DCA's Hispanic Internship and Leadership Program Preserved Through Generous Contributions
More Than $70,000 Raised to Keep 10-Week Summer Program Running

TRENTON - New Jersey Department of Community Affairs’ (DCA) Commissioner Lori Grifa today announced that the Center for Hispanic Policy, Research and Development was able to preserve the 2010 Hispanic Interns in Community Service Program and Latino Leaders Fellowship Institute by securing more than $70,000 from corporate, foundation and non-profit contributors.

"I am immensely proud of the dedicated staff at our Center for Hispanic Policy, Research and Development who worked hard to save this worthwhile internship and leadership program for New Jersey's Hispanic college students," said Commissioner Grifa. "Upon hearing the program wouldn't receive state funding in this difficult budget year, the staff almost immediately began reaching out to potential contributors in an effort to keep it going. I am thrilled to be able to announce that they succeeded."

The contributors include the Academy for Urban Leadership, American Heart Association, Cablevision, FOCUS Hispanic Community Center, Foundation for the Center for Hispanic Policy, Research and Development, New Brunswick Tomorrow, PNC Bank, PSE&G, Puerto Rican Action Board, Verizon and Wachovia.

"The Center for Hispanic Policy is honored that our corporate friends have come forward to support this most successful program.  Most importantly, we thank them for their support of the Latino leaders of tomorrow," said Angie Armand, Director of the Center for Hispanic Policy, Research and Development.

The Hispanic Interns in Community Service Program and Latino Leaders Fellowship Institute is a 10-week summer program that began June 7 and will run until August 13. The program, which began in 1988, is geared toward leadership and professional development and offers Hispanic college students an opportunity to work in a government, corporate or non-profit setting and participate in leadership training conducted by Rutgers University's Center for Strategic Urban Community Leadership.

The Latino Leaders Fellowship Institute equips the interns participating in the Hispanic Interns in Community Service Program with skills essential to executive leadership. Interns learn to assess their own leadership styles and communication skills. They are required to complete an individual course project throughout the ten-week program.

Applicants must be residents of New Jersey, of Hispanic descent and registered at a college or university with grade point averages of 3.0 or higher.

For more information on the Hispanic Interns in Community Service Program and Latino Leaders Fellowship Institute, please call (609) 984-3223 or log on to http://www.state.nj.us/dca/chprd/internship.shtml.

Hispanic Interns in Community Service Program and Latino Leaders Fellowship Institute

 

Class of 2010

Name of Intern

College/University

Placement Site

Mildred Arroyo

Fairleigh Dickinson University

Academy for Urban Leadership Charter School

Carlos Bidondo

Fairleigh Dickinson University

American Heart/Stroke Association

Lorenzo Budet

Rutgers, The State University

Department of Law & Public Safety
Division on Civil Rights

Genesis Deris

Rutgers, The State University

Department of Law & Public Safety
Division on Civil Rights

Francisco Figueroa

Fairleigh Dickinson University

FOCUS, Hispanic Center for Community Development, Inc.

Marlise Hendricks

Kean University

Department of Community Affairs
Center for Hispanic Policy, Research and Development

Yailen Hernandez

Fairleigh Dickinson University

The Puerto Rican Action Board

Ana Maria Martinez

Seton Hall University

New Jersey Network
Images/Imagenes

Wilson Martinez

Fairleigh Dickinson University

United States Hispanic Advocacy Association
USHAA

Natalia Olarte

College of Saint Elizabeth

NJ After 3

Carlos Paniagua

Hudson County Community College

United States Hispanic Advocacy Association
USHAA

Jose Paulino

Rutgers, The State University

PSE&G
Department of Corporate Responsibility

Ana Maria Rexach

Rutgers, The State University

ASPIRA Inc. of NJ

Deenis Rios

Fairleigh Dickinson University

New Brunswick Tomorrow

Joanna Rodriguez

Saint Peter's College

The Children's Home Society of NJ
CARES Program

Maybeline Saharig

Seton Hall University

Department of Labor and Workforce Development

Bruno Sime

Saint Peter's College

United States Hispanic Advocacy Association
USHAA

Lucrisleyda Taveras

Fairleigh Dickinson University

Department of Labor and Workforce Development

Johan Zafra Lopez

Hudson County Community College

United States Hispanic Advocacy Association
USHAA


###