The Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute (CHLI) held a Reception honoring Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, on June 15, 2018, at the Ritz Carlton Coconut Grove, in Miami, Florida.
CHLI honored its co-founder, Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen, at its 14th Annual Gala and Leadership Awards with its renamed international award, ‘The CHLI Ileana Ros-Lehtinen International Leadership Award.’
CHLI’s President & CEO, Mary Ann Gomez Orta, provided welcoming remarks for the special reception, presenting a glimpse of ‘We Belong,’ – CHLI’s social good documentary examining the lives and professional success of three former CHLI interns – and introducing CHLI’s Chairman and Founder, the Honorable Lincoln Diaz-Balart.
Chairman Diaz-Balart, went on to explain to the audience how CHLI was founded, including Rep. Ros-Lehtinen’s involvement, “For years, Ileana, Mario and I, along with a group of friends in the corporate community, had been thinking about starting a non-governmental organization to give voice to the great diversity of thought which exists in the U.S. Hispanic community. That was the genesis of CHLI.”
The Chairman welcomed some of Ileana’s closest friends including: Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart, and two of the Congresswoman’s former interns, Yara Lorenzo Klukas and Florida State Senator Rene Garcia.
“For fifteen years, the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute, co-founded by my friend and mentor, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, has directly impacted thousands of next generation Latino leaders and created pathways for leadership among Latino community members,” said State Senator Rene Garcia, Chairman of the Board of Hispanic Caucus Chairs.“Thanks to the relentless activism and commitment of our Latino leaders for encouraging Latinos to embrace their ethnicity with confidence and be an integral part in inspiring, motivating and guiding young leaders to achieve their full potential. It was an honor to participate in commemorating the legacy of Ileana Ros-Lehtinen as the first Hispanic woman elected to Congress who has inspired many of us to follow her public service example.”
Former U.S. Attorney and Ileana’s husband, Dexter Lehtinen, gave heartfelt remarks about his wife before presenting the renamed ‘CHLI Ileana Ros-Lehtinen International Leadership Award,’ sculpted by Uldis Lopez, from the Run Art Foundry.
CHLI co-founder, Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen, expressed her appreciation and thanked CHLI for providing an internship opportunity in Washington, D.C., to young leaders all throughout the United States.
The CHLI offered a photography job opportunity for students currently enrolled at Florida International University (FIU), the Congresswoman’s Alma Mater. Check out photos captured by fellow Panther Saige Raymond here.
