The U.S. Department of Education in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month at 10 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Oct. 14, at the Education Department’s LBJ Auditorium. This year’s Hispanic Heritage Month also marks the 25th anniversary of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics (Initiative), which was founded in 1990 to address the educational disparities faced by the Hispanic community.
John King, senior advisor delegated duties of deputy secretary of education at the U.S. Department of Education, will participate in the “Hispanics Fulfilling America’s Future” Celebration. Cecilia Muñoz, assistant to President Obama and director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, will kick off the event with remarks on the progress of Latinos in education, the contributions made by the Initiative and the importance of continuing to invest in the educational attainment of the Hispanic community.
At the event, Emmy Award-winner and Correspondent with Noticiero Telemundo Vanessa Hauc will moderate an armchair discussion on the importance of investing in education and the Obama Administration’s contributions to support Hispanics and help strengthen our nation. Participants in the arm chair discussion include, John King, Alejandra Ceja, executive director of the Initiative, Michael Smith, special assistant to President Obama and senior director of cabinet affairs for My Brother’s Keeper, Maria Pastrana, multilingual engagement coordinator, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and Mateus Baptista, graduate fellow, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute.
Following the armchair discussion, Dr. Monica Regalbuto, assistant secretary, Department of Energy will deliver the keynote speech. Tara Trujillo, senior advisor at the Department of Energy will serve as the event’s emcee.
In honor of the Initiative’s historic 25 year milestone, throughout the month, the Administration has highlighted the tremendous progress Latinos are making in education, as well as the challenges that need continued attention. More information about the anniversary celebration and the Initiative are available through regular updated on Twitter via @HispanicEd.