Hispanic-Net

Full House for Lopez-Alegria, Velez, Rodriguez at Stanford

2013-02-16T10:31:33-08:00

A full house convened at the Stanford Faculty Club on a warm October evening once again to connect, share and acknowledge the break-through work of two award recipients and a renowned keynote speaker. The Hispanic Net Dinner, which took place on Saturday, October 13, is the premier event of the organization’s calendar where members, friends, advisors and supporters gather to take stock of the year’s progress and achievements of Latino thought leaders.

Headlining this year’s notables were:
Michael Lopez-Alegria, The current President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation and the most accomplished and experienced US astronaut in the post-Apollo space era. He has over three decades of experience with the U.S. Navy and NASA in a variety of roles including Naval Aviator, Navy engineering test pilot and program manager, NASA astronaut, International Space Station (ISS) commander, and assistant director of all NASA flight crew operations.

Lopez-Alegria has flown on Space Shuttle missions STS-73, STS-92, and STS-113, and served as Commander of ISS Expedition 14 in which he flew to and from the ISS aboard a Soyuz TMA-9. He holds three NASA records: longest spaceflight (215 days); most number of Extravehicular Activities (EVA) (10) and cumulative EVA time (67 hours 40 minutes). He has recently retired from NASA and become the CEO of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. This is a consortium of companies focused on created the infrastructure, technology and companies for the 21st Century generation of space travel and commerce. Hispanic Net’s Silicon Valley network can be a source of support and development for Mr. Lopez-Alegria’s efforts.

Alejandro Velez, the co-founder and current President of Back to the Roots, a successful start-up in growing food through innovative means. He is also board chairman of the successful and largest UC Berkeley non-profit organization, The Sage Mentorship Project Inc., a 1,000+ member-mentoring program that creates individual, one-on-one pairings between UC Berkeley mentors and low-income Berkeley and Oakland elementary school students.

Velez was named the 2009 Cal Alumni Association Undergraduate of the Year and was awarded the Chancellor’s highest honor for a graduating senior: the 2009 Good Citizen Award for his highest commitment to the community. Velez has been named 2010 PODER Magazine’s 20 Influential Hispanics Under 40, one of BusinessWeek’s Top 25 Entrepreneurs under 25, one of BusinessWeek’s Top 25 Social Entrepreneurs in America, UCLA’s Opportunity Green Top 25 Green Company Leaders and one of the 2010 Social Venture Network Social Innovation winners.

Giovanni Rodriguez, Founder and CEO of SocialxDesign, a company “focused on helping businesses, government agencies and NGOs to remake themselves for the socially networked economy. Prior to SocialxDesign, Rodriguez served as a senior member of the social-technology team at Deloitte Consulting, chief marketing officer for a publicly traded company, and managing partner of The Conversation Group (TCG), one of the first social-technology consulting firms. Giovanni has consulted for numerous B2B leaders such as The New York Stock Exchange, SAP, Alcatel-Lucent, and Verizon Business, as well as leading consumer brands such as General Mills, Unilever, and Best Buy. He is also known for his work in positioning technology companies in transition, including FAST Search and Transfer (now Microsoft), Ribbit (now British Telecom), JAJAH (now part of Telefonica), and VMware, where he worked with the team that led the company’s entry into the enterprise software market (in 2000). Giovanni is also founding fellow at the Society of New Communications Research (SNCR) and a board member at Latinos for Social Media (LATISM). He is also a regular contributor to Forbes Magazine. Following a festive reception on the Faculty Club patio and subsequent dinner, the program began with opening comments from Hispanic Net Chair Margarita Quihuis, President Michael Lopez and Silicon Valley Latino Leadership Summit Producer Frank Carbajal. This was followed by Keynote Speaker Giovanni Rodriguez who addressed the social media themes inherent and observed within the Latino community. His comments illuminated several key aspects that are distinct to Latinos.

Keynote: Remaking the Brand

Giovanni Rodriguez gave a lively and provocative keynote titled Remaking the Brand.

These aspects included:

Latinos are generally “more social”. This point is illustrated in the ways Hispanics have maintained stronger bonds with community and family. This is not a specific or conscious bond, but rather, a behavior “franca lingua” of lots of communication. This results in closer bonds. The frequency and depth of communication is measurably stronger which manifests itself on nearly every means and technology. The higher Hispanic adoption rate of new communication technologies is a natural extension of creating and maintaining personal connections. Hispanics’ high usage of social media is not a phenomenon, rather, it is simply the next method of communicating.
The media’s focus on Latinos has heightened with the current Presidential election. The influence and possible tipping-point role Latinos have in selecting the next President is a mixed blessing. The US Hispanic population is a diverse group that covers many different heritages and journeys as well as a spectrum of socio-economic realities in the US. As some have said, there is no such thing as Latino but rather there are many kinds of Latinos. Giovanni’s words were “We are not a monolith”.
Latinos are not so much a single ethnicity, but rather, a brand according to his comments. We come together despite our internal differences. Our focus has been internal. In light of that, the Hispanic impact on US society has been profound at a level that exceeds our numbers. This is evidenced in many realms including government, media, labor force, education, social forces, food, culture and countless other social realms. Giovanni’s message was Latinos need to market to themselves.

Social Entrepreneur of the Year

As a student at UC Berkeley, he came across information showing that mushrooms could grow in used coffee grounds. Through some trial and error, he and his business partner created a reliable packaged product for a home mushroom kit.

His emotion and enthusiasm unfolded as he described the scaling the company. This scaling started with using the local restaurant, Chez Panisse, as a validation source (whose cooperation was not an easy sell). The next step was to get production materials such as used coffee grounds (from the many coffee and restaurant establishments around Berkeley), selling customers (Whole Foods among the first was a good move) and building a viable company with all the necessary functions.

His spirited verbal delivery and engaging style did not belie the fact that it was a lot of hard work. However, his hard work has initiated a change in the way people (including kids) think about food and its production. Had he simply been a successful entrepreneur (at the age of 26), it would have been enough. His ability to spread innovative thought about food production is likely to have effect on where and how food is produced in the future.

Vanguard of the Year

Lopez-Alegria began his talk about what is a Hispanic. His remarks touched on many social perceptions such as underprivileged and socially marginalized. He noted his early life was middle class and he did not experience many of the difficulties often associated with first-born Latinos in the US. That being said, he did share information about his parents. His father, a native of Spain, was a career military officer in Franco’s army. Wishing to avoid the eventual Civil War that engulfed Spain preceding WWII, he and his wife came to the US to create a new life. Starting anew as an apprentice electrician in the Boston area, he eventually gained his Electrical Engineering degree at night and eventually entered professional career. They ultimately moved to Southern California where the young Michael Lopez-Alegria was raised. His mother, prior to marriage, set out on her own at an early age and had traveled (and lived) around the world over a multi-year period. A truly amazing feat for a single woman at that time. It is this kind of parental background that gave Michael Lopez-Alegria the mental scope to think big.

The Past, Present and Future of Space Flight

His presentation started with a recap of the US space programs starting with the first Mercury flights and ending with the most recent Space Shuttle missions. The phenomenal achievements of these efforts were underscored by the details of how very difficult and complicated undertakings became institutionalized and commonplace within the US Space Program.

Touching on the current space travel prospects, the primary manned missions will be to the ISS currently orbiting the earth. With the closing of the US Space Shuttle era, the primary means of reaching the ISS is via Russian-launched space vehicles from their complex in Kazakhstan. He cited the current initiatives in private space vehicles to supply the ISS could lead to an expansion to future manned missions.

As the President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, he is now focused on developing the growth of private-sector efforts for space travel and commerce. The two current areas of note are orbital and sub-orbital flight. At present the sub-orbital realm is used for space tourism where he cited such entities as Virgin Galactic and companies emerging from initiatives such as the X Prize. Lopez-Alegria noted that Charles Lindbergh’s flight was in response to a competition structured like the X Prize in the 1920’s and was a precursor to trans-Atlantic commercial flight.

Just as commercial spaceflight is at a phase analogous to commercial flight a century ago, there is a case study to follow that will bring spaceflight to a broader passenger group and more applications. Sub-orbital can evolve into travel between earth destinations while orbital can bring a new range of benefits. There are potential science, manufacturing and exploration possibilities in addition to tourism travel. Just as it took time for traditional commercial flight to develop, expanded spaceflight will also progress. Not naïve to the business aspects, Lopez-Alegria noted that once the private sector has made significant advances in spaceflight technology, the likely first customer will be NASA or other government agencies. The mutual acknowledgement of a meaningful future market is the fuel that will drive the private investment in a capital-intensive industry. Finally, a manned settlement on the Moon and other planets was asked from the audience. He responded it is very early days and very little can be committed at present but little can be ruled out in the future. There is so much we do not know yet. Leaving the relative temperate zone populated by the Earth and Moon creates a whole set of new challenges. Mars is the next likely candidate after the Moon but is a very open question. The extended time it takes to get to Mars requires an entirely new approach on how to sustain human life in space. As before, it will take considerable testing to get to another planet. Going to the Asteroid Belt would probably come first.

Though Lopez-Alegria did not use these words, we got the impression the Star Trek era is a far off into the future if attainable at all.

In closing, the day of the Hispanic Net Dinner coincided with the transporting of the retired Endeavor Space Shuttle through the streets of Los Angeles to its final museum display venue. Michael Lopez-Alegria was the Mission Specialist 1 on space flight STS-113 that was an Endeavor Space Shuttle mission.

The next Hispanic Net Dinner will take place in early 2014.

Hispanic-Net Honoree Michael López-Alegría speaks at TEDxKiruna on the Human Exploration of Space

2012-09-26T16:11:57-07:00

López-Alegría is a former NASA astronaut, International Space Station commander and test pilot. A four-time astronaut he holds three NASA records incl longest spaceflight; 215 days! Michael will share his extraordinary story and gaze into the future of spaceflight as the new President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation.

Michael López-Alegría to be given Vanguard Award at 2012 Hispanic-Net Dinner

2012-09-10T16:40:00-07:00

Hispanic-Net is pleased to announce that Michael López-Alegría, President, Commercial Spaceflight Federation and former NASA Astronaut and International Space Stations Commander will be honored with the first ever Vanguard Award at the Hispanic-Net Annual dinner October 13th at the Stanford Faculty Club.

Michael Lopez-Alegria is the President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. He comes from a distinguished background in aerospace which includes positions as a Naval Aviator and test pilot (Capt., U.S. Navy, Ret.), NASA astronaut and International Space Station (ISS) commander. He has over three decades of experience with the U.S. Navy and NASA in a variety of roles including Naval Aviator, Navy engineering test pilot and program manager, NASA astronaut, ISS commander, and assistant director of flight crew operations.

Lopez-Alegria received his Bachelor of Science degree in systems engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy and a Master of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. He is also a graduate of Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government Program for Senior Executives in National and International Security.

Hispanic-Net 2012 Annual Dinner

This year's Hispanic-Net Annual dinner will be held Saturday October 13, 2012 at the Stanford Faculty Club. Tickets may be purchased online.

Giovanni Rodriguez to be Keynote Speaker at Hispanic-Net 2012 Annual Dinner

2012-09-10T16:03:31-07:00

Giovanni Rodriguez is the Founder and CEO of SocialxDesign (Social by Design), a company “focused on helping businesses, government agencies and NGOs to remake themselves for the socially networked economy.

Prior to SocialxDesign, Rodriguez served as a senior member of the social-technology team at Deloitte Consulting, chief marketing officer for a publicly traded company, and managing partner of The Conversation Group (TCG), one of the first social-technology consulting firms.

Giovanni has consulted for numerous B2B leaders such as The New York Stock Exchange, SAP, Alcatel-Lucent, and Verizon Business, as well as leading consumer brands such as General Mills, Unilever, and Best Buy. He is also known for his work in positioning technology companies in transition, including FAST Search and Transfer (now Microsoft), Ribbit (now British Telecom), JAJAH (now Telefonica), and VMware, where he worked with the team that led the company’s entry into the enterprise software market (in 2000).

Giovanni is a founding fellow at the Society of New Communications Research (SNCR) and a board member at Latinos for Social Media (LATISM). He is a graduate of Princeton University and an MSc candidate at the University of London.

Giovanni is a frequent contributor to Forbes.

Hispanic-Net 2012 Annual Dinner

This year's Hispanic-Net Annual dinner will be held Saturday October 13, 2012 at the Stanford Faculty Club. Tickets may be purchased online.

Alejandro Velez to be named Social Entrepreneur of the Year at Hispanic-Net 2012 Annual Dinner

2012-09-10T15:47:39-07:00

Alejandro Velez is co-founder of Back to the Roots (www.bttrventures.com), and founder and board chairman of the successful and largest UC Berkeley non-profit organization, The Sage Mentorship Project Inc. (www.sagementors.org), a 1,000+ member mentoring program that creates individual, one-on-one pairings between UC Berkeley mentors and low-income Berkeley and Oakland elementary school students.

Velez is a May 2009 summa cum laude graduate of UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business with a degree in business administration and a minor in education. Prior to changing career paths when he co-founded Back to the Roots on his last semester in college, Velez had worked as a summer financial investment banking analyst at various financial services institutions and a telecom company including Citigroup, UBS, Morgan Stanley, and Qualcomm.

Velez was born in Medellin, Colombia and moved to the states with his mother, brother and $5K in his mother’s pocket. He learned English from scratch in a small town in Michigan and after overcoming cancer (Hodgkin’s Lymphoma) through 4 successful rounds of chemotherapy, his academic and athletic success led him to UC Berkeley’s Men’s Tennis Team.

Hispanic-Net 2012 Annual Dinner

This year's Hispanic-Net Annual dinner will be held Saturday October 13, 2012 at the Stanford Faculty Club. Tickets may be purchased online.

2012 Latino Leadership Summit May 19 at Stanford

2012-03-23T14:38:41-07:00

The third annual Silicon Valley Latino Leadership Summit is presented by EsTiempo, LLC., Hispanic-Net and Gracefully Global. SVLLS will bring together 250 leaders in business, government, education, and diverse industries throughout the United States, plus selected MBA students, for a one-day conference at the Stanford Faculty Club at Stanford University.

Attendees will learn first hand from successful entrepreneurs, executives and political leaders to know what it takes to succeed in today’s economy. The summit is designed to inspire and suggest innovative changes needed for future Latino generations to succeed. (read more)

Hispanic-Net hosts Assistant Secretary of Commerce Michael Camuñez Reception/Briefing

2012-02-08T21:49:00-08:00

Hispanic Net was honored to host a briefing with Assistant Secretary of Commerce, Michael Camuñez. The event took place at the Quadrus Conference Center on San Hill Road in Menlo Park, a frequent venue for Hispanic Net events. Asst Secretary Camuñez’ main responsibilities are to help grow U.S. market access in foreign markets, working to double our exports and overall trade and investment relationship with key trading partners under the President’s National Export Initiative. The main purpose of his visit was meet with Silicon Valley executives and companies to discuss the President’s trade policy agenda, how it affects the Valley and its interests and establish ongoing communication channels for further input.

Approximately 20 Hispanic Net members attended the event. Camuñez shared his perspective on various international markets. He also addressed the resources available from the Federal government to US-based companies for the exporting of products, services and IP.

Among discussion points was the background and complexities associated to with international trade. His example covered products comprised of components and manufacturing processes from several countries. His take on such structures was to capture the highest value of the entire process for US companies.

International trade and employment was also a topic of discussion as well. He cited President Obama’s goal to double US international trade as among his targets for the future. The state and trends of world economies were part of the factors shaping his strategy. The greatest long-term growth potential is occurring on the Asian continent. It also poses potential competition challenges as well. He also delved into the importance of Canada and Mexico, our two largest trading partners. Asst. Secretary Camuñez detailed the impact of China on our economy and as a trading partner.

Following his remarks, a candid Q&A session ensued. As frequently occurs in such Hispanic Net briefings, the questions are respectfully frank. Attendees shared their experiences with international markets and business including access problems. Issues of IP protection, anti-competitive practices and means of promoting in foreign markets were discussed. While all questions and concerns could not be immediate addressed at this briefing, the direct connection to the Asst. Secretary was established for Hispanic Net member access.

Prior to assuming his role at Commerce, Mr. Camuñez served in the White House from the beginning of the administration as Special Counsel to the President in the Office of the White House Counsel as well as Special Assistant to the President, advising the President and senior White House Officials on issues related to executive nominations and appointments in the domestic cabinet and independent agencies. With these contacts, he asked about other issues, outside of trade topics, that he could channel back to the appropriate areas of the administration. These included some expected areas such as immigration, education, tax reform employment development as well as suggestions on how the administration could foster high-value ventures in places such as Silicon Valley. Following this briefing, Asst. Secretary Camuñez engaged a number of the attendees to address their specific concerns and solicit their input on current matters.

Note: Prior to joining the administration, Mr. Camuñez was a partner in the Los Angeles office of O’Melveny & Myers LLP, where he was a founding member of the firm’s Diversity Task Force. He represented Fortune 500 companies in a range of matters involving domestic and international commercial disputes. He also advised U.S. companies doing business abroad in Latin America and Europe on corporate compliance, anti-corruption, and the risks associated with foreign investment and multinational business transactions.

He transitioned to the private sector after serving as Senior Policy Advisor for National Service from 1993 to 1995, and helping to launch AmeriCorps, President Clinton’s signature service initiative.

In 2010, Poder Magazine named Mr. Camuñez as one of the "top 75 most influential Hispanics in politics, business and the arts” in the United States. The first in his family to attend college, Mr. Camuñez is a graduate of Harvard College and Stanford Law School. The link to his bio is http://trade.gov/press/bios/camunez.asp