In Your Community

Honoring Affiliate Impact

With our annual Conference held in Chicago this past July, we were welcomed and embraced by our host city Affiliates. Collectively, we celebrated our national Affiliate Network and our shared efforts to empower Latinos and celebrate the “Power of Us.”

We kicked off the Conference with a series of activities and events. Instituto del Progreso Latino hosted a moving naturalization ceremony, where we bore witness to new American citizens taking their oath of allegiance. The Resurrection Project, a partner in our new HOME initiative, led a trolley tour through some of the city’s oldest and most vibrant Latino neighborhoods, where we gained a deeper understanding of Chicago’s rich cultural tapestry. And our local Affiliates threw a heartwarming ¡Bienvenidos a Chicago!: Community Celebration for an evening of music, food, and community in Pilsen, a Latino neighborhood steeped in Chicago’s history.

As is tradition during the Conference, UnidosUS presented awards to its national Affiliate of the Year and five regional Affiliates of the Year. The Affiliate of the Year is the highest honor bestowed for exemplary work in service to the organization’s community, as well as its collaboration with UnidosUS and the Network.

UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguía presented the Affiliate of the Year award to Comunidades Unidas, stating, “Comunidades Unidas has always helped the growing Latino community of Utah in their times of need. Most recently, they have helped Latino Utahns cope with the pandemic, helped immigrants and aspiring Americans with legal services, and are working to empower Hispanics in Utah by registering them to vote. They are a shining example of what our UnidosUS Affiliates do every day.”

UnidosUS also recognized the exemplary work of one Affiliate in each region of our Network, which included Canal Alliance from California, Committee for Hispanic Children and Families from the Northeast, Proyecto Inmigrante from Texas, Edu-Futuro from the Southeast, and The Resurrection Project from the Midwest.

During the Conference Awards Gala Dinner, we honored five leaders and trailblazers for creating meaningful change for the Latino community. The awardees included Alfredo Corchado, an acclaimed correspondent journalist for the Dallas Morning News who received the Ruben Salazar Award for Communications; Maria Gabriela “Gaby” Pacheco, Director of Advocacy, Development, and Communications at TheDream.us received the Graciela Olivarez La Raza Award; Marc Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League the Raul Yzaguirre President’s Award; and Juan Salgado, Chancellor, City Colleges of Chicago who received the Maclovio Barraza Award for Leadership.

We congratulate all of our awardees and are grateful for their continued partnership! For a full recap of the 2023 UnidosUS Annual Conference, visit www.unidosus.org/conference