D. has been appointed to the prestigious Presidential Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics. Dr. Abella, executive director of technical research at AT&T Labs, is a leader in the nation's efforts to encourage minorities and women to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math, commonly known as STEM fields.

The Commission, appointed by U.S. President Barack Obama, will support the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics and its director, Juan Sepulveda, and provide advice on matters pertaining to the educational attainment of the Hispanic community. Members represent a broad range of sectors including science, business, academia and the arts.

"I am honored to serve on this important commission whose mission is aligned with my long-standing effort to help minority and female students achieve their educational objectives," said Dr. Abella. "I owe my professional success to my education, and have made it my personal objective to help our youth reach adulthood with the educational background they will need to achieve their own version of the American dream."

At AT&T Labs Dr. Abella manages a group of researchers specializing in data mining, user interfaces, IPTV, mobile services, SIP/VoIP technology, and environmental sustainability. She has a Ph.D. in computer science from Columbia University, a M.S. from Columbia and B.S. from NYU, both in computer science.

Dr. Abella is a strong advocate of fostering the development of minorities and women in science and engineering. As executive vice president for the Young Science Achievers program, she works tirelessly to bring an interest and excitement in science and engineering to high school-aged women and minority students through a program of mentoring and scientific achievement. She also chairs the AT&T Labs Fellowship program, in which she helps encourage, advise and evaluate candidates for a prestigious graduate scholarship from AT&T targeted at women and minorities.

White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics Director Juan Sepulveda said Abella will help the Commission discover new ways to increase Latino educational attainment, which is important in the global contest for the jobs and industries of the future.

Other individuals appointed by President Obama to the Commission include Dr. Eduardo J. Padron (chair) and Cesar Conde of Florida; Francisco G. Cigarroa, Ricardo Romo, Sylvia Acevedo and JoAnn Gama of Texas; Darline P. Robles and Patricia Gandara of California; Marta Tienda of New Jersey; Luis R. Fraga of Washington; Maria Neira and Lisette Nieves of New York; Daniel Cardinali of Virginia; Manny Sanchez of Illinois; and Alfredo J. Artiles of Arizona.

SOURCE AT&T Inc.

 

Interview with Lisa Garcia, a Latina who is Chief of Staff to US Trade Rep

Lisa Garcia is Chief of Staff to the United States Trade Representative, serving as managing adviser on policy and personnel.
By Stephanie Valencia, White House
 

WASHINGTON -- As part of WhiteHouse.gov/Hispanic, we are featuring interviews with Obama Administration staff whose work impacts the Hispanic and Latino communities. This interview is with Lisa Garcia, Chief of Staff to the United States Trade Representative.

What is your key responsibility?
As the Chief of Staff in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, my job is to be the right-hand aide to the President’s top trade negotiator – Ambassador Ron Kirk – and to provide leadership and management for USTR, a key economic agency.   

I serve as the managing advisor on issues of policy, personnel, and in other areas that serve USTR’s core mission: to make sure that our trade agreements provide real export and job opportunities for Americans, and that those agreements are enforced so that their promised benefits are really felt right here at home.

Where did you grow up?
I was born in the state of Kansas but consider myself a Texan, since our family moved to Houston when I was two.  It was supposed to be a temporary stay, but became permanent after my father graduated from the University of Houston and recognized that Houston was the place to stake out our legacy.  Houston Hispanics caught the political bug and my family, like so many, was caught up in the excitement of influencing the destiny of our people through the political process.  We shared a true sense of responsibility for our community and participating in the political process was key to making changes.  I have never known another way of life than to be politically involved, and remember being involved at a young age in the screening of political candidates in the Houston area.   My father would smile and take seriously my impressions and evaluations – of course, I volunteered this wisdom whether he asked for it or not!

What is your educational background?
My formal education started with the Dominican Sisters and I am a graduate of Houston’s St. Agnes Academy.  I then headed to Austin and attended the University of Texas, received my Bachelor of Arts degree in communications and truly appreciated attending working at the local PBS channel located at the University of Houston.  But I also got a political education, working local city, county and state races from the grassroots up, spending several years working in the state House and Senate, then as the Executive Director of the Mexican-American Legislative Caucus and was scouted by a global company to lead a regional government affairs office.  Eventually I joined the Democratic Presidential campaign in 2004, worked the Florida governor’s race, then worked for Senator John Kerry in Washington for a while, and returned to Texas for my family and established my own consulting firm. But I could not stay away from the excitement surrounding then-Senator Obama’s quest for the White House – and now here I am serving in his Administration.

I do not believe that life is one random event after another.  All of these activities built on one another to teach me lessons, enrich my life, and make me more complete as a public servant and as a person.

Are you a member of a notable community organizations, church, or volunteer/mentorship program?
I am a Graduate and Alumni Member of the 2002 Leadership Texas Program, Member/volunteer NALEO National Association for Latino Elected Officials, Mexican American Women’s National Association (MANA) a National Latina Organization lifetime member

During the State of the Union, the President laid out his vision for "Winning the Future" through Education, Building, Innovation, Responsibility, and Reform. How does your role in the Administration help to advance the President's agenda?

Every day, USTR contributes to the President’s work to create jobs in the United States by doing trade in a new way.   We’re working to get trade right by talking to more Americans, by listening to more Americans, and by seeking trade agreements that are fair, full of export opportunities around the world and job opportunities here at home.   At the President’s direction, we’ve also put a special emphasis on enforcing the trade agreements already on the books – helping to foster a global trade environment in which American innovation can thrive in every corner of the world.   As we work to out-educate and out-innovate, USTR will make sure that the fantastic made-in-America products springing from all that effort have ready markets around the globe.

How does your work impact the Hispanic community? 
The goal of USTR is to do trade in a new way that increases opportunities for ALL Americans, including the Hispanic community.  Specifically our focus with ensuring that our trade agreements provide export opportunities for small businesses – this is key and supports the entrepreneurial spirit of the Hispanic community, my community.