Photo Above:  CSUSB President Tomas D. Morales speaking at the 2016 Latino Education and Advocacy Day summit.

LEAD VIII SPEAKERS INCLUDE HIGH-RANKING STATE OFFICIALS, MEXICAN CONSUL

SAN BERNARDINO, Ca — High-ranking state officials and the chief consul of Mexico in San Bernardino will deliver keynote addresses at the 8^thannual Latino Education and Advocacy Days Summit (LEAD VIII) at Cal State San Bernardino on Thursday, March 30, with the focus on “Sin Fronteras — Education Beyond Borders.”

Registration is now open for the free, one-day event, which brings together teaching professionals and educators, researchers, academics, scholars, administrators, independent writers and artists, policy and program specialists, students, parents, civic leaders, activists and advocates.

It will be held at CSUSB’s Santos Manuel Student Union from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Eloy Ortiz Oakley, chancellor of the California Community Colleges, will speak at 11:15 a.m. on “LatinX and the Community College: Promoting Pathways to Postsecondary Degrees.”

The California Community Colleges Board of Governors appointed Oakley as chancellor in December 2016. Prior to that, he served as superintendent-president of the Long Beach Community College District. He is best known throughout California and the nation for implementing innovative programs and policies that help students succeed in college.

Oakley himself is a community college success story. After serving four years in the U.S. Army, he enrolled at Golden West College. He then transferred to the University of California, Irvine where he earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental analysis and design, and a master’s degree in business administration.

Enrique Salomón Rosas Ramírez, the chief consul for Mexico in San Bernardino, will speak at 1:20 p.m. on “Sin Fronteras — Educating Beyond Borders,” which is the summit’s theme.

Rosas was appointed chief consul in May 2016 by the president of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto. He has held a number of positions in the Mexican federal government, serving as head of the federal anti-poverty program Solidaridad in Mexico City; head of the executive management and budget committee of Solidaridad; chief of staff to the Head of Delegations of the Ministry of Social Development; advisor to the Undersecretary of Regional Development in the Ministry of Management and Budget of Mexico; deputy delegate of government and legal affairs for the towns of Coyoacan and Milpa Alta in Mexico City; and advisor to the corporate management office of PEMEX, the Mexican state-owned petroleum company.

He served as a congressman in the LXI Legislature, as coordinator of the state of San Luis Potosi’s caucus, chairman of the Food Scarcity Commission and a member of the finance commission. He was also clerk to the Second Committee of the Interior in the Federal Senate’s LIV Legislature and chief of staff to the chair of the Justice Commission of Federal Congress in the LII Legislature.

California State Treasurer John Chiang will speak at 2:25 p.m. His talk is titled  “Building California’s Future Begins Today.”

Chiang was elected on Nov. 4, 2014, as California’s 33rd state treasurer. As the state’s banker, he oversees trillions of dollars in annual transactions, manages a $75 billion investment portfolio, and is the nation’s largest issuer of municipal bonds.

Upon assuming office, Chiang developed a financial blueprint for the state — 16 ideas designed to help workers, businesses, and communities. These initiatives (half of which were accomplished in his first 18 months in office) are detailed in “Building California’s Future Begins Today.” A whole chapter of the plan focuses on new approaches to maintaining and building bridges, roads, schools and other critical public infrastructure.

Prior to being elected treasurer, Chiang served from 2007 through 2014 as state controller. During his term, he aggressively used his audit programs to identify more than $9.5 billion of fraud, waste and abuse in government programs, the most by any controller in California’s history. Chiang was first elected to the Board of Equalization in 1998 where he served two terms, including three years as chair. He began his career as a tax law specialist with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and previously served as an attorney in the State Controller’s Office.

The son of immigrant parents, Chiang graduated with honors from the University of South Florida with a degree in finance. He received his law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center.

Former California State Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez will deliver the capstone address at 4:25 p.m. Núñez, now a partner of Mercury, a bipartisan high-stakes public strategy firm, served  three two-year terms (from 2002 to 2008) as a member of the Assembly representing the San Fernando Valley. In his final two terms he was selected Assembly Speaker, the 66th person to hold that position in California.

Recognized for his unique ability to lead and find bi-partisan solutions to complex public policy challenges, Núñez was named “Legislator of the Year” in 2007 by Governing Magazine, specifically for his bi-partisan efforts with former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on transportation and infrastructure legislation.

Núñez was listed as one of 2009’s Top 100 Influential Leaders in Hispanic U.S. as well as being featured in Poder’s 2008 Special Edition Black Book. He authored Assembly Bill 32, landmark climate change legislation that has become a blueprint for other states and the U.S. Congress in addressing environmental challenges.

From 2000-2002, Núñez was government affairs director for the Los Angeles Unified School District. In this capacity, he tackled a broad range of education issues and secured millions of dollars in funding for school construction projects, children’s health insurance, and low-performing schools. Prior to that, from 1996 to 2000, he served as political director for the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor where he managed dozens of political campaigns.

Núñez currently serves on the U.S. Soccer Federation Board of Directors and served on the University Of California Board Of Regents from 2004-2008. During the 2008 U.S. presidential election, Núñez was a national co-chairman for Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

For more information and to register online for the conference, visit the LEAD Summit website, or call (909) 537-7632.