As the Chairman of the Board for the Hispanic Heritage Foundation, it is my heartfelt pleasure to welcome you to our web site. This year is a milestone year for us as a foundation and community. A year to set a new direction, strengthen our mission and lay the groundwork for continued growth.

As the second largest majority in America, we go forward with our Hispanic heritage as a symbol of what unites us, inspires us, and defines us. We have a unique opportunity to redefine the image of the Hispanic American through the role models we honor and promote annually during the Hispanic Heritage Awards as well as through our Youth Awards recipients. As we move forward as a country, community and foundation - the best is yet to come.

As we celebrate more than 20 years of leadership our foundation has changed its name to the Hispanic Heritage Foundation and expanded our mission by not simply recognizing Hispanic leaders but working year-round to put Hispanic leaders, especially youth, in a position from which to lead. Through the ever-growing Youth Awards, Speakers Bureau, and LOFT (Latinos on Fast Track) our devoted staff led by President and CEO Antonio Tijerino has created platforms and partnerships to achieve our goal to recognize and promote Hispanic pride, culture, and accomplishment through leadership and educational programs.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to thank our prestigious Partner Organizations for their continued support of our mission to promote Hispanic culture, pride and excellence. Each organization plays a vital role in communities across America in advancing the cause of Hispanic Americans, especially in this time of enormous growth and development. Thank you for ensuring that our voices are being heard from the barrios to Capitol Hill. In addition, I would like to extend our deep and sincere appreciation to all our corporate partners for their genuine commitment and gracious support in making our mission and vision possible, which touches millions of people. Please take a look at the different program sections on this web site and the impact our programs - the Hispanic Heritage Awards, Youth Awards, LOFT - have on Hispanics. Thank you for visiting HispanicHeritage.org and welcome to our familia.

Paz,

Pedro José "Joe" Greer, Jr, MD

Chairman of the Board, Hispanic Heritage Foundation