Henry Solano
The Latino Equality Agenda in the New Administration

Henry L. Solano, Interim President and General Counsel, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF)—Los Angeles, California

Mr. Solano replaces John Trasviña who was recently tapped by President Barack Obama to be the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Henry L. Solano is also a partner at Dewey and LeBoeuf LLP in the Litigation and Compensation, Benefits and Employment Departments. Mr. Solano has been an active member of the MALDEF Board with decades of litigation, public policy and advocacy experience behind him. Most recently, Solano led the Dewey and LeBoeuf LLP trial team in his firm’s pro bono litigation with MALDEF in Vicente v. Barnett to bring justice against a border vigilante in Arizona who threatened and assaulted a group of Latino men and women. He also currently chairs the Program and Planning Committee and is a member of the Executive Committee on the board. Named one of Hispanic Business Magazine’s 100 Most Influential Hispanics, Solano is a well-respected veteran of state and national policy making and community service.

He was a tireless advocate for safe communities and enforcing worker and workplace protection laws while serving as Colorado U.S. Attorney and Solicitor at the U.S. Department of Labor during the Clinton Administration. He began his career as a poverty law attorney emphasizing farm-worker and immigrant legal protection at Colorado Rural Legal Services, Inc. which was headquartered in Denver, Colorado. He has continued his community involvement throughout his career including serving on the board of directors for the National Hispana Leadership Institute and the National Latino Children’s Institute.

Solano’s practice as a partner at Dewey and LeBoeuf LLP in New York covers a wide range of employment and labor law as well as litigation. Dewey and LeBoeuf is an international law firm headquartered in New York with more than 1,400 lawyers in 14 countries, namely the United States, United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, China, South Africa, Kazakhstan­, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatarand the United Arab Emirates. Around the world, Dewey and LeBoeuf lawyers are engaged in a wide variety of pro bono projects; taking on large-impact civil rights litigation to advocate for those who have been historically disadvantaged; helping victims of domestic violence re-establish their footing; preventing the eviction of low income tenants; providing legal services to worthy not-for-profit organizations and microenterprises, both domestically and internationally; representing indigent defendants in criminal cases at trial and on appeal and preventing the deportation of asylum seekers who are facing persecution if they are forced to return to their native lands.

Evelyn Hu-DeHart
Immigration and Its Discontents

Evelyn Hu-DeHart, Ph.D., Director, Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America; Professor, History and Ethnic Studies, Brown University—Providence, Rhode Island www.brown.edu/race

This presentation will explore the history of immigration to the United States and the current state of affairs. As a nation of immigrants, this country has also suffered recurrent misgivings about immigration and immigrants, a phenomenon historians label "nativism." In a nutshell, there have always been designated desirable and not-desirable immigrants, with the latter often racialized as in assimilable and therefore non-Americans. Today, the not- desirables are the so-called "illegal immigrants," an increasingly criminalized alien group feared and despised. Who are the illegal immigrants, how and when was this category created, and which nationalities and ethnic groups have been caught in its wide net? In particular, what are the implications for children and youth tagged with this insidious label as far as their educational pursuits are concerned? This presentation will end with an examination of the "Dream Act."

Evelyn Hu-DeHart joins Brown from the University of Colorado at Boulder where she was Chair of the Department of Ethnic Studies and Director of the Center for Studies of Ethnicity and Race in America. She has also taught at the City University of New York system, New York University, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Arizona and University of Michigan, as well as lectured at universities and research institutes in Mexico, Peru, Cuba, France, Hongkong, Taiwan, and China. Evelyn Hu-DeHart often describes herself as a multicultural person who speaks several languages (including English, Chinese, French, and Spanish) and moves easily among several cultures. Her professional life has focused on what Cuban historian Juan Perez de la Riva calls "historia de la gente sin historia." She was born in China and immigrated to the United States with her parents when she was twelve. As an undergraduate at Stanford University she studied in Brazil on an exchange program. She became fascinated with Latin America and that interest eventually led her to a Ph.D. in Latin American History from the University of Texas at Austin. In 1988 she left the City University of New York to become the CSERA Director at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She has written two books on the Yaqui Indians, and is now engaged in a large research project on the Asian diaspora in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Research Interests: The goal of Professor Hu-DeHart's diaspora project is to uncover and recover the history of Asian migration to Latin America and the Caribbean, and to document and analyze the contributions of these immigrants to the formation of Latin/Caribbean societies and cultures. It should also contribute towards theorizing diasporas and transnationalism. The importance and timeliness of this research was most recently demonstrated by the election of Alberto Fujimori, son of Japanese immigrants, as President of Peru. Hu-DeHart also hopes that her work would broaden the scope of Asian American Studies as well as contribute to an area not well covered within Latin American Studies. The following summary highlights the work that she has done so far on the Chinese in Cuba, Peru and Mexico. She has published numerous articles in English, Spanish, French, and Chinese on the topic, and expects to publish at least one book.

Jerome Ringo
The New Color of Green: A Collective Voice Towards Change

Jerome Ringo, Environmental Pioneer and President of the Apollo Alliance—Lake Charles, Louisiana www.jeromeringo.com

Historically, those who prioritize environmental issues are perceived to be upper class, white, and college educated who think globally and act locally. At the same time, however, there is a history of diverse people acting locally on problems that directly impact their families, friends, and communities. Integrating these voices into the mainstream has long been a goal of the environmental movement, but it has remained illusive. In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, local issues have become global, and environmental speaker Jerome Ringo demonstrates why making these voices heard has become more urgent than ever.

Environmental speaker Jerome Ringo is one of the most influential conservationists in the United States today, and an outspoken supporter of increasing diversity in the conservation movement. The president of the Apollo Alliance, a coalition of diverse leaders fighting to free America from foreign energy dependence, he is a dedicated champion of environmental justice, an advocate for clean energy, and a strong proponent of green business. Jerome Ringo began his career in conservation after working for over 20 years in Louisiana’s petrochemical industry. After observing the negative impact of pollution on Louisiana’s primarily poor and minority local communities, he began organizing environmental justice groups, and committed his life to increasing minority participation in the environmental movement. A respected business speaker, Jerome Ringo is dedicated to expanding minority participation in the green movement and to growing green business has made a difference in the world. A member of the Green Group and Newsweek's Environment and Leadership Council, his influence on conservation is unparalleled, and through his tireless efforts, the green movement is more diverse and more effective than ever before. Ebony Magazine named Ringo one of the most influential African Americans in 2006. Jerome Ringo is also an Associate Research Scholar at Yale University, an author, and lecturer. He currently teaches Environmental Justice at University of California-Santa Barbara.

NCORE would like to acknowledge Keppler Speaker Sponsorship for Mr. Jerome Ringo’s Participation and Presentation at NCORE 2009 www.kepplerspeakers.com