Social purpose consulting firm assists cutting-edge nonprofit with leadership programming
San Antonio, TX – Our Community Inc., LLC (OCI Group) has joined together with Hispanic Heritage Foundation to assist with implementation of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation’s Latinos on the Fast Track (LOFT) and Hispanic Heritage Youth Awards 2013 – 2014 events. The Hispanic Heritage Foundation and OCI Group formed a partnership premised upon both entities’ common commitment to developing the leadership capacities within our community.
OCI Group is a for profit consulting firm that works with companies, organizations and individuals in the areas of economic and leadership development. Their decision to partner with the Hispanic Heritage Foundation (HHF) came easy given the decades of programming, publications, scholarships and many other resources that HHF has provided for Latino leadership in the United States. They have also experienced first-hand the positive impact of their services at work, as one of OCI Group’s founding partners, Luis G. González, was a Hispanic Heritage Youth Awards regional winner as a senior in high school in San Antonio, Texas. “It has been a great pleasure to work professionally with a national organization that was introduced to me many years ago and which supported my endeavor to attend Stanford University,” shares González. “What is even more exciting is to see the huge impact it continues to have on young people through its commitment to education, leadership and the Latino community. Everything we do at OCI Group is directly related to the mission of HHF, and I look forward to our partnership influencing communities across the United States, and internationally.”
Representatives of OCI Group will serve as the Master of Ceremonies for the Hispanic Heritage Youth Awards in Houston, Miami, Los Angeles, Stanford, Chicago, Dallas, Washington D.C. and New York. They will also assist with the facilitation of HHF’s LOFT events, which focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) education, career-development, and leadership. The LOFT events are free to students and community members and feature:
- a networking dinner with food and refreshments,
- a dynamic and exclusive leadership training led by the U.S. Army (designed to help student-leaders define their role within their organizations, and encourage them to seek out leadership roles in schools and communities),
- an insightful panel of STEM professionals showcasing their personal stories, career paths, and the resources and opportunities available for Latinos to enter the STEM fields,
- an opportunity to network with professionals and other emerging Latino leaders interested in STEM, and
- sponsor giveaways/raffle (raffle includes a free round-trip Southwest Airline ticket anywhere in the USA along with other sponsor giveaways).
“OCI Group has injected our mission with tremendous energy, strategy and big ideas that are coming to fruition across our award-winning programs. Through content, personal involvement and alignment of resources for greater impact – they are part of our team and we are better for it,” said Antonio Tijerino, President and CEO of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation.
This is the second year that OCI Group has contributed to the LOFT events and is credited for making San Antonio’s LOFT events the largest in the country thus far. LOFT has provided more than 30 trainings, symposia, summits and “charlas” in various fields in 2013, including a one-day summit with the White House and US Congress.
The nine-city series of STEM Leadership Symposia has and will include:
- September 18, 2013 University of New Mexico – Albuquerque
- September 24, 2013 University of Texas at San Antonio
- September 26, 2013 University of Houston
- October 8, 2013 California State University – Sacramento
- October 10, 2013 San Jose State University
- October 22, 2013 University of Illinois – Chicago
- November 4, 2013 California State University – San Bernardino
- November 6, 2013 Arizona State University – Phoenix
- November 19, 2013 Florida International University –Miami
OCI Group
OCI Group is a social purpose consulting firm focused on economic and leadership development. Social purpose is at the core of their work because they are passionate about actively engaging our community and altering the way business is conducted in this global 21st century society. OCI Group works with companies, organizations, educational institutions, and individuals to support building genuine “social purpose businesses (SPB’s)” through which they demonstrate that being concerned with the “greater good” in the community will help clients achieve their goals and improve their bottom line. Connect with OCI Group on their website www.oci-group.com and follow them on Facebook www.facebook.com/OCIGroup or Twitter @OCIGroup.
The Hispanic Heritage Foundation
Established in 1987 by the White House, the Hispanic Heritage Foundation (HHF) is a 501c3, nonprofit which inspires, identifies, prepares and positions Latino leaders in the classroom, community and workforce to meet America’s priorities. HHF also provides Latinos in America with role models, cultural pride and a promising future through public awareness campaigns and special events. What distinguishes HHF from other organizations is a focus on innovation where young leaders are leaders of today not tomorrow. Their leadership model is to help a “Latino to help thousands.” Visit www.HispanicHeritage.org and follow HHF on Twitter.
LOFT is HHF’s award-winning, leadership and workforce-development program focused on “priority fields,” such as STEM, education and finance. Tens of thousands of students and young professionals are connected to each other through the LOFT Network (16-30); over 30 trainings, workshops, and informal Charlas are hosted across the country as well as the execution of innovation-based outreach programs; and hundreds of minorities are placed into internships, mentorships, fellowships and full-time positions with Fortune 100 companies and government agencies. Visit www.LOFTinnovation.org, join LOFT Network at http://loftnetwork.org and follow LOFT on Twitter @LOFTInstitute.