Female leaders: Esther Aguilera
President & CEO, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute
June 17, from 12:00h to 13:00h in the Garden of Area 31 (MM31)
Ms. Aguilera is President & CEO of CHCI, a position she has held since November 2004. Under her leadership, CHCI continues to aggressively expand national programs and services to Hispanic high school, college, and graduate students—growing the organization's annual budget and national visibility. Propelled by her passion and her steadfast leadership, CHCI revenue has grown by more than 85 percent since 2005.
She has been recognized as one of the 100 most influential Hispanics in Washington, D.C., presented with Hispanic magazine's 2006 Latina Excellence Award in Education, and was featured in Latino Leaders magazine's 2007 women's issue for her positive impact in the community. Just last year, she was awarded the 2010 Alumni Seal Award for Service to the Community from her alma mater, Occidental College in Los Angeles.
Aguilera's unique expertise—derived from extensive senior management experience in corporate, public affairs, policy, legislation, fundraising, and the nonprofit sector—makes her a sought out expert. In January 2011, U.S. Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry appointed Aguilera to its newly created Hispanic Council on Federal Employment to advise him on leading employment practices in the effort to remove barriers to recruitment, hiring, retention, and advancement of Hispanics in the Federal workforce.